January 9, 2023
Conductor Marin Alsop spoke with the Sunday Times and mentioned her thoughts about the film Tár with Cate Blanchett. She didn't hold back, stating, "I was offended as a woman; I was offended as a conductor; I was offended as a lesbian.”
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In today's email:
- The big idea: Space age pianos are here
- Research: New research studies look into newborn musicality
- Frontpage: Daniel Barenboim makes a major announcement
- Nostalgia of the week
- Around the web: Predictions for 2023, comfort foods from country to country, historic recordings found under a recliner, plus more curious internet finds.
CLASSICAL CHARTS
THE BIG IDEA
Space Age Pianos Are Here
A recent story out of San Francisco put the spotlight on an antique piano recently acquired by the Musée Mécanique, an instrument with a special pedigree. The Mills Bow-Front Violano Virtuoso was never in general circulation, even when it was created in 1912. Today, there are estimated to be about 100 left in the entire world, and they generally auction at prices around $200,000 USD.
What’s so special about the Mills Bow-Front Violano Virtuoso? It’s a mechanical instrument that automatically plays both piano and violin.
The 350-pound piano was named “one of the eight great scientific instruments of the decade” by the U.S. Patent Office when it granted the rights to inventor Henry Konrad Sandell. The Swedish-born inventor had previously applied for an electric self-playing violin, and the first Violano Virtuoso was shown to the public at the Alas-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, Washington in 1909. Coin-operated versions became available to the public in 1911.
The mechanical elements used electric motors and/or magnets to operate both the piano and violin, which played music from a roll that was inserted into the instrument. It represented cutting-edge mechanical tech for its time.
Today, it’s the digital world that offers an exciting future of possibility for piano design.
Everyday Innovations: Yamaha P-S500
At the real world, affordable end of the scale, Yamaha recently announced a new digital piano with special tech designed specifically to make the learning experience easier, whether you are familiar with musical notation or not.
Notably, the P-S500 smart piano includes Stream Lights tech, which uses a system of red and blue lights to illuminate the keys and show budding pianists which notes to play. The piano runs via an app that allows access to instrument and configuration controls. Other features:
- You can play your favourite songs by storing music in the instrument. The app will create a digital chord chart or piano score at your chosen level of playing from basic to advanced.
- That chord chart or score will connect with Stream Lights, showing you how to play the piece.
“Learning the piano is such a rewarding process that we wanted more people to be able to experience it,” says Dane Madsen, senior manager of marketing, electronic keyboards group at Yamaha Corporation of America in a media release.
“The P-S500 opens the door for a new generation of players with untapped musical abilities to begin their musical voyage. We are excited to offer this enhanced and modernized digital piano to aspiring pianists and also those looking to pick up the piano again.”
The P-S500 will be available across North America starting in January 2023.
Fantasy and Flying Drones: the Roland 50th Anniversary Concept Piano
Roland released its undeniably eye-catching 50th Anniversary Concept Model Piano in the fall of 2022. The striking design is naturally equipped with Roland’s cutting-edge audio technology and tones, along with Roland’s legacy piano sounds, and a new keyboard touch design that’s more natural and responsive.
Unique features:
- Moulded in one piece from a single piece of Japanese oak in a form designed in collaboration with renowned Japanese furniture maker Karimoku;
- Low-latency wireless speakers are mounted on drones that float around it as you play;
- In addition to the drones, there is a fixed, adjustable 14-speaker array, 360-degree speaker system;
- There is a touch-panel table embedded in the lid, allowing access to features via Roland Cloud as well as video conferencing;
- You can control the drone speakers as you perform.
Yoshiyasu Kitagawa, Roland Piano Development Division Head, comments in a media statement. “In this 50th Anniversary Concept Model, we’ve developed and installed cutting-edge sound field realization technology,” he says. “Beginning with the EP-10, we installed sounds from 1973, the RD-1000, JD-800, V-Piano, SuperNATURAL, and other historical sounds. This allows you to relive the evolution of technology since the introduction of the digital piano in 1973.”
