It's been said that when it comes to mixing with compression involved, piano can be one of the most difficult instruments.
Not a pianist myself nor much of a piano fan, I decided it was high time I got my hands dirty with some mixing exercises and experiments in which piano is featured. One of these experiments involved George Massenburg's new and extraordinary Dynamic Range Controller 2 plugin, which I used to squash a solo piano concert piece to within an inch of its life - with about 50dB of compression! It's a special effect of course - one I find interesting.
Having recently been thinking a lot about 1940s film soundtrack mixing and the virtuous discipline it can still bring to composing, orchestration and mixing for media today, I added voice over my squashed piano. The result is attached below (mp3 file). I'd welcome constructive criticisms.
Credits:
Poem: "Going, Going" by Philip Larkin, 1972, read by Ralph Fiennes @ 5x15, Royal Institution, 2018.
Piano: "Danseuses de Delphes" by Debussy (Préludes 1-1), performed by A. B. Michelangeli, 1978.
"The US 1st Amendment does NOT allow you to yell "FIRE!" falsely in a packed cinema, nor in an online forum." ~ Dobi (60kg Cane da pastore Maremmano-Abruzzese)