Shinokamen Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Not having listened to much Rach before, I went trying to find some samples. Among others, I found these midi files. How close are they to his original recordings? Also, which of the albums available on itunes would be best to purchase? I was looking for Rachmaninoff playing his own stuff, but I couldn't find any of them on itunes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfa Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 They are midi's, and as such pretty darn awful. Try youtube instead... I don't know what albums to buy as I have no idea what is available on itunes, and I mostly use spotify. I only have one recording by Zoltan Kocsis, however I daresay it is very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tordmor Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 They are midi's, and as such pretty darn awful. Wrong. Midi is a format which accurately describes what notes are played exactly when and thus an accurate description of music. However it is not an audio format. It does not contain the audio quality of the instruments. Thus the quality of the audio produced from midi files depends on the quality of the instrument samples used. On PCs those samples are normally bad but there are or at least have been pretty good samples too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alfa Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 And that is exactly why it sounds awful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Not having listened to much Rach before, I went trying to find some samples. Among others, I found these midi files. How close are they to his original recordings? Also, which of the albums available on itunes would be best to purchase? I was looking for Rachmaninoff playing his own stuff, but I couldn't find any of them on itunes. Rach playing Rach has a lot of noise in it (at least the version I heard of the concertos), because it's a very old recording. (not sure his is the "best" verion necessarily, anyway) Look around youtube, see which contemporary pianist's version you like better. (I only have on CD, and I'm happy with it--I linked to my favorite part) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinokamen Posted September 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 I'm sorry. What I meant was this: Many people say that his recordings are too fast, and many say that other versions are too slow. I don't really understand what is meant by that because I have not listened to very many renditions of these songs. Are these midis more like Rachmaninoff''s own recordings ("too fast") or like those which are "too slow?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake_Ellison Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 Your midis are faster than what I have. (Ashkenazy/Bernard Haitink, '84-'86) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexandros Posted September 28, 2009 Report Share Posted September 28, 2009 I've bought several remastered recordings of Rachmaninoff playing himself. While there is a certain novelty in hearing him play his own compositions, recordings as old as these can only be remastered so much, and most of them retain much of the original white noise. Thankfully, incredible music never dies and there are tons of modern day, crystal clear, beautiful versions of his music. Look for Krystian Zimerman's recording of Rach's 1st and 2nd Piano Concerto, which was performed with the Boston Symphony. There is a feeling that one gets when listening to the Piano Conerto no. 1 that is reserved for only the most amazing things in life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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