P R E S T O-T I M E SNov.-Dec., 1934

COMMENTARY ON THE NEW STEINWAY ACCELERATED ACTIONPRESTO-TIMES, on the authority of Steinway & Sons, presents the following resume dealing with this new improve-

ment in piano action acceleration with the added endorsement of several great artists who were afforded the opportunity oftesting" and using the action over a period of time, resulting in enthusiastic acclaim as evidenced by the quotations from theirexpressions herewith presented.

Tn 1873 Franz Liszt said to C. F. Theodore Steinway, "I know-nothing of the mechanism of piano construction, but I wish that youwould make for me a piano which will furnish me with the volume andquality of sound that I feel necessary."

C. F. Theodore Steinway made for him the best piano he wasable to construct and another and another. Later, Franz Liszt wrrote,"The new Steinway grand is a glorious masterpiece in power, sonority,singing quality and perfect harmonic effects, affording delight even tomy old piano-weary fingers."

One day in 1932 Josef Hofmann, who had already spoken of theSteinway piano's "extraordinary perfection of action," came to Stein-way Hall and said, "It isn't quick enough ; can't YOU make it still moresensitive, still more responsive?"

Frederick A. Victor, grandnephew of C. F. Theodore Steinway,accepted the challenge just as his granduncle had accepted Liszt'schallenge nearly sixty years before.

Since the days of the harpsichord, the keys of the piano sat flat.After a year's hard work in the laboratory. Vietor decided to try bal-ancing them sensitively on little curved fulcrums so that the)- actuallyRESPOND to the touch instead of having to be BUDGED into action.He studied the weighing of the keys and found that by a differentarrangement of the weights, the action could be made still more sen-sitive.

Vietor was sure that he had done it—that he could satisfy Hof-mann as his granduncle had satisfied Liszt. But he wished to know,

by scientific test, how much faster the new action was than the old.He called in Dr. E. E. Free, recognized authority on acoustical research.Dr. Free's report was more than gratifying. "The new action," saidhe. "is 14% faster for fortissimo playing and 6% faster for pianissimoplaying." He also found that the hammer dropped away from thestring with greater precision ; that the momentum in which the keyreturned to position as the finger is lifted is greater by about 15% ;and that less muscular energy is involved in playing on the New Stein-way. Dr. Free's report appears at the end of the testimonial givenherewith.

The next question was. what would the artists think of the NewSteinway? Read in the letters which follow how they reacted.

What will the new Steinway mean to the music-loving public?What will it mean to the children of the coming generation who willlearn to play on the New Steinway? Those few of the public who haveseen the New Steinway are enthusiastic in its praise. Music teachersdeclare that because less muscular effort is required, the hands of thechildren will be grateful for the improved action.

Before the new invention (for which patent No. 1,826,848 hasbeen issued) the Steinway piano was recognized by common consentthroughout the world to be the finest piano in concert hall, drawingroom or living room. The New Steinway is the same grand instrumentonly faster, more sensitive, more responsive than the Steinwavs whichhave gone before—the Steinways acclaimed by Wagner, Liszt, Rubin-stein—by the immortals of music for three-quarters of a century.

The New Steinwav enters history.

# # • •way effects of almost orchestral quality. The recentaddition tc the Steinway equipment of the deviceknown as the Steinway accelerated action will serveto make the Steinway mechanism even more subtleand sensitive than it has been before.

RUDOLH GANZTo the unexcelled and seemingly perfect action of

the Steinway piano has been added a new patentwhich is called the Steinway accelerated action. Thisnew method of balancing the keys has no doubt addedgreater ease in the execution of fluent passages andgreater sensitiveness to the touch cf the performer.It is with pleasure that I send you my sincere con-gratulations for this latest addition to your unusualartistic achievements.

MYRA HESSAlthough I have always considered the Steinway

action a perfect mechanism, I find that the new Stein-way accelerated action gives it an additional respon-siveness and evenness which would have been con-sidered impossible prior to your latest invention.

VLADIMIR HOROWITZThe new Steinway accelerated action is a marked

improvement on the action of the Steinway piano. Itmakes a perfect action still more perfect.

ERNEST HUTCHESONI have used the new Steinway accelerated action

in concert and radio work ever since Mr. FrederickVietor first demonstrated it to me two years ago,and I have had it under ccntinuous observation at theJuilliard Graduate School, all our new pianos beingfurnished with it.

From the artist's standpoint, the new action con-stitutes the greatest advance made in piano construc-tion during the last thirty years. All pianists of myacquaintance are enthusiastic in its praise and grate-ful for its remarkable responsiveness to refinementscf touch which would be lost with a less sensitive keymechanism.

Cordial congratulations to you on this notable im-provement of your magnificent instruments.

