Roberto Prosseda: Particularities  of playing the  Pedal Piano
Playing the pedal piano is a particular challenge, both for the brain and for the body. This instrument requires a special independence of the legs, but also a particular sensitivity of the feet, since the sound of the pedalboard can be varied in several, minimal nuances, based on the touch of the feet on the pedals.
The traditional organ pedal technique is not working properly on the pedalpiano,  because this instrument  requires a special way to project the sound in the hall, and to have different kinds of touch. The principles of modern piano technique have to be transferred to the feet.

The pedal piano presents interesting expressive means, also laying in the particular movements of the legs required. So it is a performance very scenographic, almost choreographic, at sight.
From the sonic point of view, the fact of having two soundboards, very close to each other, creates interesting effects of resonances. The dampers of the two pianos can be controlled independently, giving a further possibility to vary the resonance and the articulation of the playing.
The lower piano is also sounding different, due to the position closer to the floor and to the different attach given by the feet. So the two pianos can create a dialectic opposition with interesting dramatic results.

The Pinchi pedalpiano also presents several innovations, such the octave transposers (1 octave or 2 octaves) and the possibility to double the sound an octave higher or lower. This is a great possibility for contemporary composers,  who can also experiment unorthodox kinds of tuning in one or in both stringboards.


























The modern Pinchi - Pedal Piano
Since, aside historical instruments, there was only one modern pedal piano disponible in Europe, Prosseda charged the renowed
Italian organ and piano builder Pinchi with the construction of a special pedal system with an expanded sound range including
supplementary  16’-, 8’- and 4’- stops.
This new Pinchi Pedal system  connects 2 normal grand pianos to build a modern pedal piano: the legs of the second piano
are dismantled and replaced by the shorter legs of the Pinchi system.This way, the hight of the 2nd piano is reduced and it can be placed beneath the 1st piano. The Pinchi system is externally connected with the key board of the lower piano and controles the  sustain pedals of both pianos.

The modern Pinchi Pedal Piano, moreover, offers several new features, as the octaves transposers (1 or 2 octaves) and a possibility of tone doubling on a lower or higher octave.
These interesting possibilities of experimenting with unorthodox sound and tunining techniques have already inspired several contemporary composers to write new works for the Pedal Piano.
 


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