And I love this Nocturne. Recently I have typeset a lesser known version of the score of this Nocturne using LilyPond. The original manuscript is in a museum in Mallorca. For who is interested: My copy can be found here:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/439...s-moll.pdf

This is the version I personally prefer, but I can understand why very few people play this version...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7YqL19iMq0

ADDED : The point is your ability to change what you hear to what you like better, and you're clearly pecking right at it !

What does sound fine is your ornaments, they're admirable. You aren't detaching notes much, could inject more variety along those lines, up to you what way (for what artistic purpose), but basically what I'm getting at is legato is plain, where detachment can be various, both in stretches of it, and in contrast with legato.

I noticed D4 Classical BA sounds decent, but in general Pianoteq sounds very much like the sound is coming from inside a box. The demos sound good though. Using the "Punchy" preset in the equalizer adds clarity but the demos are supposedly using default presets.

So why is that when I use Pianoteq Stage on my Mac the sound is lacking clarity?

(Sorry to hijack the thread.)

I can't seem to make Pianoteq sound as pretty as all the recordings and demos are online. Perhaps it's an issue with the velocity curve? I'm using Yamaha P-35.

As a sample, I just recorded this with the D4 Daily Practice preset, do you think it sounds fine? http://d.pr/a/9gtG

The dog is a good listener, and should be used to make a advertise comercial for pianoteq.

I love the new upright, is an improvement towards the sound of a real acoustic, there are resonances that weren't before, plus the attack is better and sound is more similar to real thing.

...
Dog is happier than ever.

Sounds really lovely. I can understand why your dog is happier than ever . (My cat has not nearly such fashionable eyes, so if you take a picture in the dark it can be glooomily neon-green-metallic - spoooky^^. But this Nocturne with D4, Bluethner or the U4 would calm the cat immediately, so cat and dog would be happy.)

Thanks for this great thread! A pleasure to listen to all the examples you all provide.

And related Pianoteq, I wish they would totally update every piano to the latest technology, maybe on version 5?. For now seems to be Upright, then Bluthner, then D4, others. I for certain feel that Upright is better than Ivory.

(Is your dog wearing turquoise contact lenses?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZbZH07VgZE

Dog is happier than ever.

370i by Klavins Pianos

Or Mammoth Piano:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl...BgehLDM9ew

This gentleman clains to have invented a upright with qualities of a Grand piano:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl...d5fc6eKWqA

Pay attention to the mechanism.

http://www.dreams.org/staff/composer/mu...ch-action/

A spring brings the jack back very shortly after strike, allowing very fast repetition.

It's so cool you uploaded that, Vienna Imperial is hard to come by and there are not many examples of it and I have always been a bit curious about it, I like how it sounds, seems the many velocity samples pay off, I bet is fun to play.

I think the Vienna Imperial playability is close to the Pianoteq.

Fun? Well, not really for me. I have a very good concert grand at home and nothing can even approaching to it (from a player perspective). I think that hardware components are much more important here than software instruments. The way the sound is physically transfer to my ears and my body as a player is a big factor. Speakers (or headphone) can be very good but the way they produce sonic field is completely different than a real instrument. And, as I mentioning in my first post, electronic keyboards are dull (I tried a lot of models).

But things are completely different from an audience perspective. No need to preserve feeling of the piano's vibrations throw my fingers and my arms to my whole body. Just an instrument playing by someone else at a certain distance from me. Neither, concert hall, CD or virtual instruments are well suite to give us a player perspective. But this audience perspective is as important as the player's one. Sampled or modelling pianos quality can be as good and as bad as good or bad halls, pianos, speakers, recording, etc. But working to make it sounds «great» (depending on personnal taste, music style, etc.) is certainly a reasonable and realistic goal.

For a limited pianist like me, midi editing is a necessity (not just for classical repertory, but for exploring and rendering my own musical ideas too).

[Sorry for my bad english!]