MISCHA LEVITZKII consider your new Steinway accelerated action

the greatest improvement achieved by the piano in-dustry in many, many years. I venture to predictthat it will have a far-reaching beneficial effect uponthe whole of piano-playing, both professional andamateur. For, with the greater smoothness and re-sponsiveness of your new action, the player will notonly be able to carry out difficult passages withgreater ease, but will also be able to produce a morebeautiful tone, thereby getting even more inspirationfrom the matchless Steinway tone than ever before.I rejoice with you in your new achievement.REPORT OF THE E. E. FREE LABORATORIES

November 6, 1933.Steinway & Sons,1C9 West 57th Street,New York City.Gentlemen:

The following measurable differences have beenfound between the old action and the Steinway ac-celerated action, examples of which were submittedto us:

I. J. PADEREWSKIAny progress stops when perfection is achieved for

where a summit is reached there is no more room forfurther climbing. This has been for many years myopinion about the Steinway piano. And yet, duringmy last two American tours one of the members ofthe preeminent Steinway family and firm succeeded ininventing a new accelerated action for their alreadypeerless instruments. While maintaining and evenincreasing the glorious power and beauty of tone thenew action enriches the resources of soft playing insuch a degree as to unfailingly respond to the mostdel'cate, refined and subtle intentions of the player andto give him unlimited satisfaction. I gladly congratu-late Steinway and Sons upon their new, surprisingand wonderful achievement.

JOSEF HOFMANNThe seemingly impossible has been achieved. The

Steinway piano has been improved upon. The newSteinway accelerated action has done it. This inven-tion not only facilitates and enhances tone productionbut also permits of greater precision and speed. I,therefore, take pleasure in recommending this newcreation to all who are interested in the art of piano-playing.

SERGEI RACHMANINOFFThis is to tell you that I consider the new Steinway

accelerated action a great improvement, and that 1have found your pianos more perfect during the pasttwo seasons than ever before.

WALTER DAMROSCHSteinway & Sons have always been in the forefront

as regards any further developments of the piano.For me it has always seemed well nigh perfect, butyour recent invention, the Steinway accelerated action,makes the manipulation of the keyboard still moresensitive to the most delicate emotional currents ema-nating from the fingers of the player.

JOHN ERSKINEYour new invention, the Steinway accelerated ac-

tion, seems to me one of the greatest improvementsin piano action in recent years. You know I havealways admired the Steinway piano, but this inven-tion greatly increases the pleasure of playing. Theaction is easier, quicker and more dependable. I amglad to know that the concert artists who have triedthis device share my high opinion of it.

CARL FRIEDBERGIt affords me special pleasure to give my approval

of the invention of Mr. Frederick A. Vietor, called theSteinway accelerated action. This invention has im-proved the action of the beautiful Steinway piano con-siderably and has helped to create greater ease ofexecution. I wish you great success!

OSSIP GABRILOWITSCHI heartily welcome the opportunity of expressing

my great admiration for the Steinway piano. Thesplendid qualities of your instrument, the brilliancyand beauty of its tone, are features which have beenpraised so often and so eloquently that it is difficultto add anything new. What to me, however, seemsof particularly great importance in a modern concertgrand piano is the great variety and wealth of tonecolor which makes it possible to produce on the Stein-

Greater SpeedThe Steinway accelerated action is quicker than the

old action by an average of 2 one-hundredths of asecond (14 per cent) for fortissimo p'.aying, and by 1cne-hundredth of a second (6 per cent) for pianis-simo playing. These differences were determined byhigh-speed motion pictures and refer to the time ofone complete cycle, from the instant of the first touchof the finger to the key to the time when both keyand hammer have returned to position for anothertouch.

THE CAUSEThis difference is due chiefly to quicker return of

the key and hammer of the Steinway accelerated ac-tion. In pianissimo playing, the lag of the rising keybehind the lifting finger averages two and one-halftimes greater in the old action than in the Steinwayaccelerated action.

GREATER PRECISIONThe drop of the hammer away from the string, in

pianissimo playing, averages two one-hundredths ofa second faster in the Steinway accelerated action thanin the old action, which means that pianissimo notesmay be made more staccato.

LESS EFFORTThe momentum which must be applied to a key to

produce a pianissimo tone averages 15 per cent morein the Steinway accelerated action than in the oldaction. The momentum with which the key returnsto position as the finger is lifted also is greater byabout the same percentage. This does not mean,however, that the energy required to be exerted bythe player is greater. Instead, consideration of themuscular actions involved indicates that this energyis less. Well-controlled pianissimo playing requiresthat two sets of arm and finger muscles work in an-tagonism to each other; one set to depress the finger,the opposing set to lift the finger and to keep it frombeing depressed too much or with the wrong timing.The quicker and more energetic return of the keysof the Steinway accelerated action as the fingers arelifted should decrease the stra-n on the lifting musclesAND THE TOTAL E F F O R T REQUIREDFROM THE PIANIST. These differences in mo-mentum also indicate that p'aying of precisepianissimos will be easier on the Steinway acceler-ated action than on the old action, for the reasonthat the force margin available for the necessaryequilibrium between the two antagonistic sets of armand finger muscles will be wider.LESS EFFORT AND GREATER PRECISION—

FORTISSIMO PLAYINGMeasurements of internal friction indicate that this

friction averages about 11 per cent less, and is ap-proximately 20 per cent more uniform, in the Stein-way accelerated action than in the old action, espe-cially for the return of the key and hammer to posi-tion after a string is struck. Taken with the greaterspeed of this return noted above, this means thatfortissimo playing should be substantially speedierand more precise on the Steinway accelerated actionthan on the old action.

Respectfully submitted,THE E. E. FREE LABORATORIESby E. E. Free.

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