VOA标准英语2013--音乐家最好的选择--斯坦威钢琴

 

Finest Musicians Turn to Steinway Pianos 音乐家最好的选择--斯坦威钢琴

NEW YORK — Great pianists need great pianos. Vladimir Horowitz, the famous Russian pianist, used to travel with his own personal Steinway when he played concerts  around the world.

For 160 years, the pianos of Steinway & Sons have been considered the finest in the world thanks to superior craftmanship and performance. 

Most concert halls and conservatories¹ in America own Steinways, and pianists from Lang Lang to Billy Joel are Steinway artists. This fall, Russian pianist Kirill  Gerstein used a Steinway when he appeared with the New York Philharmonic.

“I think generations of pianists’ muscular/nervous systems have been shaped by how the action feels and how the action and the sound merge² into this playing  experience," Gerstein said. "And for the listeners, it is this experience of listening to the Steinway sound that has really cultivated what we think piano sound is.”

Steinway pianos have been built, since 1871, in a factory complex in the city. The company was founded by German immigrant Henry Englehard Steinway in 1853, when New  York had dozens of piano manufacturers.  “In very early days, they sought very much to create the standard piano of the world," said Robert Berger, Steinway director  of Customer Satisfaction. "Not the 'average' piano of the world,  the standard, the one by which all others would be judged.”

And those pianos were built to last. Today, a workforce³ of 300 craftsmen⁴ and women turns out about 1,500 pianos a year in the Astoria factory.

It takes 11 months to build a Steinway grand, which features 12,000 separate parts. The factory is a beehive of activity. In one area, thin laminates of wood are glued  together and put in a press, to create the distinctive⁵ form of a grand piano. In another area, so-called belly⁶ men put the sound boards into the case. A cast iron  plate is added, strings⁷ are added, the action - the hammers which hit the strings - is added.  Pianos are tuned⁸ five times, in all.  Twice, during this process, pianos  are taken to a pounding room, where a machine bangs on all eighty-eight keys at once, to help “play in” the instruments.   A whole other area of the factory is  devoted to restoring vintage Steinways.  “July 2nd of this year was my 40th year with the company," said Bill Youse, who runs the department. "I am also a third- generation Steinway employee. And I am third of four generations, my son actually works here, as well.”

Youse says the pianos are excellent because generations of workers have all been dedicated⁹ to the same goal.

“Aside from some of the materials, like the glues and things which have improved throughout the years, the piano is very, very much the same piano that you would have  gotten back in the late 1800s,” he said.

And one of his co-workers has been with Steinway for more than half a century.

“I am the last one to touch the piano before it leaves the factory," said Wally Boot. "I am the final tone inspector¹⁰. I have been here 51 years and my job is to  listen to the piano and makes sure that it sounds even and that everything works.”

And few things work like a Steinway. Boot, who grew up two blocks from the factory, says every piano has its own personality.

“If it were a bright piano, it would be like a jazz piano," he said. "If it is a mellow¹¹ piano, it is more for the house, or for chamber¹² music...a model B, this would  be a concert piano,” he said.  This level of care and craftsmanship¹³ helps explain why a new Steinway piano can cost anywhere from $55,000 to $145,000, depending on  the model. Steinway's Berger says these pianos often become a treasured family heirloom, passed from generation to generation.  “A new owner will say something to the  effect of, ‘It has been a lifelong dream of mine to own a Steinway piano,’ or ‘I have saved for years, in order to buy this piano and I have finally realized my  dream.’”

Hedge fund billionaire John Paulson recently bought the company, striking fear in the hearts of musicians. Would the famously hand-crafted pianos be changed, for the  sake of efficiency?

Paulson, who owns several Steinways himself, says nothing will change, so that this hand-crafted dream will continue for years to come. 

1 conservatories   

n.（培植植物的）温室，暖房( conservatory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Conservatories have grown in popularity over the past 10 years. 过去10年，温室越来越受到欢迎。 来自互联网
• FEBRI ELEMENT offers Offers to Railing systems, Aluminium elements and Conservatories. 是一家现代化、得信赖的产品供应商，该供应商从事栏杆，护栏系统，梯式支座装置、式支座装置，钢梯的制造和销售。 来自互联网

2 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

5 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

6 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

7 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

8 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

11 mellow   

adj.柔和的；熟透的；v.变柔和；(使)成熟

参考例句：

• These apples are mellow at this time of year.每年这时节，苹果就熟透了。
• The colours become mellow as the sun went down.当太阳落山时，色彩变得柔和了。

12 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

13 craftsmanship   

n.手艺

参考例句：

• The whole house is a monument to her craftsmanship. 那整座房子是她技艺的一座丰碑。
• We admired the superb craftsmanship of the furniture. 我们很欣赏这个家具的一流工艺。