Walter Meyer asks:

>Aside from the undisputed fact that a harpsichord has a sound completely
>different from that of a piano, what exactly is the distinction between a
>two-keyboard and a one-keyboard instrument when both are played by a person
>w/ only two hands?

Well, first off, it's possible to arrange for the two keyboards to sound
different, thus giving a contrasting tone color to the two parts, or
"hands".

Secondly, there is much less physical difficulty with crossing hands, so
the one hand could go "chicky-chicky-chicky" all over the place, while
the other goes "bonk, bonk, bonk" all over the place also.  It is very
difficult to chicky and bonk at the same time on a piano.

Someone was, at least for a short time, incensed about the whole
two-keyboard idea.  There is no reason to criticise piano versions of
harpsichord music just because the stuff wasn't originally written for
piano. Well, what if we had TWO-KEYBOARD PIANOS? Matter of fact, why don't
they make them? I wonder whether piano fans will love or hate two-keyboard
pianos? (Piano fans are very unpredictable, generally, except for liking
pianos.)

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