4th Pedal "Pédale Harmonique" - Denis de la Rochefordiere
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“It enriches our ‘old piano’, and in this way opens up many more possibilities. Thank you for your magnificent gift to the piano playing world” Martha Argerich
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"Beethoven would have fallen in love with these surprising possibilities”
The harmonic pedal "pédale harmonique" creates three effects:
- The "pédale harmonique" gives a unique tone experience, also called “rémanence harmony”, to this grand piano
- All possibilities of sustaining tone are combined in this pedal.
- For the first time since the invention of the middle pedal (sostenuto pedal) there are new, simple applicable sound possibilities for acoustic pianos
The Technique:
- The "pédale harmonique" enables longer swinging of the overtones of the played keys or chords: The played chord is dampened so that all the other strings remain free and therefore the overtones of the chords sound longer.
- Whilst playing further notes using the "pédale harmonique" these notes are damped while all other un-played strings remain free to resonate.
The use:
History:
In 1985 Denis de la Rochefodière began developing a new sound spectrum for grand and upright pianos, resulting in the 4th pedal, “pédale harmonique”. Prototype pianos with a fourth pedal were built for the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique, Paris. The well-known French concert pianist Georges Pludermacher recorded the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert with a prototype of the "pédale harmonique" on a Steinway grand piano at the Conservatoire. Composers, classical pianists and jazz pianists have shown great interest in this new invention. In 2006 a Wendl & Lung Grand Piano 178 - Professional II with the "pédale harmonique" was exhibited at the Frankfurt Musikmesse and the European Congress. The critical response was overwhelmingly positive. Working together, Stephen Paulello, Claire Pichet and Wendl & Lung have continued to refine the invention up to production. In September 2009 the first series of 60 Wendl & Lung grand pianos with the "pédale harmonique" was released.