Sony is set to release a Sergei Rachmaninov re-performance recording. This is the third re-performance album made possible because of the partnership Zenph Studios and Sony.
Zenph Studios’s technology examines historic performances, reproduces them, and turns them into digital files that are then sent to a player piano. In the case of the upcoming Rachmaninov release, a 1909 Steinway D Grand Piano. The Steinway D Grand is a piano Rachmaninov favored.
The re-performance is identical to the original Rachmaninov performances, except for greatly improved sound. If you have ever imagined what a Rachmaninov played recital might sound like with the benefit of state-of-the-art digital sound, this recording could be the answer.
Listen for yourself.
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Gathering Note 
Perhaps it was a mistake to post the the Zenph recordings along side the original recordings. Being very familiar with the originals, after listening to the Zenph editions, I was struck by the absence of what I will call the “spark” of Rachmaninoff’s playing. The closest I can describe this “spark” would be something along the line of rhythmic urgency or dynamic that causes a visceral response in the listener. It is a kind of drive or life that makes the original recordings so remarkable and so special when compared to the bland documentary readings that we are so used to when listening to the performances of practically all of the pianists’ playing today.
Listening to the two performances of the two pieces side by side you will note that the acoustic quality and clarity is greatly improved in the Zenph reproductions. The dynamics and tempo and pedal effect are identical to the original, and with the boost in sound quality, you would think that the reproduction recordings would be better. However, consider the feeling you get from listening to the reproduction and then listen to the original recording. If you are at all sensitive to the musical meaning of these pieces you will see that original recording breathes a life and soul into these pieces that the reproduction doesn’t even touch.