We came across an interesting story while poking around the
Bösendorfer display. An Australian music collector named Peter Phillips purchased an
Ampico A piano -- a collectable piece. For those not familiar with it (as we
weren’t), this device plays back Ampico "roll recordings" that were made on
pianos back in the 1920s. Phillips then began acquiring Ampico’s original recordings
to play on his piano. Knowing that these recordings would not last forever -- they were
quite old and quickly deteriorating -- Phillips decided to do something about it. He
created a machine that would transfer the data on the Ampico rolls to a MIDI format with,
what we were told, unusual accuracy and care. This archiving would allow for the
preservation of some important works by Gershwin, Rachmaninov and others.
In comes Bösendorfer. The company used its new CEUS
computer-controlled grand piano to assist in a unique recording session. The CEUS played
back Phillips' computer-based files from those original Ampico rolls, and the result out
of the CEUS was recorded by Gernot Reetz, who was on hand at High End 2007 to tell the
whole story and play some of the recordings on a small computer-based setup with, of
course, Bösendorfer speakers.
This is a a perfect example of how digital technologies can
be used to preserve, and sometimes improve upon, the past. You can find out more about
these recordings, including how to purchase them, by contacting Peter Phillips at eleced@idx.com.au.
