That's overall a very pleasing album sound to my ears and for this gentle improv (very delighting too btw). Hope these ideas give you some launching points - happy to help more if I can..
Almost always the first thing to suggest (not a critique) is to listen to a similar piece of music from an album you love the sound of and you've already been doing that - so that's a good start
I'd take some days to allow the comparison to become more at home in your mind when doing this kind of critical listening.. after doing a little more of that over time, things will stand out better esp. if it's not something you have done much in the past. The first clean impression though, is often good enough to take some strong confidence in, if the goal is getting something similar.
Luckily most fundamental elements are at reach in Pianoteq - or a DAW if going into extra production tools.
For some constructive critique - just 2 things might be worth considering initially - regardless of genre (intent, solo or in ensemble/mix/modern) these could apply..
#1
Reverb - quite like it - I'd want to try it mixed down a just little.
I like a lot of reverb when improvising with distant mics, kind of sets a dreamy scene but it may situate the piano a little distant for listening back to (but intent may be for a nice concert hall ambience so this is not a 100% necessary).
At least in an old fashioned album sense, for some perhaps (no correct way - just kind of overview of what some fav albums of piano music generally are remembered to be like) lowering reverb a bit may be the difference between hearing from the back seats, to being situated more in the prime front rows.
To me the referenced example has reverb tucked a little. Depending on how complex you want to treat it besides, maybe the first order thing is to be pretty critical with how much reverb is being applied.
You might be happy as it is - and that's perfectly the ultimate thing - so this is just a personal thing I'd like to suggest that you try of course.
#2
Overall level seems good to listen to but maybe could be tried a little higher.
Again just another personal preference of course too - some might like very high volumes by comparison but solo classical piano can sound writ large without needing to be pushed to highest possible volumes too - there seems to be room to increase it a touch without spoiling too much the already comfortably rich dynamic range. The goal is not always about outputting music to a maximum loudness (like some pop etc.) - but, I feel there's maybe some tasty range allowing at least a subtle increase which wouldn't harm it but might make listeners experience it more intimately.
On that - if exporting out of Pianoteq, just a small increase on the main interface volume slider may be better than selecting 'normalize' on output.. But certainly try both ways, compare, see which is the better to you. If using other tools, they'll have lots of caveats etc... but of course let us know and maybe I've used those tools before, and others here, and could help more specifically on those.
About file type..
Your MP3 file is 44.1kHz and sounds like there's no probs in it - so that's good.
(if encountering the need to work with higher rates, cross that bridge when it comes - but so far, that's a nice sounding 44.1 to my ears!).
More waffling ideas you possibly already thought through of course..
If in a DAW, you might like to use a level metering tool - many available, some for free which will allow you to feel confident to attain some guide level range recommended for example by a streaming platform you might want to upload to - but if you are confident that your reference piece has a similar range, that all may not be necessary depending on your own goals and time allowances etc.
I think you're on a great trajectory with this - and it's possible that just the output from Pianoteq without too much fuss can give a worthy and wonderful album sound. It's up to taste and in some cases, routines that the audio may go through, various processes before release into the wild.
Certainly keep us updated, and asking for input and I'll hope to pop in to check progress - and others I encourage to join in with ideas too. Cheers to you Feffson! It def. sounds marvelous so far
BTW - good luck also for your exam results! Sorry if all the above seems like more data to cram but hope to help out
Pianoteq Studio Bundle (Pro plus all instruments) - Kawai MP11 digital piano - Yamaha HS8 monitors
