Chopin - Nocturne Op. 62 No. 1 in B major

This is the first video featuring my new NY Steinway D. I must be allergic to bright pianos, because I more or less picked the mellowest one within a minute or two of testing all the pianos. The salesperson and technician also all predicted I would select this one. The tone sounds just right to my ears.
For me, this nocturne carries a special spiritual or meditative power. I found it very difficult to interpret, because it requires some very refined playing. Chopin always requires elegance, but this piece I found it especially true. The piano writing is quite sophisticated, and it goads you into stopping to observe all the beautiful details, which can disrupt the overall momentum.
I've actually been recording and re-recording this piece for over a month straight now, first on the Steinway B and now on the Steinway D. It is interesting to compare the differences from a month ago, not only in terms of the interpretation but also the piano itself. Maybe I'll upload it too if there is any interest. But in any case, I'm satisfied with the current recording and am finally ready to move on to the next piece. Maybe next time I'll actually aim the camera properly...

[@rach3master]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eJ-yoZmJj5mlY8U Bonus video. Here's the same piece I recorded a month ago on a loaned NY Steinway B and very nearly uploaded, before deciding the interpretation was still a work-in-progress at the last minute. You can hear how the B is even mellower. I liked the tone, but was hoping I could find a D that was just a little bit clearer, and I got exactly my wish with the current piano. The audio comparison is very appropriate, since my microphone setup and mixing settings are identical between the two videos.

[@Knelltroia]

The piano sounds so *crisp* . It's amazing.

[@DenZhdanovPianist]

Very sensible interpretation, and a fantastic audio quality! Bravo!💙🔥

[@yomly]

Yes have always loved this nocturne. It's so refined and exploratory which is a contrast from the sentimental and visceral nocturnes that precede. I remember enjoying listening to this at night before sleeping at the camp when I was climbing Kilimanjaro. Happy memories. Loving the recording setup!

[@AlansPiano]

Such a clean, powerful and sparkling Steinway sound!

[@jonathan130]

mannn chopin played around with some spicy harmonies in this piece

[@PaulieDC]

Jaw dropping beautiful. The way you played it, and the sound of the D itself. Wow. The small part we can see in the shots looks absolutely gorgeous in fit and finish. Lastly, the way you recorded it - no easy task - is fantastic. I'm guessing the live large room you have it in has a part in that but so does the way you mic'd it. SO happy for you, you deserve an instrument like this.

[@Mr_Tokon]

Beautiful playing! I also prefer mellow over bright pianos and selecting nocturnes that aren't overplayed yet

[@mythun6735]

Thank you as always for the upload. You are one of my favorite pianists and I’m consistently impressed by your performances and tastes in music. It’ll be a very long time if ever, but I hope to be as skilled as you one day!

[@Fortissimo-zt1dd]

Congratulations! It looks and sounds beautiful. I hear and love all of your playings as always.

[@nahiku8521]

Always love your content, the piano is beautiful, the sound is amazing!!

[@4ss4ss1n5]

My favourite nocturne. One last farewell masterpiece from Chopin.

[@Classical416]

Congrats. You deserve the Model D. I am sure it's more satisfying than the hybrid pianos

[@wheretheislandsgo]

I was just thinking about relearning this piece, your playing is the inspiration I needed.

[@katherine90815]

Lovely, you brought such a sweet gentleness to the piece😊

[@h3llri3g3l-4]

Beautiful, and great interpretation as always. You deserve way more subscribers.

[@MRLegendPiano]

Beautifully played, the piano sounds incredible as well!

[@pianothingsmusic]

Wonderful 🥹 This was pure music emotion and poetry ❤️

[@Bengraziano]

Wonderful. I can tell you took inspiration on dynamics and rubato from the Rubinstein recording

[@PinaCoco]

A level to strive for.

[@brogancowart3473]

Absolutely amazing your I'm jealous of how immaculate your technique and dynamics are. Also if you were up to it could you please do Chopin nocturne op 72 no 1 I'm learning it but there are no good videos so it'd be a dream of you would do it

[@mji71]

Immaculate performance! Bravo! Honestly many times better than some of the virtuoso pianists. Much talent on display here...

[@israelkastoriano]

I like your playing.I think it also means I like you. :)

[@FingersKungfu]

Congrats on the new piano. I must be nice to be able to afford a brand new 7-foot Steinway.

[@LEGhellnah]

*9 foot

[@VinLudens]

An absolutely mesmerizing performance with incredible interpretation as always! It would definitely be super interesting to see how you made the piece sound over these past weeks and especially on the different pianos! Also, if I may ask, how does your Steinway feel compared to your digital piano? (which was a hybrid from what I understand?) How different is the expressiveness it allows? How does the touch compare? I have sadly never had the pleasure to really work on an acoustic, but I am becoming more and more aware of the limitations of a digital as I keep growing. Seeing how well you mastered your previous instrument, I was hoping you could shed some extra light on the matter!

