I’ve just finished reading A ROMANCE ON THREE LEGS: GLENN GOULD’S OBSESSIVE QEUST FOR THE PERFECT PIANO by Katie Hafner in which I found the following Rachmanioff reference that I thought would interest Soloists. In the following quotation C = concert piano; D = damn big, i.e., 8’11½”

“CD 15, long a regular in the Steinway Basement, was a legendary favorite of Rachmaninoff’s. Steinway employees were not supposed to admit that one piano might actually differ from another, but they universally conceded that this piano possessed an especially mellow quality. CD 15 developed such a reputation among touring pianists that they tended ascribe it magical powers, as if the piano were capable of banging out the famous ‘Rach 3’ on its own.” (93)

The book concerns CD 318, Glenn Gould’s perfect Steinway, which is now on display at the National Library of Canada in Ottawa.

Fred