Extracts of the concert No 5 versions of Deep River are presented below. They reveal aspects of Stuart and Steinway piano sounds that the pianist is working with and reacting to, throughout the performances.

Deep River Melody 1 prt 1.

The Stuart and the Steinway are played in different registers. The Stuart melody is played in the higher treble register, which is possibly the most unique sounding register of the Stuart piano, the octave above middle ‘c’. As previously noted, the findings of chapter four found this register of the Stuart piano sound to have an enhance quality of sustain. ³⁵⁰ The Steinway is played in a powerful, strong hymn style, exhibiting a ‘brighter’ tone than the Stuart’s upper register. The crescendo played on the Steinway demonstrates a perfectly balanced climax chord, with a ‘bright’ high melody note. On the Stuart, the dynamic is held at the mp, and the accented chord is played with the same dynamic and tonal ‘roundness’.

Deep River Melody 1 prt 2.

The low ‘c to f’ upward glissando of the Steinway is ‘brighter’ the Stuart low ‘c’ is ‘rounder’ in tone.
A close listen to the resting note of the ascending glissando ‘f’, reveals the Stuart tone sustained its spectrum more evenly than Steinway. The Steinway low ‘f’ is heard to change in timbre in a more rapid decay after its initial sounding, as it’s being held. The Stuart timbre of this note is more consistent, more sustained, with a slower decay. These characteristic of the Stuart sound at this register were also found in the tests of chapter four, see section 4.22, C2v81 MW mic2. The final melody phrase continues to be played in the higher register on the Stuart.

³⁵⁰ see section 4.2