I have to comment about Jim Heyworth's suggestion of "Hoax" in regard
to the Zenph recreation of Rachmaninoff's playing.  Jim, it's not a
hoax, and let me explain.  The piece I think you are referring to is
Liebeslied, Rachmaninoff's own arrangement of Kreisler's composition.
This was recorded on Ampico roll by Rachmaninoff June 4, 1922, and the
roll was issued in 1923.  He had previously recorded this work on
gramophone in 1921.

My connection to Zenph is through a mutual friend, and I was thrilled
to receive in 2009 copies of the original 78 recording of Liebeslied,
and the recreated version as done by Zenph.  By this time I had also
finalised a recording of the Ampico roll of the piece, done as part of
the recording project I have mentioned before.  I was therefore able to
compare the original 78 to the recreated version, and to compare these
to the Ampico roll, but not via a piano, instead via a recording.  In
other words, all recordings are being heard on loudspeakers, levelling
the playing field one might say.

I was astonished at how different Rachmaninoff's 78 recording (and
therefore the Zenph re-performance) is to his Ampico roll recording.
Furthermore, I felt the Ampico performance was superior in terms of
musicality.  But I was also astonished at how accurate the
re-performance done by Zenph is to the original 78.  Rachmaninoff was
known for his inconsistent playing, which is not a criticism from me.
I much prefer an artist who plays his pieces differently every time.

Zenph is a remarkable company in what it is attempting to do.  The
technology is based around hi-end electro-mechanical player pianos,
such as the Stahnke SE system and the Yamaha Disklavier Pro.  Converting
an audio recording to a MIDI file requires appropriate software and
human editing -- rather like producing a piano roll.  The results are
what matters, and I can assure readers the re-performances Zenph is
producing are incredibly good and very accurate.  They certainly have
my seal of approval.

Peter Phillips
Sydney
http://www.petersmidi.com/