It's a nice piece. Could be a sweet opening too. Sounds nice.

It will be difficult to reach your ideal. Pianoteq is Pianoteq (a nice VST, though) and your former Bösendorfer, your former Bösendorfer. And we have our own ears and preferences.

You have to test. Maybe you could check the FXP Corner to see if some  users presets could help you (unless it's already done) ?

Thank you for your answer. Indeed, the problem is quite insoluble and never a VSTi as good as it is will replace reality, even by searching for a lifetime.

That said, I still increased my Pianoteq library with two different and complementary pianos, which sound really good and that I would have had trouble simulating as a tweak of the original pianos: the Bösendorfer and the Shigeru.

And I think that with this base, we really have very good things.

I also experienced a kind of monstrous chimera: the Steinway sample of the BBCSO pro mixed with the resonances and artifacts of Pianoteq. I must say that this hybridization experience is quite interesting, adding a lot of things to the original sound of the sample and modifying its behavior in a very interesting way.

It will be difficult to reach your ideal. Pianoteq is Pianoteq (a nice VST, though) and your former Bösendorfer, your former Bösendorfer. And we have our own ears and preferences.

You have to test. Maybe you could check the FXP Corner to see if some  users presets could help you (unless it's already done) ?

I explore the millions of ways to approach the sounds that I love and even to create the maximum likelihood of a piano used as an accompanying instrument, with the idea of a recording in an auditorium, with a solo instrument or a singer (most of my compositions that are never for solo piano)

For having already been confronted in the real world with these issues of real sound recording and recording immersion, I am not looking for the sound perfection of an ideal piano, but precisely the artifacts related to this kind of condition.

So the too perfect piano sounds too digital to my ears.

Currently, if I compare to the samples (BBCSO pro for example), I would say that Pianoteq tends to be a little too equal, even if there is a huge range of possibilities that can degrade the sound, but these degradations for me must above all be spatial perspectives.

Also the question of playability can come into consideration. I perform touch calibrations for the two keyboards I use and it works quite balanced with my clavinova which is old and still has a rather consistent heavy touch. On the other hand, it is very difficult to do so well with my master keyboard (which is not intended to be a real-time game piano) the Komplete A64 which I use mainly for orchestral instruments where the necessities are not piano at all.

In short, an exploration that is very varied and complete with Pianoteq, of which I only have the pianos of the standard version.

I was lucky in my life to have a real Bösendorfer at home, which unfortunately is no longer in my possession. A 200 cm half tail. He had his voice, his breath, his own life. Something special in the medium, a song of deep beauty. I tried on the Pianoteq demo various instruments to get closer to this ideal but without being totally convinced.

The specialists of our Plugin will be able to tell me if each piano proposed add on is fundamentally different from the original Steinway or if, through a deep adaptation work, we cannot approach the sounds proposed by successive modifications (which I think). So if buying new pianos is of interest, knowing that the transformations of the basic presets can be enormous.

In short, I am eager for tips for getting started with Pianoteq 8 standard, coming from the 7 Stage version.

Here I am finally legitimate! I recently switched to the V8 of our dear Pianoteq that you will hear here.
Then comes the reshipment of this lullaby the string orchestra (Spitfire Audio Apppassionnata)
I use the Schoeps MK2 virtual microphones (I am a fan and I have the MK2s as well as the MK4) And various modifications, as well as hardware cheap that I like...

So here, I rediscover this magnificent instrument through this simple lullaby.
https://youtu.be/Wa8F7PREcew?si=gapU4IsC4H8zdBNK