Ampico reproducing roll recorded in high resolution. Played back on a freshly restored Ampico demonstration concert grand piano. Roll 69253-H played by Rachmaninoff.
You know, to hear a recording of a long dead musician is one thing, but to actually see the work of his hands is quite another. To think that 100 years ago, he sat at a piano, and his hands moved the keys in exactly this way, at exactly this time, with just this velocity... Maybe there's a novelty bias against sound recordings given their modern ubiquity, but this is, I think, the closest we've come to immortality.
I am always amazed at individuals who try tell Rachmaninoff, the composer of his own work how he should have played a piece HE wrote. None of Rachmaninoff's recordings of him playing his own works have been beat. This recording is no exception.
Hervin Balfour It is silly, isn't it? Yet, all great works can find a new voice with different fingers on the keyboard. Some are good, others, not so good.
Well to be fair, Rachmaninoff admitted that he felt like he wasn't the best interpreter of a lot of his works. He thought Horowitz to be better at interpreting the 3rd concerto for example. personally I still feel like Rach's interpretations of his works are the best though.
This is the BEST performance of the ELEGY of Rachmaninoff on an actual AMPICO reproducing piano. Gentlemen, and ladies, we have just heard Sergi Rachmaninoff play!
There are so many BAD reproducing piano videos on CZcams. This one is quite the opposite. Your piano has clearly been regulated to perfection. Such a treat to hear this 100 year old technology show what it's truly capable of.
Never tire of hearing this piece, it's so beautiful. There's somthing haunting about reproducing pianos. Rachmaninoff was so amazing, and to think that this is him playing, it's very awesome...
Having lived with a pianola for over 30 years, the thrill of sitting playing originals like is superb. I wish I still had it. This kind of makes computers not such a clever invention, knowing all about pianolas. There was even one called a pistonola, pistons instead of the bellows system. Just great..
What an absolutely beautiful, special and powerful rendition by the legend himself! The quality of the recording is astounding actually and I am really blown away by this! So moving! Such an elegant and powerful work played with all the heart and soul one can muster and this emotion is felt so strongly that it brought tears to my eyes! This was a haunting experience at the same time and I feel as though the soul of Rach is speaking to us all! Music is the greatest universal language there is and the soul of the composer can live forever through the ageless, timeless notes! Thanks for posting this! ~Jackie
Thank you very much! For me it can not get better than this!!! Amazing! It is definitely Rachmaninoff playing!!! What a great pleasure to listen and enjoy in full beauty my favourite Elegie.
It's such a gift that we actually have recordings of one of the greats like this to listen to. If only we could hear other composers' original interpretations of their pieces.
Nearly all the great composers of the day played for these various reproducing piano companies. Greig, Debussy, Struass, and many others are in the catalogs of rolls made for these.
@planmix I do. So do many other people. It is far too complicated to explain here. There are 14 specific hole positions for dynamics in the roll. Some holes set certain specific volumes, while others allow a sliding crescendo effect. Together, the two effects control the dynamics.
@BrentAudi Good question, Brent. All Ampico Grands use the "hammer rail lift" for soft pedal effect. It is sometimes called the "half blow", as it raises the hammers about half the way up. The piano still contains the Una Corda mechanism which shifts the keyboard when the left pedal is depressed. The Ampico does not use the una corda. The hammer rail lift is used only by the Ampico. The tracker hole that triggers the lift is third from the right edge.
so alive, so deeply expressive, rich tonal overtunes, so in the moment and spontaneous sounding.....what more could one ask!! sublime in its sadness and ffeeling! I want to get a copy of the music and I want to learn this piece. It is early Rachmaninoff.
Had the good fortune to have a neighbor when I was young who let us play rolls on his player piano. The experience of pumping those rolls and watching the keys was as though a ghost was performing. It was my introduction to Rachmaninov.
Etheric beauty that's gone and belongs to the past. I'm always sad about such geniuses not being with us anymore and the traces they left are saddeningly precious and immortal.
@JupiterIV The roll tempo is 105 and can be seen at 0:11. This is a very unusual (fast) tempo for a roll of this nature. The reason for the brisk speed may have been a desire by the editors to have very high resolution in this late recording.