[@rach3master]

The hybrid piano I have uses a modified version of Kawai's midrange grand piano series from what I understand so in terms of action alone it would be like comparing a midrange grand piano to concert grand piano. The action is even lighter than the Steinway's but it's less smooth and there's a bigger disconnect between what the keys are doing with the sound that's actually produced. Mostly near the upper end of loudness because the actual volume maxes out far sooner than you'd expect. So it's actually a bit painful to play loud pieces for too long on the digital because psychologically I'm trying to force out more volume than is actually possible. In terms of actual sound produced though there is a much larger difference in a few ways. The most noticeable is that digital piano samples are recorded separately one note at a time. There is no blending of overtones that occurs in real time as with an acoustic piano. This is why my digital piano recordings sound so "clear". In a real piano you must not only contend with controlling individual notes but how they sound blended together. Pedalling becomes much more difficult because you can muddy the notes together far easier by accident. Overall, I'd say it's simultaneously easier and harder to play on a digital than on a Steinway. With digital pianos you are limited to 128 levels of MIDI volume, and most of the time the individual notes are only recorded with a couple of velocity layers, and rest are interpolated to fill all 128 events. So the upshot is that you are working with a much more constrained tonal palette. But on the flip side, because of this, I find I can control each individual note in a performance exactly to how I want it to sound within the limitations of what is possible. In the Steinway, I just have to accept that in a performance there will always be some unexpected note expressions that occur since the tonal palette becomes practically infinite and the slightest deviation in playing can result in a change of tonal quality, not just for individual notes but also how tones blend together as mentioned above. On a side note, in the grand piano it becomes possible to ghost notes, where you can depress the key slowly with the intention of playing softly, except that no sound comes out because the mechanical hammer hasn't accelerated to the string fast enough. So on a grand piano in order to produce very soft sounds you must depress the note with low velocity but high initial acceleration. Easier said than done. On my digital hybrid piano this is never an issue. If I depress the note at any speed it will sound no matter what.

[@VinLudens]

@@rach3master Very interesting, thank you so much for the very elaborate and thoughtful reply! You do bring up some points which could explain the "limitations" that I am starting to feel, such as the limited loudness and the interpolated note samples. With regards of the note blending and ghost notes you mentioned, I have the impression that my piano's sound engine actually performs some physical modelling of the sound, but indeed it feels more forgiving than the upright I play in my lessons when it comes to sloppy pedaling and mushy sound (and ghost notes on my piano are a bit tricky to avoid as well when playing quietly). At the end of the day, the digital is still an imitation (even if rather convincing in my case when I compare to your experience) and you've probably pointed out the exact limiting factors I am starting to notice! Thank you so much once again!

[@rach3master]

@@VinLudensYou are probably correct regarding modeling for the actual digital piano. I was thinking more specifically about the VST I use, which uses sampling rather modeling.

[@flappybird315]

@@rach3master Did you consider pianoteq for the same reason?

[@WorstSanta]

Excellent job man! I’m not an expert but for me Garritan in your previous videos sounds better, but it’s probably about microphones and room.

[@rach3master]

Thanks man! That just means all my efforts to make my digital piano sound good paid off!

[@avantpianist6636]

Congrats on your new dream piano and fantastic playing as always! You are one of my favorite KZbin channel and I really love your sensitive playing. Was the D tuned before the recording? I found the B to be in tune, but I seemed to notice some unison to be off on the D. Maybe I was wrong but just curious.

[@rach3master]

Thanks! It was not tuned because it’s probably better to let the instrument settle a bit in the new environment before tuning.

[@avantpianist6636]

@@rach3master Your recording is so nice! As you mentioned in another thread I can hear the detail, the ambiance and the bass at the same time! Would it be possible to share how you mix those signals from different mics? How much volume for each mic? Are those the same?

[@rach3master]

@@avantpianist6636 Close mics are a bit more, followed by ambient mics, and then bass mic. But the placement of the mics themselves matter more than the specific proportions.

[@avantpianist6636]

Thanks! I’m wondering if you would like to take a photo of your mic placement and post that to KZbin Community? That would help us know exactly how you place the mics, especially the close mics are quite tricky for classical piano.

[@rach3master]

@@avantpianist6636 I probably won't, as I don't want to give the impression that you need this much gear to get a good recording. My close mics are close to the bend of the piano and pointing diagonally downwards towards the dampers for each register roughly, although I'm still experimenting with positioning.

[@JitinMisra]

i'm just wondering do you ever play piano gigs ? Is piano\music your career ?

[@rach3master]

I had dreams of being a concert pianist in my youth, but quickly realized I wasn’t nearly good enough to compete with and stand apart from unbelievable supervirtuoso rising talent across the country. So I abandoned music completely as a possible profession and now it’s just a fun hobby for me.

[@LEGhellnah]

Bro just casually got a 200K piano