I was at Steinway Hall in London the other day to try some pianos for a recording project later this year (of which more news soon).

Chief technician Ulrich Gerharz had helped me – after discussing the repertoire and the venue – to whittle the choice down to two particular grand pianos belonging to Steinway’s hire stock. On any given day, one or both of the pianos might be elsewhere if someone had hired them for a concert or recording session. I don’t live in London, so it was obviously hard for me to try them one at a time as they returned to base. Lining them both up in the basement of Steinway Hall on a day that I was in London was a jigsaw, but eventually it slotted together.

Trying different pianos side by side can be a bewildering task. Some pieces sound great on one piano, some on another. Some pianos suit 18th century repertoire, others 19th century repertoire, and occasionally you get a piano that seems to be comfortable with everything. One piano would clearly be good for a concerto, while another is more suitable for an intimate recital programme. You have to assess both the sound and the touch. This too can tie your brain in knots, because sometimes the touch feels heavy but the sound is good, or the touch feels responsive but the sound may be light. Assessing the touch is a subtle matter. I look, or rather feel, for a piano whose keys seem able to respond minutely to my intentions.

I admit that there’s an element of ‘The Princess and the Pea’ about all this. Nevertheless, pianists can’t help becoming very sensitive to small differences.

People often assume that pianos of the same make and age must be practically identical, but the instruments may have been worked on differently by different technicians. They may have been set up to project the sound to the back of a large concert hall. They may have been altered to suit the demands of a particular pianist. They may have new hammers, new felts on the hammers. The key surfaces may feel different, according to how much they have been played, or what material they’re made of. Even the pedals can feel different – some pedal actions smooth and easy, others a little heavier or harder to control. You don’t want to have to consciously think about such things when you’re playing.

Both pianos were lovely, but it didn’t take me long to decide which I liked better. With one piano, it felt as if I had to understand it. With the other, it felt as if it understood me.