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Jim Ialeggio - Bio
Pianist, composer
Monteverdi, Bach, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Ives, Bartok, Gershwin, Debussy, Monk, Davis, Evans… these are my aural lineage.
As a pianist I am an artist. My medium is sound. I think and hear with my hands. Through the Looking Glass Audio CD
Artisan
As a piano redesigner/rebuilder, I am an artisan. My medium remains above all, sound. Like the pianist, I think and hear with my hands.
This is how I proceed in the shop: First, I think; work through the concept, research it, draw it, chat with colleagues. Then, I go out to the shop and follow my hands.
The task becomes a dance; thought in motion. I really love this part of the work.
Designer
Targeted tone and touch define my designs.
My designs employ computer analysis, CAD, proprietary software, controlled tests, empirical proofs, intuition, plenty of thought and collaboration with sound and structural engineers.
Years of shop and design experience allow me to know what will work, what will fail and why.
In addition, all designs are accomplished with an eye to visual proportions. They both sound and look beautiful.
Collaborator
Piano redesign/rebuild.
The work is derivative; dependant on the accumulated thought and work of others.
Incremental; we each add our little bit… a real time “wiki.”
A particular thank you to:
Ron Nossaman and Del Fandrich, for sharing their soundboard work and research with the entire rebuilding community… Bruce Clark, for his excellent analysis of action geometry… David Andersen whose tunings demonstrated that the sound I was looking for was real and not a hopeless dream… Marc Wienert, whose hammer voicing taught my ear how to really listen to tone…
And for all the incredibly useful information that technicians around the country continue to generously share with each other.
Historic conservator
Earlier on, I reproduced sash for historic buildings.
Elegance, complexity, functionality, art, and engineering describe the deceptively difficult accomplishment of sash making. Not so different from piano work, I think.
Versed in historic and traditional design, respecting traditional aesthetics, moving the aesthetic to encompass other ways of looking at the traditional.
