complexities of design with the implementation of new technology and an impetus to present a malleable palate of sound colour for the contemporary musician. Stuart’s interest in design practice evolving with contemporary music performance and composition presents a philosophical contrast to the historic industrial events of the late eighteenth century, where a growing market place for pianos, implementation of mechanical manufacturing technology, and competitive international trade markets, led to an industrial standardization of piano design. The perception that piano design had evolved to its perfection occurred at this time.128 The notion of a standardised design and the subsequent fallout of product obsolescence 129 is a world away from the bespoke artistry of Stuart’s contemporary piano designs.
For over three hundred years, piano designers and pianist-composers have interacted to affect change in design, composition and performance style. How the arrival of the Stuart & Sons piano, in 1995, fits into this historic design paradigm described in the preceding pages, will be the focus of this research, examining whether the Stuart piano design influences composition and pianistic style.
128 7Paulello,“Concepts page.”
129 15Good, 207.
