Against all the instruments discussed above, the Stuart pianos are exceptional. The first time I touched the Stuart piano I was amazed. Here was an instrument that behaved like the best pianos I have played, a piano which seemed to fulfil one's every wish. No doubt all this has to do with Stuart's radically different string-coupling devices. I suspect that it has just as much to do with his exceptional workmanship and ear.
Questions do arise concerning that crucial human-voice register, though.
Stuart's sound here is appealing, nutty, wood-grained and resonant, yet without the spectacular improvement in tone of the outer registers, and perhaps some of the intriguing complexity we are used to in Steinway. Importantly, Stuart is very much still on the move with this project and, unlike many of the pianists he seeks to serve, does not suffer from acute complacency. The more time I spend with this unusual man and his creations, the more I feel privileged to be associated with his formidable endeavour. But I keep returning, too, to my questions regarding innovation and complacency, which despite my best efforts I cannot seem to answer.