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The New VSL Bosendorfer

Bill I cannot thank you enough for this effective walkthrough.

Vienna Symphony Orchestra should hire you to do this with all their pianos or at the very least provide you with NFRs of their pianos so you can do the set.

Muchas gracias!

-Andrew
 
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Wow, that obviously took a lot of work and time, and is very carefully and thoughtfully put together. I have no question that I will be buying the full edition; just hoping I am re-employed by end of June so I can risk the expenditure.

Your short excerpts at different mic blends reinforce my expectations based on what I have heard from the actual piano in person and at concerts (and also reaffirms that I don't much care for it on romantic era material, until getting to the impressionists, but like it on earlier periods also).
 
Bill I cannot thank you enough for this effective walkthrough.

Vienna Symphony Orchestra should hire you to do this with all their pianos or at the very least provide you with NFRs of their pianos so you can do the set.

Muchas gracias!

-Andrew
Thanks Andrew, I appreciate it.
 
Wow, that obviously took a lot of work and time, and is very carefully and thoughtfully put together. I have no question that I will be buying the full edition; just hoping I am re-employed by end of June so I can risk the expenditure.

Your short excerpts at different mic blends reinforce my expectations based on what I have heard from the actual piano in person and at concerts (and also reaffirms that I don't much care for it on romantic era material, until getting to the impressionists, but like it on earlier periods also).
Thanks Mark, the many different mic positions set it apart from other pianos. The surround capability definitely is ready to be unleashed on those that want to include that in their studios. Bill
 
Solely because no one has ever sample my preferred Mason & Hamlin, I'd go with a Steinway D-275 for romantic period music. Late Beethoven (at the earliest) up to the pre-Impressionist period.
 
I like the C. Bechstein for just about every genre as well, and it is a big reason why I have no Yamaha pianos on any of my tracks at the moment, as that is one of the roles where I have found it excels (cutting through a dense mix, whether rock or full orchestra). My jazz music is split down the middle between C. Bechstein and VSL Steinway. The Bleuthner shows up on a LOT of my pop and rock music. My impressionistic stuff was Pianoteq Steinway but that's years ago; Bosendorfer might get used on final takes. Or maybe the Steinway. I just don't know yet, as I haven't tried recently.
 
Yes, that's the one. Pianoteq has a digital model of this digital grand as well, and it is the closest of any of their modeled pianos, in my opinion.

I do like VSL Synchron Pianos better overall, but Bechstein as a piano brand has certain characteristics that can really cut through, due to the balance across the frequency spectrum and its high level of articulateness. I would be thrilled if VSL did a small-stage addition of the Bechstein eventually.

Unfortunately my furlough turned into permanent layoff just as I was wrapping up several dozen productions that I had planned to finally release publicly.

I really haven't spend much time on music during this high-pressure job hunt of the past few weeks -- just sporadic random work here and there on a large number of pieces vs. focused work on near-complete album-ready tracks -- and I'm now doing pro bono work in audio so that's taking up most of my time (I might as well help others if I can't help myself, and it helps credentials anyway).

Both the Bechstein and the Steinway are used on two separate jazz numbers that I DID publish publicly in April a part of a two volume compilation that is on Soundcloud, but I'm not sure what the forum policy is about providing a link to something like that within a normal forum topic.
 
Yes, that's the one. Pianoteq has a digital model of this digital grand as well, and it is the closest of any of their modeled pianos, in my opinion.

I do like VSL Synchron Pianos better overall, but Bechstein as a piano brand has certain characteristics that can really cut through, due to the balance across the frequency spectrum and its high level of articulateness. I would be thrilled if VSL did a small-stage addition of the Bechstein eventually.

Unfortunately my furlough turned into permanent layoff just as I was wrapping up several dozen productions that I had planned to finally release publicly.

I really haven't spend much time on music during this high-pressure job hunt of the past few weeks -- just sporadic random work here and there on a large number of pieces vs. focused work on near-complete album-ready tracks -- and I'm now doing pro bono work in audio so that's taking up most of my time (I might as well help others if I can't help myself, and it helps credentials anyway).

Both the Bechstein and the Steinway are used on two separate jazz numbers that I DID publish publicly in April a part of a two volume compilation that is on Soundcloud, but I'm not sure what the forum policy is about providing a link to something like that within a normal forum topic.

Thanks Mark! Hope you find work soon.

The policy here does not forbid sharing SoundCloud links. :) I'm particularly interested in what showcases the Bechstein.

Cheers,

Andre
 
Thanks, but I'll let someone else chime in first, as this thread is about the Bosendorfer. Perhaps it's more appropriate if I just privately send you the two links vs. posting them in this topic.
 
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Interesting comment on the Nocturnes, which I consider Chopin's trickiest pieces to pull off well. My grandmother was famous for her Chopin and it spoiled me (she even knew Rubinstein, and had an incredible teacher at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore). They definitely require a different approach than the rest of Chopin's catalogue. It is very rare that I like what I hear from ANYONE on those!

Schubert Impromptus, definitely another special category requiring a different approach. I was of course intentionally painting with a broad stroke in my comments above. I'm overly verbose as it is!

Thinking about these pieces again in fact, makes more more convinced than ever that the Bosendorfer is going to be ideal for most, and maybe all, of the pieces in my suite of 20 musical impressions/portraits of Impressionist Painters (I even made a friend from another composer/clarinetist who had come upon the same musical concept independent of my own -- his are all published, performed, and aired on radio).
 
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