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Ancient performance with today's sonics...

I stumbled over a CD which I find of interest. Scott Joplin (of ragtime fame) made many piano rolls of his compositions. That was about a hundred years ago. But those rolls can be played back on a piano today and recorded with sonic fidelity that is lacking in the earliest phonograph recordings.

I bought Biograph CD 30159, which has about half the selections played by Scott Joplin himself. Somehow this makes the recording special. Audiowise, the piano is well recorded on this CD.
eldartford

Showing 2 responses by newbee

newbee
4,815 posts
 
Telarc did this for some of Rachmaninoff's piano rolls. Some of his own music and transcriptions, on 2 different CD's. Maybe not quite the same as a live performance but you'd have to do some very critical listening to note it. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Rachmaninoff....and modern technology.
newbee
4,815 posts
 
Eldartford, I'm not sure whether you've heard (of) the Rachmaninoff recordings by Telarc called "A Window in Time" but they involve the use of a Bosendorfer reproducing piano. The producers were able to transcribe the rolls to digital form eliminating the mechanical aspects associated with piano rolls. As I mentioned above, it really is quite difficult to tell these were performances from rolls and mechanical playback. I'd bet if I played them without telling someone, most wouldn't be able to tell they were not recordings of a live performance. If you haven't heard them, and you're at all interested in the technology, give them a listen. Personally, I prefer the 1st volume of his own works.
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