Topic: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Hi everyone,

We have now created a webpage where you can listen to Pianoteq rendering MIDI files used in the Minnesota Piano-e-Competition. The files were originally recorded by talented pianists on Yamaha Disklavier Pro grand pianos and played back on an identical instrument in front of judges and audiences.

Some of the MIDI files are using the high resolution MIDI XP format (almost 10 times as detailed as the standard MIDI format), supported in the latest version 3.6.6 of Pianoteq.

http://www.pianoteq.com/listen_ecompetition

Enjoy! Feel free to share us your opinions in this thread.

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Rhapsody in Blue it's much better now ...

I don't know why....  Curious...  Last time I heard Rhapsody in Blue on pianoteq was from pianoteq site, a demo, but was very metalic noise for all FFF moments.

Wasn't K1 piano, in the early Rhapsody in Blue available in pianoteq site, or anything else as the playing ???

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Why the Walter pianoforte wasn't the choice, to render Mozart ?

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Beto-Music wrote:

I don't know why....  Curious...  Last time I heard Rhapsody in Blue on pianoteq was from pianoteq site, a demo, but was very metalic noise for all FFF moments.

Is this the older one you are referring to:
http://www.pianoteq.com/audio/Gershwin-...ice-K1.mp3
(it's still in the main list of demos: Listen | Listen By Instrument....)

FWIW, I can't hear anything untoward in Joe's recording - no unusually metallic sounding forte passages yet.....

Greg.

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

I'm not criticizing Joe ! 
His performance it's really very good. 
I supose I previously forgot to point that I was mainly refering about piano sound and not performance skills.

I'm only pointing that something in this new mp3, perhaps mic postition, bass sensibity curves, hammer hardness, playing style etc... is different, and resulted in a less spring sound.

The old Rhapsody in Blue have moments that I call a "metal spring gladiators", if you listen in a very sound critical way, in terms of sound naturality, in some moments. Listen the last secondsof both.

About the performance itself, the new one, despite sounding more natural, closer to a real piano, it's a bit weird, sounding frenetic or paranoic at times.
Well, who am I to judge performances or interpetations... ?

Now take the Bumble Bee, sound very different than any version I heard beore.  It's like a "rebel drunk-bee".  I'm not saying that sounds bad, cause makes sence to that purpose, like fit in a weirder bee-flight, let's say.
Quite interesting performance. The dynamics variations are surprising, giving "feelings changes", I can't describe in words.

May I ask if the e-competion open doors not just to usual quality performances, but to outrageous/defiant/creative new interpretations too?

skip wrote:
Beto-Music wrote:

I don't know why....  Curious...  Last time I heard Rhapsody in Blue on pianoteq was from pianoteq site, a demo, but was very metalic noise for all FFF moments.

Is this the older one you are referring to:
http://www.pianoteq.com/audio/Gershwin-...ice-K1.mp3
(it's still in the main list of demos: Listen | Listen By Instrument....)

FWIW, I can't hear anything untoward in Joe's recording - no unusually metallic sounding forte passages yet.....

Greg.

Last edited by Beto-Music (22-01-2011 03:26)

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

I think we have a small language barrier here.

I knew you were not criticising Joe's performance, and I was merely commenting on the sound of the piano in Joe's recording - not his performance, which of course is excellent. ;^)

Again - I do not hear any unusually metallic sounds in Joe's recording. I am merely giving another opinion to your own and I am not saying my opinion is worth any more than your opinion.

Greg.
p.s I wasn't even 100% sure you were referring to that particular recording, but it seems you were - at least we are both referring to the same recording.

Last edited by skip (22-01-2011 04:30)

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Hello All,

It might be appropriate for me to chime in here:

Firstly, I take no offense whether some of my performances may or may not have a hint of metallic sound to them.  I am simply trying to put forth the best of my efforts to give you performances worthy of the Modartt/Pianoteq name.  (Incidentally, since the introduction of Pianote 3, I have COMPLETELY removed all vestiges of EWQL, Synthogy, [EDIT: Bluethner Digital Model One -- BDMO] and all other sampled piano libraries from my computer.  They are irrelevant to my personal music making!)

Although I am all for the use of Yamaha e-Competition midis to access worldclass performances with Pianoteq, one must be aware that those performances were done on Disklaviers (analog pianos equipped with fiber optic tracking mechanisms to capture the performances -- without detracting from the actions of those pianos). 

