In the past, I've purchased a number of Biograph (www.biograph.com)
music CDs of their player piano roll recordings. The ads tout
"... from rare piano rolls". Hmm!, I thought ...
Knowing that these are mostly 88n rolls, I still was disappointed
in their presentation. They seem to be played at a constant volume
(loud), no expression whatsoever, and roll acceleration is very
noticeable. Many of the pieces come across as monotonously disagree-
able sounding. Did the producers of these recordings purposely record
these rolls perhaps because that is the way Joe Six-pack would hear
them on his average player piano? At any rate, I will not play these
CDs again for their pure enjoyment.
The Rachmaninoff "Window In Time" CD is in a class by itself -- one of
my most cherished recordings. I hope to hear a Boesendorfer in person
sometime at the 1999 AMICA Convention.
Does anyone else have opinions/reviews of the Biograph piano roll
recordings?
Karl Ellison
Salem, Massachusetts
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