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Sunday, June 4, 2023
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
This music has appeared in many, many films from "Somewhere In Time" to "Groundhog Day" to "The Walking Dead". It should be familiar to most of you. This is Arthur Rubinstein on the piano.
In the 1920's, player pianos reached their apex, still not equalled today. Player mechanisms were installed in high end pianos, like Steinways. The paper rolls recorded not only which keys were played, but also hard hard they were struck, and the duration of the note. Pedal controls were also recorded.
A great many classical stars, included Rachmaninoff, recorded whole symphonies on these rolls. The pianos and paper rolls still exist, but they are high end collectors' items. None of the modern player pianos, not their digital control systems, equals the quality of those old pianos and recordings.
The Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar CA is a fantastic collection created by the owners of Merle Norman cosmetics. In the main museum they have a reproducer piano with a roll of Gershwin paying Rhapsody in Blue...
3 comments:
An amazing talent, it doesn't seem physically possible to play that quickly or so perfectly.
In the 1920's, player pianos reached their apex, still not equalled today. Player mechanisms were installed in high end pianos, like Steinways. The paper rolls recorded not only which keys were played, but also hard hard they were struck, and the duration of the note. Pedal controls were also recorded.
A great many classical stars, included Rachmaninoff, recorded whole symphonies on these rolls. The pianos and paper rolls still exist, but they are high end collectors' items. None of the modern player pianos, not their digital control systems, equals the quality of those old pianos and recordings.
The Nethercutt Museum in Sylmar CA is a fantastic collection created by the owners of Merle Norman cosmetics. In the main museum they have a reproducer piano with a roll of Gershwin paying Rhapsody in Blue...
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