A word of caution should be suggested here:  It is next to impossible to "graft" the midi performance of one instrument ... onto the "sound" of Pianoteq or other plug-in sound source -- and expect to get a pristine sounding performance, without any modifications to Pianoteq's parameters.  Stated another way, one particular Disklavier might have a heavy touch (or a particularly light touch);  the performer will make adjustments in playing technique to compensate for these characteristics of any given piano.  The result may sound "metallic" or even "dull" on Pianoteq, if the midi performance's overall velocity range is regularly over, say 110, or regularly under, say, 60.


My own performances are performed with Pianoteq engaged in real time.  Regarding whether some of you hear a metallic sound of my performance of Rhapsody in Blue -- while other people don't hear anything particularly metallic sounding -- may be the result of playback means.

I will tell you that when I recorded Rhapsody for the K1, it was before I had much experience working with it [EDIT: the K1].

Food for thought,

Cheers,

Joe

Last edited by jcfelice88keys (22-01-2011 07:44)

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Hi Joe,

You are right that performances recorded on one piano may not be transcribed easily to another. This is the case not only with midi files but also piano roll transcriptions. As you certainly know, Gershwin did himself record a few piano rolls.

In this case, we chose a few instruments and factory presets without altering any parameters. It would certainly pay off to adjust them to achieve more similar properties as on the original instruments. That is of course one of the advantages with Pianoteq, that it is actually possible to do that in great detail although it would take a certain time here to work with hundreds of files...

In any case, nothing can replace having the pianist playing directly the instrument that will be recorded, as demonstrated by your own beautiful demos!

Best regards,
Niclas

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

If instead of just get the velocity of key, the sensor could get the velocity of the hammer and consider the weight of hammer, I presume this problem would be almost solved.

The target is:  What is the impact on strings? How powerfull?
Replicate that and the interpretation would be credible.

In some cases, if interpretaion with starts and stops deppends of ressonance, sound duration etc, there would still be small problems...  but not for pianoteq, if this characteristcs, of a piano model's behavior, could be sent and adjusted to pianoteq.

Am I right, or I forgot something?

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

According the website of E-competition, the recordings are precisely recreated:

http://www.piano-e-competition.com/ecom...tworks.asp

I supose they make a check-up, fine adjustments, tests, to ensure accuracy.

If it was not accurate, I supose many ones would had already complained, arguing the jury wasn't fair, cause their performance was not played right in the other piano.

Last edited by Beto-Music (23-01-2011 01:33)

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Beto-Music wrote:

Why the Walter pianoforte wasn't the choice, to render Mozart ?

Good suggestion Beto-Music, we have now recorded all Mozart with the Walter.

As many people are used to hear Mozart sonatas at 440Hz, we have changed the Walter default pitch 415 to 440, but we have kept the "well tempered" temperament, which contains some "spicy" major thirds

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Thanks so much for rendering these, and for using the temperaments that the pieces were probably composed in.

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Hi Everybody.
I have just loaded the 3.6.7 pianoteq release.
Working with XP Disklavier files, and having a look on the midi decoding window in Disklavier mode, for my own point of view, it seems that the KeyAfterTouch in XP mode seems not correctly printed in the midi window. and is always valuated to 28.
But with a XP Reperformance EDitor for Disklavier file, same file, the value is correctly decoded.
Am I wrong ?
Cordially, PA.

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

Hi Everyone,
I am a new but frustrated pianoteq user who cannot get the thing to work because I don't seem to be able to get the ASIO working properly. I am a musician but not a computer geek so can someone tell me in very, very simple terms how to get it up and running.
I am using a laptop linked to a Kurzweil PC3X. I managed to get it working yesterday but no joy today.
Many thanks.
Ian

Re: Pianoteq, XP MIDI and Piano-e-Competition

PeterAnthony wrote:

Hi Everybody.
I have just loaded the 3.6.7 pianoteq release.
Working with XP Disklavier files, and having a look on the midi decoding window in Disklavier mode, for my own point of view, it seems that the KeyAfterTouch in XP mode seems not correctly printed in the midi window. and is always valuated to 28.
But with a XP Reperformance EDitor for Disklavier file, same file, the value is correctly decoded.
Am I wrong ?
Cordially, PA.

Could you please contact the support team regarding this issue? Let us know exactly what midi file you have tested.

ianonpiano wrote:

Hi Everyone,
I am a new but frustrated pianoteq user who cannot get the thing to work because I don't seem to be able to get the ASIO working properly. I am a musician but not a computer geek so can someone tell me in very, very simple terms how to get it up and running.
I am using a laptop linked to a Kurzweil PC3X. I managed to get it working yesterday but no joy today.
Many thanks.
Ian

Please contact the support team. We will then try to assist you the best we can.