Interestingly enough Rachmaninoff felt the same way as you about his playing, he knew he was a great composer but didnt think his playing was great, he would often have other pianist play his pieces to see what their interpretation was, and often like their playing of it over his own.I know this because after finishing my music degree i started to study under a russian lady who went the lenningrad conservatory, she made me read composers letters to understand them better.
Totally love this rendition: it is a whole minute faster than most of thr mordern pianists interpret it. About changing the timing: why cann't a pianist afford it, in the end? Much more the composer himself! This is how he feels, and the way it was done in this very version only added more expression to the piece. Pianists are not robots. All of the peculiarities in this rendition makes the piece more expressive. Why not? Totally love it! My opinion as a humble player of it as well.
I'm currently learning this piece. It's not every day that you can hear a recording of the composer himself playing one of their own compositions! A beautiful piece! :)
I imagine that very few people realise that this 'recording' of Rachmaninov playing his own piece will have been edited and 'improved' by the makers of the roll. On top of that, what you hear is also influenced by the condition of the piano's reproducing mechanism. That doesn't make it any less interesting, of course. But don't think that every note is played exactly as he played it, on the day. A wonderful piece, for all that.
However, the Ampico mechanism is capable of 40 levels of loudness and 40 of softer...80 levels altogether....So it is highly accurate compared to "the day" recorded! I speak as a technician who has rebuilt the actions!
@JC08HP Almost all player pianos allow for speed adjustment of the roll. The correct playing speed is marked on the roll. In this case, a rather brisk speed is marked. Usually, the speed is an indication of how fast notes are repeated within the performance. A hymn might be played at the slow tempo of 40 while "The flight of the Bumble bee" is over 100. Faster speeds are necessary in rapid staccato passages for correct note duration. Most rolls can be played at tempo 75 successfully.
Thank you for posting this excellent expample of a beautifully restored Ampico - amazingly realistic performance. I believe the Ampico may have had the edge over its competition in terms realism of performance and dynamic range.
How do to dynamics work in this type of recording? If it is governed by holes punched in paper, how does the piano know how hard to activate the hammers? Thanks
"Reproducing pianos can also re-create the dynamics of a pianist's performance by means of specially encoded control perforations placed towards the edges of a music roll, but this coding was never recorded automatically. Different companies had different ways of notating dynamics, some technically advanced (though not necessarily more effective), some secret, and some dependent entirely on a recording producer's handwritten notes, but in all cases these dynamic hieroglyphics had to be skillfully converted into the specialized perforated codes needed by the different types of instrument." -wikipedia
@FungMing89 I am not sure, but I do believe the audio recording you mention had its origins with the piano roll. (search the itunes store) The piano roll was transferred to a modern solenoid type piano and a commercial, copyrighted CD of the performance was issued. Thus, the piano roll is really the only recording. And in this presentation it is 100% correct as it is performed as intended, without electronic modification, on a perfectly regulated Ampico piano. Thanks for the comment.
The best russian composer and also one of the most famous composers of the whole world in the 20th century, who left us, but his spirit and work will remain for eternity. Thank the technology of earlier 20th with this record mechanism we can hear how he greatest artist presented his work and thought originally. I regard every classic composer, maybe there are a few as good as Rachmaninov, but no one is better than him, i am totally convinced!
I agree about "improve" upon but that does not mean play differently. As far as we have it (the reproduction roll) this is how Rach. felt it at that moment. A different day may have brought a much different feeling. For sure it is a wonderful piece and so nice to hear Rachmaninov's own interpretation for that day.
The ampico is a "reproducing" piano which means the expression is also encoded on the roll as the artist played the piece. A "Standard" action is one that does not have the expression feature and all notes sound with the same intensity. There were many reproducing piano actions - in addition to this the DuoArt is another well known brand. Research it on the net.
How foolish is it that people are telling the composer how this piece should be played.. just when you think you have seen it all, you run into another troglodyte. The naysayers are stating that the tempo is too fast and sounds are lost; keep in mind that this piece should not appreciated in its individual components/passages, it should be comprehended and analyzed as a whole. The beginning is a foundation for the end, and the end is a foundation for the beginning, it is like a two sided coat. An ingenious composer and composition.
