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I've been recently working with a beautiful fortepiano from another developer. It is a period object, made just a couple years after Mozart's death by the same manufacturer who made Mozart's preferred piano (Stein).
As beautiful as it is, it is a particular instrument. It's old, and even if perfectly maintained, it sounds as an old insturment, with all its imperfections.
I think VSL's catalogue could fit better a modern replica, as happened with the majestic harpsichord. A perfect instrument, sounding as when the period instruments were new.
Paolo
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+1. There is one other option - Realsamples' Early Piano, which is a 1793 Stein. It was a state of the art sample library when it appeared a dozen or so years ago, and it still sounds very good, except that it is cumbersome to use (it's a Kontakt library, and I've never found an obviously easy way to load it), and perhaps most importantly, there is no change in timbre with the dampers off.
It's not the only enormous gap in the piano collection, though. It would be great to have a good 1830s Erard, or any of a large number of later wooden-framed or even early steel-framed instruments.
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There is one other option - Realsamples' Early Piano, which is a 1793 Stein.
I didn't want to say the name of the other manufacturer, but here it is 😊
https://soundcloud.com/ptram69/mozart-concerto-per-pianoforte-k488-adagio-fortepiano
Paolo
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It's not the only enormous gap in the piano collection, though. It would be great to have a good 1830s Erard, or any of a large number of later wooden-framed or even early steel-framed instruments.
Again, some excellent pianos in that style are in the Realsamples Beurmann collection. They have a Traugott Berndt from 1848, that should be still similar to pianos from the 1830s, and a more recent Erard from 1873. This latter should be very different from VSL's Blüthner 1895, looking like a straight-stringed instrument instead of cross-stringed.
Should VSL continue with restored originals, like with the Blüthner, or go for replicas? As much as fascinating the real things are, I think the Realsample collection has them covered. I would much prefer modern replicas, that can immediately be used in production.
Theatres do the same: keeping older instrument in tune is not easy, and maintaining them is working on a precious museum piece. They usually go for excellent replicas.
Paolo
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As a Fortepiano on its own might not sell very well, my own recommendation is for VSL to packjage a small suite of neglected histopric keyboards, as there are two others that also barely have any representation still after all these years: a Virginal, and a Clavichord. Existing libraries are either modeled and semi-fake, or simply inadequate (and ofttimes very old and low resolution).
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Now that VSL has learnt something about sampling keyboard instruments, isn't it time for the fortepiano? Possibly, a Stein as the one used by Mozart, Haydn and the young Beethoven?
The other instruments suggested by Mark wouldn't disturb, either. There is no competition, so they will be the forced choice for anyone wanting these instruments. And they will be great, unheard basis for creative presets to be used in the most sophisticate songs.
Maybe I've already told this: I'm hoping it will be a replica, and not an out-of-tune, rusty authentic one. Replica instruments are not copies. They are the real instrument, but new as when the greats were playing it.
Paolo
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I want a fortepiano! No – two of them!
My ideal would be to have one from the latest years of life of Mozart, and another from the latest years of Beethoven. This would cover the entire range of this golden era of the history of music.
Maybe they could be a replica of Mozart's own Walter, and the 1820s Brodmann hammerklavier fortepiano played by András Schiff.
Again: replicas, not the originals. As new as the pianos played by Mozart and Beethoven were at their time.
Paolo
