About this episode

Brett Barry explores the Piano Performance Museum in Hunter, New York, discussing historic instruments and their significance.

What did Beethoven's piano actually sound like? At the Catskill Mountain Foundation's Piano Performance Museum in Hunter, New York, you don't have to wonder — you can sit down and play one. Brett Barry visits the museum at the Doctorow Center for the Arts with performing arts director Pam Weisberg and docent Stacey Bowers, who guide him through dozens of historic instruments spanning three centuries — from a mid-18th century French harpsichord to a nine-foot Baldwin concert grand that once traveled with Liberace. Along the way: the difference between a harpsichord's pluck and a piano's strike, why Beethoven's piano had four strings per key, the short life of the American square piano, and what it means to let the instrument tell you what it can do. The museum is open Saturdays 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; group tours available by arrangement. For performances, schedules, and more: catskillmtn.org/piano-performance-museum

People in this episode

Host: Brett Barry

Guests: Pam Weisberg, Stacey Bowers

Topics covered

• music history
• piano
• musical instruments
• Catskills
• performance museum

Keywords

• Beethoven
• piano
• harpsichord
• Baldwin concert grand
• Catskill Mountain Foundation
• music performance
• historic instruments

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Catskill Mountain Foundation

Products: Baldwin concert grand

Books & works: Beethoven

Places: Hunter, New York, Doctorow Center for the Arts

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