The wooden frame provides a resonant piano tone. “Based on the PureAcoustic Modeling technology announced in 2018,” explains Kitagawa. “We have continued to refine our modelling technology through the Facet in 2020. More complex and advanced modelling calculations and multi-channel speakers create a realistic piano sound. We also developed an innovative keyboard sensing algorithm (patent pending). As a result, we have achieved a keyboard touch that provides a more natural response than ever before.”
The concept model may not be for sale, but the tech is a look into the future of digital pianos.
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Playlist: Feed your soul: the 31-day classical music diet for January
Editorial: Why do kids kate music lessons?
STUDY
New Research Studies Look Into Newborn Musicality
Music is intrinsic to human life, but when does that appreciation for it actually begin? The musicality of newborn babies and even fetuses is a relatively recent, but rapidly growing, area of research.
A 2009 study, for instance, found that newborns react to beats — i.e. they anticipate the downbeat of rhythmic patterns, which tends to support the theory that our ability to perceive rhythms is inborn and not learned.
Studies show that fetal movements and heart rate react to music starting at about 25 weeks gestation. Exposure to music also affects fetal and neonatal brain development and neuroplasticity, or the brain’s ability to react and change in response to various stimuli.
A paper recently published in the journal Psychological Studies looked at whether or not newborn babies can detect the emotions inherent in a piece of music. Researchers from the University of Dundee in Scotland used a frame-by-frame analysis of the movements and heart rates of healthy babies to different types of music.
The babies were from newborn to three days old. They were exposed to music that had been rated as either happy or sad in nature by a separate and independent panel using a large sampling of baby-friendly songs and lullabyes. The babies’ reactions to the music was compared to their movements when there was no music.
Their results were quite interesting.
- Happy music made the babies less aroused, and reduced behaviours such as thumb sucking;
- Happy music seemed to help the transition from drowsy to sleeping;
- Happy music led their heart rates to slow down;
- Sad music made the babies move less often.
The paper notes that the results point towards the theory that young children listen to music first, then move to it, and not the other way around.
The researchers write, “Our findings suggest that the emotional response to music possibly emerges very early ontogenetically as part of a generic, possibly inborn, human musicality.”
It seems we are born with a deep connection to music.
FRONT PAGE
Daniel Barenboim conducting at Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.(Wikimedia Commons: Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires)
Daniel Barenboim Announces Resignation as General Music Director of Berlin State Opera
World-renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim will be stepping down from his position as General Music Director of the Berlin State Opera due to ailing health. Barenboim, who has held this position since 1992, will be leaving the company at the end of the month.
In a statement released Friday, Barenboim said, “Unfortunately the state of my health has worsened considerably in the past year. I can no longer achieve the level of performance which is rightly required of a general music director. As a result, I ask for your understanding that I will be giving up this role as from 31 January 2023.” He said he had asked Berlin’s senator for culture to release him from his contract.
Despite his departure from the Berlin State Opera, Barenboim said he will continue to be active in the classical music world whenever possible. “Of course, I will stay – as long as I live – closely connected to music and am ready to conduct, especially with the Staatskapelle.”
End of an era
Barenboim's departure will mark the end of an era at the Berlin State Opera. Under his leadership, the company has become one of the most highly regarded opera houses in the world, known for its innovative productions and outstanding performances. Barenboim has also been a strong advocate for arts education, establishing the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin to provide training for young musicians.
Undeniable Legacy
Barenboim's resignation will no doubt be met with sadness by fans of the Berlin State Opera and classical music lovers around the world. However, his legacy and impact on the world of opera will continue to be felt for years to come.
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AROUND THE WEB
📅 On this day: Krzysztof Penderecki’s Symphony No. 7 (Seven Gates of Jerusalem) premieres in 1997.
🎨 Video: Watch hundreds of years of yellowing varnish being removed from this Jacobean Panel Portrait of a Noblewoman painted in 1617 in England.
🔮 Crystall Ball: Find out what experts in 1923 predicted would happen in 2023.
🐸 Fascinating: Scientists have discovered a species of frog that can turn nearly invisible while sleeping.
💺 Amazing: This man's recordings spent years under a recliner — they've now found a new home
🍩 Curiosity: Comparing comfort foods from country to country.
🎹 Aww: A stranger gave a boy with autism a $15,000 piano after hearing him play.
NOSTALGIA OF THE WEEK
Credit: William Hogarth, "The Enraged Musician" (1741)
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