What an excellent comment! I could not agree more! This is from the heart, soul, and hands of the composer himself! Rach was an absolutely amazing composer and pianist and to hear this beautiful recording is like listening to the ghost of Rach....one can feel his soul in the music. Thanks again for stating the obvious here :-) ~Jackie
I agree with you 100%. I heard this piece being played with the same tempo as the 1st movement moonlight, and the emotions were just beautiful. I think this is my next one. I learned C# minor, but this one is a must. If E.S Posthumus remasters this piece like they did with moonlight....it would be epic.
This is a wonderful video. Now if you want to go from wonderful to brilliant, I would suggest incorporating some different camera angles and then editing the video with the song. Yes, it will take you hours to do it, but I would love to see close-ups of the felt-covered hammers hitting the strings along with the movement of the shanks and other parts.
Your comments are well taken, but at the time when this video was made, the piano was being prepared for shipment to its owner. There wasn't enough time in the schedule to do any additional production work, let alone hours of post production editing. Two fixed cameras and separate recording equipment were set up for a one pass performance, thus I had no synchronization issues which can be a nightmare. (roll speed cannot be exactly the same in every take). This was my last chance to make a video of this instrument. It had to be done in haste.
yay a musician that understands, 100 percent right on, i would argue one little thing, not the evenness of tone but the evenness of emotion, more like was it expressed the same throughout the piece. Speed and intonation matter not, the performer is telling you how he feels, but he cant change the story half way through the piece. I too leaned this piece while studying from a lenningrad conservatory graduate who knew Sergei and Vladimir Horowitz
His piano music is so profound, I cannot help but think that the angst in these themes is his pain for leaving the motherland, plus his own brand of profound sensibility. The author cannot perform this piece "wrong", of course. but...I can say it could have been to him like a bagatelle, just a nice little thing, whereas others, like Gavrilov, render a more respectful, collected expression of the same ideas. It's a matter of taste, I imagine Sergei would have liked Andrei's performance as well. In summary, it is a masterpiece, I have been studying it for 40 years and finally, I begin to feel that I understand its depth; either it is because I'm older and mature now or I'm crazy to believe I can fully grasp this master at his deepest language.
Thanks for the more pro quality recording. It’s really nice. But thanks for a proper restoration by a skilled tech who knows how to voice. 90% percent are untrained and can’t play well. I’ve had one of these 9 ft 4 s restored and currently restoring a second. First one was built in 1910. The second from 1929
@ampicoab Well of course I agree, this is probably the most valuable source around. It just sounded a little bit swift for a piece that is written in Moderato and with this kind of character. But well, I think it's actually better this way because now the melody is hearable, instead of long, singular notes which could easily happen if you play it too slowly. So yeah... who knows maybe this is the way Rachmaninoff wanted it...
@pianist2012 If everyone played each composition the same way, life would be very boring. The performer is the interpreter and not a robot. There can be many different and excellent ways of performing the same composition. The same music means different things to different people. Variety is good.
R. playing, wonderful. tempo is talked about. Realize that this is A recording of how he felt 2 play it this time. I like it a tad slower. I bet he also played it slower. The thing 2 listen 4 is the evenness of tone, clarity, the line--those things do not waver, regardless of tempo. Forget the rt hnd 4 a moment & just listen 2 the bass. it propels this beautiful piece. I was fortunate enough to learn a bit of his playing frm a student of his.The left hand alone, can bring u tears, if you let it.
@ampicoab there actually was an audio recording of Rachmaninov playing this piece sometime last year.. but it was removed by the CZcams administrators..
@JC08HP The tempo marked on the roll was used. What else could I do? It sounds right to me. Since there are no audio recordings of Rachmaninov playing this composition, this roll is our best source. What do you think?
This is what I call a true lyrical performance. An ampico player systems, certainly very advanced in their music reproduction. However, this Mason & Hamlin, I guess Model A has a rich, round, American sound. Rachmaninoff would have loved perform his music on a Bluthner, his favorite piano brand.
thnx for posting. does anyone know? the roll, does it contain information about the original volume and balance between the voices, or are these assumed and added later?
Oh yes, yes. Totally agree. I do not for a moment think that Beethoven played his Moonlight Sonata in such a cold, mechanical manner. What man would play it so for the woman he loved? I play it with passion and liberty of expression and find people are amazed at the difference.
