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Today I was driving around town on a beautiful, sunny, 78 degree day. I popped a CD into the player...Ivo Pogorelech's Chopin Preludes (Deutchgramaphon) and I was blown away by the tone of the piano. It was a tone that one could never have in their own living room, but a wonderful concert tone with more dynamic range and tone-color than I've heard in a long time, maybe never. I've had this recording for a number of years, but today I was just struck by the amazing sound of this piano (unfortunately no credit for the manuf., but I'm almost sure it was a Hamburg STeinway).

Obviously Pogorelich performance was superb (not everyone's 'cup of tea', but interesting for sure), but the beauty of tone, dynamic range and sheer power of the instrument just struck me.

Is anyone else familiar with this recording, or care to submit a favorite recording for the sheer beauty of the tone of the instrument, not necessarily your favorite performance.?

Mat D.

The Rachmaninoff recordings "A Window in Time" were prepared from piano rolls, and re-engineered to play on a big Boesendorfer. The sound is nothing short of sensational! There is much debate about the "authenticity" of the Rachmaninoff we are hearing (doesn't concern me in the least), but it is hard not to be awed by the sound itself.

Alexander Paley on a Model 1 Bluthner, playing Chopin Scherzos! (thank you, Alex Hernandez!)

To me, Steinways sound very crisp, but perhaps too crisp sometimes on recordings...

I really enjoy the warm, big beauty of a Bösendorfer on a recording. I keep thinking of how incredibly lush the Bösey is on Tori Amos recordings...

..Floats away..

Which pianos do famous pianists use and record on?

V735,the Earl Wild recording of the Chopin Etudes features the Baldwin SD-10 concert grand and is very nice.

I'll second that! I have that recording, and it's incredible.

-- Chris

Just as a matter of curiosity, how do you find out what pianos are used for these recordings??

Ansonflex

You should check out the Bosendorfer Imperial played in the recordings of the Abegg Trio. That is one sweet sounding piano.

Ansonflex,sometimes they are listed on the liner notes,and you can sometimes make an educated guess based on the affiliation the artist has with a manufacturer.Most of the time it's a Steinway.

Two "pop" recordings stand out in my mind:

Barbra Steisand's version of "Send In The Clowns" has *the* best piano tone I've ever heard even though it is in the background for most of the song, you can really hear it at the very end of the song.

Second is Enya's "Watermark". In this recording the piano is predominant

Derick

Off topic aside to Derick:
Derick,
Did you see my post r/ Antietam? I thought of you while walking the battlefield. The bees were on me and I thought "darn, I forgot my Bounce dryer sheet!"

Yes, I just saw it - that's a good one for The Coffee Room since everyone, at least in that forum, seems such an integral part of our lives.

Did you see my new avatar?

Derick

Yes, I think it's great! I wish I were that talented on the computer. I'm stuck with the choices from Frank cuz I'm computer illiterate. Talking on a forum is a leap for me.
I was gonna say "good to talk to you" but? Good to write to you makes more sense. Hope your summer is fun....

The Bosendorfer Garrick Ohlsson plays in his recording of the Busoni Concerto with the Cleveland Orchestra sounds pretty amazing.

On MP3.com there's a recording of "My Favorite Things" by Ruth Ann Galatas. Wonderful arrangement, and the piano has the most...unique tone I have ever heard. I don't know how to put it in words. Cold, chilling, like a golf club crashing into huge bells made of ice. (Ok, I botched that one.) Anyway, it's really beautiful. Any idea what make it could be?

Are different brands of pianos used for different types of music? Like Yamahas might be used for Jazz, and Steinways for classical.

The piano Svjatoslav Richter played in his CBS recording of Beethoven's 2nd piano sonata (live at Carnegie Hall) is quite good. The piano Wilhelm Kempff used for his recordings of selected Schumann piano works is sublime. It sounds about as good as a piano can get. Kempff's recordings of Davidsbündlertänze and Waldszenen are stunning. I don't recall either piano being credited. They sound like big Bechsteins to me.

I also like the pianos used by Idel Biret in her recordings of Chopin and by Jenö Jando in his recordings of Brahms. They have a rich full-bodied tone, huge dynamic range and tremendous power. Biret recorded mostly in Germany and Jandro in Hungary. Neither piano is credited as I recall. I suspect both were Steinways (Hamburg most likely).

I really like the piano sound of Perahia's recordings of the Bach English suites, and the keyboard concerti as well.

Pollini's recording of the Chopin etudes, and Polonaises also sound very good.

Hello Mat D,

Pogorelich's Chopin Preludes were done at the Hamburg Harburg studio in europe. That studio has a Steinway D, which I think was also used on Ivo's Scarlatti Sonata renditions. There is some reference in the liner notes of one of those two DG recordings, I believe. Irregardless of the name on the fallboard, that is one special piano, IMO.

Cheers,
Chris

PS - those recordings take on an even better dimension when pushed through Etymotic headphones / earbuds and an auxiliary headphone amp!

Thanks for that Chris--there is a reference to the piano tech, but not the piano in the liner notes; I figured it was a Hamburg S&S.

This particular piano seems to have a massive dynamic range and a beautiful tone throughout--it gets snarly when called on to do so and crystal clear and bellike where needed, very alive and wonderful. Part of the beauty of Ivo's performance is his use of the powerful bass on this piano. He is not shy about smacking those low bass strings (only where appropriate though)and then he'll bring it back to an angelic, silky smooth tone; great stuff.

Mat D.