Word: harpsichords
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There was only one big disappointment: no shoes. Otherwise, the display of opulence in the six-story Manhattan town house of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda was just what one would expect. Gold- plated lavatory fixtures. A kitchen on every floor. Three pianos and a harpsichord. Eighteen lace-covered pillows on the First Lady's richly canopied bed. Heroic ten-foot paintings of Marcos as a medal-bedecked leader and Imelda as a latter-day saint. A strobe-lighted and mirrored disco, outfitted with cushions bearing the mottoes of the Marcos millions. Example: "To be rich...
...this collection of pieces seems strange, so do Gould's performances. The actual sound of Gould's piano is quite unusual (the only piano he played for recordings sounds like it's one-quarter harpsichord), as is his approach to these pieces. Gould's renditions--with generally slow tempos, accentuated inner voices, and understated pedalling--seem a deliberate attempt to fly in the face of the norms of "Romantic" virtuoso pianism...
...work is a free-tonal fantasy for the solo instrument, which is set off against an ensemble that includes bongos, gongs, chimes, temple blocks, harp, amplified harpsichord and vibraphone but omits the orchestra's trumpet and violin sections. It is a felicitous concept, but, alas, the composer's rather dogged quality of invention is not up to his orchestration. Despite a sturdy reading from Carol, the concerto lacks the strong stylistic profile that might have made it memorable...
John Koster: harpsichord maker and restorer, Mabel Louise Riley Seminar Room, Museum of Fine Arts...
Beverly Scheibert: harpsichord, MIT Chapel, Opposite 77 Massachusetts...