@ampicoab Well of course I appreciate this "recording" very much. It's just that modern interpretations are a lot slower and some of them also actually more "moderato", while this could be regarded as andantino to allegretto already. It simply occured to me also that at the beginning of the roll there is a tempo mark. Does this mean that the instrument might allow different speeds of playback?
There should exists a real Grammophone recording by R. of this piece. I remember listening to it on youtube but now I cant find it. Anyone knows about this?
The punch card (...paper tape?) equivalent of a MIDI file... But, how the heck is it encoding the dynamics here? Am I just imagining them? I figured the whole thing would play at one fixed "volume" but it definitely seems to be going louder and softer yet I can't see any difference in the holes in either case...
Well at least I'm not imagining it... but, any idea how it's doing that? If it's e.g. the width of the perforations themselves then the video isn't high enough resolution to reveal it.
mspenrice I know exactly how it is doing it. It is a complex topic, but simply stated, the vacuum source used to strike the keys is being precisely regulated by coding along each side of the roll. Watch at the beginning and you'll notice these holes. The number of holes exceeds the number of notes sounding. It is these extra holes that control dynamics and pedals. There are two sets of dynamic controls, one for the bass notes and one for the treble. I can give you vectors to more info if you want it.
ampicoab Ah cool, thanks :) ... that's good enough for me, really. Makes a fair bit of sense really, it'd be a really exceptional pianist who was able to play different dynamics with each individual finger in a chord, rather than either per hand or at least per note in an arpeggio, so a two-zone approach is efficient and certainly good enough.
mspenrice Well as a pianist I can tell you that it doesn't take an exceptional pianist to play different dynamics with each individual finger in a chord. In almost every high level piece this is required. Take, for example, Chopin's etude op10. no. 3. It's required you do this to quite a high degree throughout the whole piece.
I do not mean to compare of course, but this is a completely different take on this piece (with a intriguing cinematography) Elegie, Op. 3, No. 1 - Sergei Rachmaninoff
@pianist2012 While it is a beautiful composition, this roll shows evidence of the mechanism distorting the tempo. It is unnaturally sped up in sections that are inhuman in essence. It is as if the cylinder was not perfectly round.
You know, to hear a recording of a long dead musician is one thing, but to actually see the work of his hands is quite another. To think that 100 years ago, he sat at a piano, and his hands moved the keys in exactly this way, at exactly this time, with just this velocity... Maybe there's a novelty bias against sound recordings given their modern ubiquity, but this is, I think, the closest we've come to immortality.
Pienamente d’accordo
I am always amazed at individuals who try tell Rachmaninoff, the composer of his own work how he should have played a piece HE wrote. None of Rachmaninoff's recordings of him playing his own works have been beat. This recording is no exception.
Hervin Balfour It is silly, isn't it? Yet, all great works can find a new voice with different fingers on the keyboard. Some are good, others, not so good.
I agree! What insolence!
I totally agree, I prefer listening to Biret's version, but there is no doubt this is the better version
I know, obviously nobody plays Rachmaninov better than Rachmaninov, however, one cannot deny that Kissin's performance of Rach 2 is simply stunning.
Well to be fair, Rachmaninoff admitted that he felt like he wasn't the best interpreter of a lot of his works. He thought Horowitz to be better at interpreting the 3rd concerto for example. personally I still feel like Rach's interpretations of his works are the best though.
He is so beautiful. I love. I love him, his music, soul, fingers...everything.
lol
This is the BEST performance of the ELEGY of Rachmaninoff on an actual AMPICO reproducing piano. Gentlemen, and ladies, we have just heard Sergi Rachmaninoff play!
The Music will never be the same without Rachamaninoff! Thank you Rachmaninoff, for your existence.
maestro rest in peace in the good company of angels and muses...we love you
There are so many BAD reproducing piano videos on CZcams. This one is quite the opposite. Your piano has clearly been regulated to perfection. Such a treat to hear this 100 year old technology show what it's truly capable of.
Спасибо Вам за то,что мы увидели и услышали.Это волшебно!
