BD: Am I correct that [Horowitz] would use a different piano for touring and yet another one for recording?
FM: Exactly, exactly. Over the years, I recall, about six pianos which he has used.
BD: Would all of them have to be kept exactly the same?
FM: No. No, no. At least among the Steinways, there are not two pianos exactly alike; it’s an impossibility. They might come close, and of course he changed his taste over the years. For instance, that very, very super brilliant sound — which at one point he liked very much — gave way to a much more mellow sound.
BD: But you must regulate to his touch, no matter which piano he is using.
FM: Oh, absolutely! But I could not give the same touch, which this Horowitz piano has, to every Steinway. That’s an impossibility. A piano is born with certain ways; it feels and it plays, and you can only do so much!
BD: So Horowitz selected the pianos that would come closest to what he wanted, and then you would regulate them?
FM: Exactly, exactly! Then there’s still a way to go to build the tone which he likes, but a piano is born a certain way and you have to work with what is there.