Steinway & Sons and Garritan have announced a new venture to create a series of Authorized Steinway Piano sample-based software instruments.
The Authorized Steinway Piano sample library is a new sample-based software instrument that accurately captures the sound of a Steinway & Sons concert grand piano. This new software instrument will allow the musician to play a virtual Steinway Model D concert piano with "unprecedented authenticity and musicality". The library will offer more than seven different listening perspectives (so, eight?), including a player perspective from the bench, a classical recording perspective, an under the lid perspective, and a 5.1 surround sound hall perspective.
At the heart of the Authorized Steinway Piano sample library will be the sound of the instrument. To realize the full, rich essence of a Steinway piano, extreme care was taken in the recording process. The Steinway concert grand piano that was recorded is one of Steinway's finest Model D pianos, newly voiced, regulated, and tuned by an expert technician. The perfect instrument was hand-picked by Steinway & Sons and delivered to the concert hall for recording. The site for the recording was also selected by Steinway, and the choice was clear.
Not many are aware that, according to Steinway and Garritan, one of the greatest concert halls in the world is located in downtown Troy, New York. The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall is, apparently, a National Treasure and is world-renowned for its acoustics, particularly for piano performances. Designed by George Brown Post, and opened in 1875, the 1,250 seat Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has hosted many of the world's finest pianists including Steinway artists: Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vladimir Horowitz, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Myra Hess, and Artur Rubenstein, among many others. The strong, rich and clear sound of this concert hall is "unparalleled".
Steinway & Sons provided one of their best concert technicians for the recording sessions. Eric Shandall, Administrator of Technical Training, attended all the sessions monitoring each note to ensure the best possible sound from the instrument. Eric Shandall has traveled extensively giving classes for technicians, and tuning for concerts by Steinway artists such as Evgeny Kissin and others. Classical recording engineer Brian C. Peters was in charge of recording. Peters brings over 18 years of classical recording experience – including over 400 records for the award-winning audiophile record label Dorian Records.
The Authorized Steinway Piano virtual instrument is expected to be released in the Spring of 2006. Pricing and formats have not yet been announced. We assume Windows / Mac OS X, VST and AU at least.