Never tire of hearing this piece, it's so beautiful. There's somthing haunting about reproducing pianos. Rachmaninoff was so amazing, and to think that this is him playing, it's very awesome...
Having lived with a pianola for over 30 years, the thrill of sitting playing originals like is superb. I wish I still had it. This kind of makes computers not such a clever invention, knowing all about pianolas. There was even one called a pistonola, pistons instead of the bellows system. Just great..
These piano rolls are awesome -- as if the Maestro himself were sitting right there playing. Thank you!
I notice that the set of chords at the end is rolled and it’s so beautiful I wish everyone added that flare to it
What an absolutely beautiful, special and powerful rendition by the legend himself! The quality of the recording is astounding actually and I am really blown away by this! So moving! Such an elegant and powerful work played with all the heart and soul one can muster and this emotion is felt so strongly that it brought tears to my eyes! This was a haunting experience at the same time and I feel as though the soul of Rach is speaking to us all! Music is the greatest universal language there is and the soul of the composer can live forever through the ageless, timeless notes! Thanks for posting this! ~Jackie
This is amazing... But a little haunting at the same time.. It's like his ghost is playing or something ._.
that's because he is. across a century of life and death, he lives.
Great piano. Expression and IN TUNE. Love it.
I can't imagine how anyone could improve on this performance. And we can be sure it's being played they way the composer intended.
The Music will never be the same without Rachmaninoff! Thank you Rachmaninoff, for your existence.
the first time i listen to this wonderful piece of music. thank you to give me the possibility to discover it ! ! !
so beautiful, captured me straight away, hooked till the very end
Thank you very much! For me it can not get better than this!!! Amazing! It is definitely Rachmaninoff playing!!! What a great pleasure to listen and enjoy in full beauty my favourite Elegie.
His music is so complex and so good i could cry when I listen to that!
Simply GENIUS!
It's such a gift that we actually have recordings of one of the greats like this to listen to. If only we could hear other composers' original interpretations of their pieces.
Nearly all the great composers of the day played for these various reproducing piano companies. Greig, Debussy, Struass, and many others are in the catalogs of rolls made for these.
@planmix I do. So do many other people. It is far too complicated to explain here. There are 14 specific hole positions for dynamics in the roll. Some holes set certain specific volumes, while others allow a sliding crescendo effect. Together, the two effects control the dynamics.
First heard about this gem in Makine's 'La musique d'une vie' and fell in love after listening to it. This was my first piece as a pianist.
Il sublime musicale raggiunto da un meccanismo cui Rachmaninoff diede fiducioso la sua poesia.
@BrentAudi Good question, Brent. All Ampico Grands use the "hammer rail lift" for soft pedal effect. It is sometimes called the "half blow", as it raises the hammers about half the way up. The piano still contains the Una Corda mechanism which shifts the keyboard when the left pedal is depressed. The Ampico does not use the una corda. The hammer rail lift is used only by the Ampico. The tracker hole that triggers the lift is third from the right edge.
so alive, so deeply expressive, rich tonal overtunes, so in the moment and spontaneous sounding.....what more could one ask!! sublime in its
sadness and ffeeling! I want to get a copy of the music and I want to learn this piece. It is early Rachmaninoff.
Had the good fortune to have a neighbor when I was young who let us play rolls on his player piano. The experience of pumping those rolls and watching the keys was as though a ghost was performing. It was my introduction to Rachmaninov.
Etheric beauty that's gone and belongs to the past. I'm always sad about such geniuses not being with us anymore and the traces they left are saddeningly precious and immortal.
@JupiterIV The roll tempo is 105 and can be seen at 0:11. This is a very unusual (fast) tempo for a roll of this nature. The reason for the brisk speed may have been a desire by the editors to have very high resolution in this late recording.
Interestingly enough Rachmaninoff felt the same way as you about his playing, he knew he was a great composer but didnt think his playing was great, he would often have other pianist play his pieces to see what their interpretation was, and often like their playing of it over his own.I know this because after finishing my music degree i started to study under a russian lady who went the lenningrad conservatory, she made me read composers letters to understand them better.
Totally love this rendition: it is a whole minute faster than most of thr mordern pianists interpret it. About changing the timing: why cann't a pianist afford it, in the end? Much more the composer himself! This is how he feels, and the way it was done in this very version only added more expression to the piece. Pianists are not robots. All of the peculiarities in this rendition makes the piece more expressive. Why not? Totally love it! My opinion as a humble player of it as well.
