Power Of A Pianist

It requires more force to sound a note gently on the piano than to lift the lid of a kettle. A Germán composer has figured that minimum pressure of the finger playing pianoissimo is equal to 110 granis - a quarter of a pound. Few kettle lids weigh more than two ounces. The German's calculations are easy to verify if one takes a small handful of coins and piles them on a key of the piano. When a sufflcient quantity is piled on to make a note sound they may then be weighed and these figure3 will be found to be true. If the pianist is playing fortissimo a much greater force is needed. At times a forcé of six pounds is thrown upon a single key to produce a solitary effect. With chords the force is generally spread over the various notes sounded simultaneously, though a greater output of force is undoubtedly expended. This is what gives pianists the wonderful strength in their flngers so often commented on. A story used to be told of Paderev-s1:i that he could crack a pane of F-e píate glass half an inch thick merci., by placing one hand upon it, as if upon a piano keyboard, and striking it sharply with nis middle flnger. Chopin's last study in C minor has a passage which t'kes two minutes and flve seconds 'o pf&y. The total pressure brought to bear on this, it is stimated, is equal to three full tona. The average "tonnage" of an hour's piino playing of Chopin's music varíes from twelve to eighty-four tons.