Charles Rosen relayed this wonderful anecdote about the great musicologist Oliver Strunk (son of the William Strunk of Strunk & White fame); >His interests ran

Charles Rosen relayed this wonderful anecdote about the great musicologist Oliver Strunk (son of the William Strunk of Strunk & White fame); >His interests ranged over almost the whole of music, although his appreciation of the modern period may not have gone beyond Bartok. I remember he once told me that he used to own a harpsichord but had exchanged it for a piano, and when I asked why, he said that it was too difficult to sight-read the tone poems of Strauss at the harpsichord. The piano used to be the gateway to all sorts of music, both vocal, orchestral and chamber, via transcriptions. And enthusiasts would get to know pieces that are performed in concert by sight reading it on their piano at home beforehand. The harpsichord is less versatile than the piano in this regard. But then again the primary way of getting to know new music nowadays has been through recordings, and this has been the case for a very long time, so the practical deficiencies of the harpsichord compared to the piano may be less noticeable now. On the other hand, learning a continuo instrument like the harpsichord invariably involves some sort of training in improvised thoroughbass, which is an extremely valuable skill that is not found among pianists, so I think it's a pretty good choice in the end after all.