Really brings a tear to the eye, this piece.
I'm currently learning this piece. It's not every day that you can hear a recording of the composer himself playing one of their own compositions! A beautiful piece! :)
I wonder how accurate this recording technology was. It does indeed sound very beautiful played as it is here.
I imagine that very few people realise that this 'recording' of Rachmaninov playing his own piece will have been edited and 'improved' by the makers of the roll.
On top of that, what you hear is also influenced by the condition of the piano's reproducing mechanism.
That doesn't make it any less interesting, of course. But don't think that every note is played exactly as he played it, on the day.
A wonderful piece, for all that.
However, the Ampico mechanism is capable of 40 levels of loudness and 40 of softer...80 levels altogether....So it is highly accurate compared to "the day" recorded! I speak as a technician who has rebuilt the actions!
Wow beautiful piano beautiful song XOXO
@JC08HP Almost all player pianos allow for speed adjustment of the roll. The correct playing speed is marked on the roll. In this case, a rather brisk speed is marked. Usually, the speed is an indication of how fast notes are repeated within the performance. A hymn might be played at the slow tempo of 40 while "The flight of the Bumble bee" is over 100. Faster speeds are necessary in rapid staccato passages for correct note duration. Most rolls can be played at tempo 75 successfully.
Thank you so very much for this post. This piece has touched me very deeply. The piano is fantastic.
I love listening and watching this. Nice to hear a good piano- in good shape. Love it.
Thanks, love hearing this piece.
Рахманинов необыкновенный...вся Россия в его музыке!
Thank you for posting this excellent expample of a beautifully restored Ampico - amazingly realistic performance. I believe the Ampico may have had the edge over its competition in terms realism of performance and dynamic range.
I just sat here and relaxed for 4 and a half minutes. Thankyou :)
Thank you for uploading this great stuff, only wish is MOAR
Bravo. Thank you for posting.
Agree. "elegy" doesn't mean "dirge" which is what some of those current pianist's make it sound like (i.e.Gavrilov, Tureck)
How do to dynamics work in this type of recording? If it is governed by holes punched in paper, how does the piano know how hard to activate the hammers?
Thanks
"Reproducing pianos can also re-create the dynamics of a pianist's performance by means of specially encoded control perforations placed towards the edges of a music roll, but this coding was never recorded automatically. Different companies had different ways of notating dynamics, some technically advanced (though not necessarily more effective), some secret, and some dependent entirely on a recording producer's handwritten notes, but in all cases these dynamic hieroglyphics had to be skillfully converted into the specialized perforated codes needed by the different types of instrument." -wikipedia
Simply fabulous!
@FungMing89 I am not sure, but I do believe the audio recording you mention had its origins with the piano roll. (search the itunes store) The piano roll was transferred to a modern solenoid type piano and a commercial, copyrighted CD of the performance was issued. Thus, the piano roll is really the only recording. And in this presentation it is 100% correct as it is performed as intended, without electronic modification, on a perfectly regulated Ampico piano. Thanks for the comment.
слушая эту мелодию вся моя жизнь вихрем проносится перед глазами
The best russian composer and also one of the most famous composers of the whole world in the 20th century, who left us, but his spirit and work will remain for eternity.
Thank the technology of earlier 20th with this record mechanism we can hear how he greatest artist presented his work and thought originally.
I regard every classic composer, maybe there are a few as good as Rachmaninov, but no one is better than him, i am totally convinced!
I agree about "improve" upon but that does not mean play differently. As far as we have it (the reproduction roll) this is how Rach. felt it at that moment. A different day may have brought a much different feeling. For sure it is a wonderful piece and so nice to hear Rachmaninov's own interpretation for that day.
The Mason & Hamlin is beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Simply amazing
Beautiful ! Thanks for sharing :)
The ampico is a "reproducing" piano which means the expression is also encoded on the roll as the artist played the piece. A "Standard" action is one that does not have the expression feature and all notes sound with the same intensity. There were many reproducing piano actions - in addition to this the DuoArt is another well known brand. Research it on the net.
