Derek Lim wrote:

>I've just been listening to a CD by Wanda Landowska and I find her
>harpsichord extremely un-harpsichordish!  In particular some parts sound
>organ-like, others just clangy, and still others sound like coarse lutes.
>Can anyone tell me if there's anything particulary special about her Pleyel
>harpsichord?

Certainly there is.  The damned things were made of metal!  No classic
harpsichord from the period would have used a metal frame and plectra
of the size and weight the Pleyel used.  Basically he built her a piano
that plucked.  The only practical use for all that would be for the big
contemporary concerti like the Poulenc that need a big sound to get over
the orchestra.

Kevin Sutton