Z for Zany

The alphabetical exploration of the piano concludes with Z for Zany, an affectionate look at the role of the piano in comedy. Told at the keyboard by pianist and singer Joe Stilgoe.

In 1969 at the height of the Chinese Cultural Revolution the Yellow River Piano Concerto, commissioned by Madame Mao, received its highly politicised premiere. Despite being banned from Chinese musical life in 1976 it has slowly filtered back into the musical mainstream in a country with a huge affinity with the piano today. To say that 30 million Chinese school children are learning to play the instrument is a conservative estimate: some say the figure is as high as 90 million. For the Chinese the piano has become a potent symbol of the importance of hard work and dedication, as well as the perfect instrument for the one-child family system.

Although every instrument has a history of extreme techniques, the piano seems to have attracted more than its fair share of people wanting to see how far it, and they, could go. From Beethoven, who was known for destroying pianos during the course of a performance, through to John Cage (who invented the prepared piano by inserting screws, rubbers and bolts into it) and beyond, this episode of the Piano A–Z is not for those of a sensitive disposition.

What goes into the making of a piano? How do the pianos of today differ from those which Liszt or Debussy might have played? In the central London workshop of Steinway's, there are stripped down pianos everywhere, skeletons with their strings and frames exposed, and benches with vices and chisels like any carpenter would use. The scene is much like it would have been a hundred years ago, and Steinway still employs apprentices who are trained in the craft and art of piano maintenance. Ulrich Gerhartz, their Director of Concerts and Artist Services explains what goes into the crafting of Steinway's delicately balanced instruments, and pianist Stephen Hough reflects on how changes in the manufacture of pianos means that the sounds he makes today are very different from the virtuosi of the past.

Virtuoso is a term applied to many of the world's top pianists of today. With its roots in the Italian usage of the 16th and 17th centuries, a virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in any intellectual or artistic field. But it takes much more than just playing demi-semi quavers on a keyboard to dazzle an audience. So what are the true qualities of virtuosity and which particular composers are regarded as virtuosi, writing music to show off their own technical prowess at the keyboard? Featuring Lang Lang, Angela Hewitt and Stephen Hough.

‘A sort of musical fungus attached to the walls of semi-detached houses in the provinces’ is how celebrated conductor and fount of bons mots Sir Thomas Beecham once described the upright piano. In ‘U is for Upright’ there’s one attached to the wall in the childhood home of concert pianist Jonathan Biss, another played by Pierre-Laurent Aimard in a pizzeria which becomes an unlikely Youtube hit, and a third in a London pub which helps oil the wheels of a convivial evening.

The issue of tuning has been a live one ever since Greek mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras was pinching strings and scratching his head over harmonic discrepancies 2,500 years ago. For a keyboard instrument such as the piano with its multiple strings, until the system of Well Temperament was popularised in the early 18th century, instruments would only really sound good tuned to a certain key. Thanks to the Well-Tempered method of tuning though, and yes, Bach knew what he was doing when he wrote that collection of pieces in all 24 keys to be played on the same instrument, the pianist now has freedom to transpose freely across the keyboard. Yet, piano tuning is a highly nuanced art, affecting the tone and colour of an instrument. With razor-sharp hearing and an ability to creatively play with the compromises necessary to tune a piano, the piano tuner still plays a key role in preparing an instrument for performance. Featuring Marcus du Sautoy, Angela Hewitt and Richard Foster.

The sustain pedal, usually the one on the right, is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. When pressed it sustains all the damped strings on the piano by moving the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate freely so all the notes being played will continue to sound until the pedal is released. Until the Romantic era of Chopin and Liszt it was considered a special effect, but in the 19th century it came to be regarded as an essential element of piano sound. Featuring Stephen Hough, Ivan Ilic and Kenneth Hamilton.

Répétiteurs are so much more than just pianists. Sure, they have to be able to get around the keyboard. But they also have to be able to read the multiple lines of a full score, coach singers, take the role of an orchestra and, in a nutshell, know the opera they are rehearsing probably better than anyone else involved in the process. And those are just some of the musical skills. Because a répétiteur must also be at once musically self-effacing, a linguist and a diplomat who can accommodate and reconcile the often conflicting demands of singers, conductors and directors. But, despite all that, there's no first-night curtain call for this vital figure.

Which great pianists would be worth queuing for? Piano fans queued around the block in 1965, to see the return of Vladimir Horowitz, one of the century's most celebrated pianists, after a twelve year break from live performance. And in the age of internet booking, piano audiences are no less passionate, dedicated and sometimes frenzied. Richard Sisson, Erica Worth, Eddy Smith, Jonathan Biss, Stephen Hough, Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Angela Hewitt discuss the role of a good audience in creating a great performance.