This is rather magical.
How foolish is it that people are telling the composer how this piece should be played.. just when you think you have seen it all, you run into another troglodyte. The naysayers are stating that the tempo is too fast and sounds are lost; keep in mind that this piece should not appreciated in its individual components/passages, it should be comprehended and analyzed as a whole. The beginning is a foundation for the end, and the end is a foundation for the beginning, it is like a two sided coat. An ingenious composer and composition.
What an excellent comment! I could not agree more! This is from the heart, soul, and hands of the composer himself! Rach was an absolutely amazing composer and pianist and to hear this beautiful recording is like listening to the ghost of Rach....one can feel his soul in the music. Thanks again for stating the obvious here :-) ~Jackie
Beautiful sound, waooooooooooooooooo Bravo.
The theme reveals the artist.
The top of the beautiful music of Russia
I agree with you 100%. I heard this piece being played with the same tempo as the 1st movement moonlight, and the emotions were just beautiful. I think this is my next one. I learned C# minor, but this one is a must. If E.S Posthumus remasters this piece like they did with moonlight....it would be epic.
This is a wonderful video. Now if you want to go from wonderful to brilliant, I would suggest incorporating some different camera angles and then editing the video with the song. Yes, it will take you hours to do it, but I would love to see close-ups of the felt-covered hammers hitting the strings along with the movement of the shanks and other parts.
Your comments are well taken, but at the time when this video was made, the piano was being prepared for shipment to its owner. There wasn't enough time in the schedule to do any additional production work, let alone hours of post production editing. Two fixed cameras and separate recording equipment were set up for a one pass performance, thus I had no synchronization issues which can be a nightmare. (roll speed cannot be exactly the same in every take). This was my last chance to make a video of this instrument. It had to be done in haste.
yay a musician that understands, 100 percent right on, i would argue one little thing, not the evenness of tone but the evenness of emotion, more like was it expressed the same throughout the piece. Speed and intonation matter not, the performer is telling you how he feels, but he cant change the story half way through the piece. I too leaned this piece while studying from a lenningrad conservatory graduate who knew Sergei and Vladimir Horowitz
Sergei's treatment of this piece is perfect!
His piano music is so profound, I cannot help but think that the angst in these themes is his pain for leaving the motherland, plus his own brand of profound sensibility.
The author cannot perform this piece "wrong", of course. but...I can say it could have been to him like a bagatelle, just a nice little thing, whereas others, like Gavrilov, render a more respectful, collected expression of the same ideas. It's a matter of taste, I imagine Sergei would have liked Andrei's performance as well.
In summary, it is a masterpiece, I have been studying it for 40 years and finally, I begin to feel that I understand its depth; either it is because I'm older and mature now or I'm crazy to believe I can fully grasp this master at his deepest language.
Душа замирает и плачет......
Thanks for the more pro quality recording. It’s really nice. But thanks for a proper restoration by a skilled tech who knows how to voice. 90% percent are untrained and can’t play well. I’ve had one of these 9 ft 4 s restored and currently restoring a second. First one was built in 1910. The second from 1929
There do exist records of Rachmaninoff performing this as well.
I lovvvvvvvvvveeeeeee you Rachmaninoff
And behold....genius.
@ampicoab Well of course I agree, this is probably the most valuable source around. It just sounded a little bit swift for a piece that is written in Moderato and with this kind of character. But well, I think it's actually better this way because now the melody is hearable, instead of long, singular notes which could easily happen if you play it too slowly. So yeah... who knows maybe this is the way Rachmaninoff wanted it...
Great !
It is beautiful :D
Back then when Rousseau's falling bars are still not invented.
@pianist2012 If everyone played each composition the same way, life would be very boring. The performer is the interpreter and not a robot. There can be many different and excellent ways of performing the same composition. The same music means different things to different people. Variety is good.
R. playing, wonderful. tempo is talked about. Realize that this is A recording of how he felt 2 play it this time. I like it a tad slower. I bet he also played it slower. The thing 2 listen 4 is the evenness of tone, clarity, the line--those things do not waver, regardless of tempo. Forget the rt hnd 4 a moment & just listen 2 the bass. it propels this beautiful piece. I was fortunate enough to learn a bit of his playing frm a student of his.The left hand alone, can bring u tears, if you let it.
@ampicoab there actually was an audio recording of Rachmaninov playing this piece sometime last year.. but it was removed by the CZcams administrators..
@JC08HP The tempo marked on the roll was used. What else could I do? It sounds right to me. Since there are no audio recordings of Rachmaninov playing this composition, this roll is our best source. What do you think?
Does anybody know, in which way the dynamics of the keys are printed on the paper?
great!
@ampicoab Thank you very much for the info.
This a very, very rare 9' Mason & Hamlin AMPICO playing Rachmaninoff -- very, very rare piano (a concert grand)!
Is it possible to find high quality audio version of this performance?
This is what I call a true lyrical performance. An ampico player systems, certainly very advanced in their music reproduction. However, this Mason & Hamlin, I guess Model A has a rich, round, American sound. Rachmaninoff would have loved perform his music on a Bluthner, his favorite piano brand.
This instrument I would love to own!!!!!
How does this super cool rolling thing (LOL) shape and play the dynamics of the piece??
thnx for posting.
does anyone know?
the roll, does it contain information about the original volume and balance between the voices, or are these assumed and added later?
Oh yes, yes. Totally agree. I do not for a moment think that Beethoven played his Moonlight Sonata in such a cold, mechanical manner. What man would play it so for the woman he loved? I play it with passion and liberty of expression and find people are amazed at the difference.
There is another recording of him playing this on you tube.
@ampicoab Well of course I appreciate this "recording" very much. It's just that modern interpretations are a lot slower and some of them also actually more "moderato", while this could be regarded as andantino to allegretto already. It simply occured to me also that at the beginning of the roll there is a tempo mark. Does this mean that the instrument might allow different speeds of playback?
There should exists a real Grammophone recording by R. of this piece. I remember listening to it on youtube but now I cant find it. Anyone knows about this?
The punch card (...paper tape?) equivalent of a MIDI file...
But, how the heck is it encoding the dynamics here? Am I just imagining them? I figured the whole thing would play at one fixed "volume" but it definitely seems to be going louder and softer yet I can't see any difference in the holes in either case...
This performance is a "Reproducing roll on a Reproducing Piano". That means the dynamics are coded on the roll and the piano does change volume.
Well at least I'm not imagining it... but, any idea how it's doing that? If it's e.g. the width of the perforations themselves then the video isn't high enough resolution to reveal it.
mspenrice I know exactly how it is doing it. It is a complex topic, but simply stated, the vacuum source used to strike the keys is being precisely regulated by coding along each side of the roll. Watch at the beginning and you'll notice these holes. The number of holes exceeds the number of notes sounding.
It is these extra holes that control dynamics and pedals. There are two sets of dynamic controls, one for the bass notes and one for the treble. I can give you vectors to more info if you want it.
ampicoab Ah cool, thanks :) ... that's good enough for me, really. Makes a fair bit of sense really, it'd be a really exceptional pianist who was able to play different dynamics with each individual finger in a chord, rather than either per hand or at least per note in an arpeggio, so a two-zone approach is efficient and certainly good enough.
mspenrice Well as a pianist I can tell you that it doesn't take an exceptional pianist to play different dynamics with each individual finger in a chord. In almost every high level piece this is required. Take, for example, Chopin's etude op10. no. 3. It's required you do this to quite a high degree throughout the whole piece.
This is so cool...
I love this piece, how amazing is it to hear Rachmaninoff play it himself ? :)
wow...thank you so much for this info. I heard read he wrote Preludei C# Minor for a College. Maybe it's the same person since it proceeds this piece.
@jacobbpitt I can provide the file that was used in this You tube. It is an AIFF file of some 64 mb. Let me know how to send it.
I do not mean to compare of course, but this is a completely different take on this piece (with a intriguing cinematography) Elegie, Op. 3, No. 1 - Sergei Rachmaninoff
@pianist2012 While it is a beautiful composition, this roll shows evidence of the mechanism distorting the tempo. It is unnaturally sped up in sections that are inhuman in essence. It is as if the cylinder was not perfectly round.
A digital conversion of the same piano roll, played on a modern pianola system : czcams.com/video/RfYjmbgRnJM/video.html