Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Glenn Gould Live Recordings from Zenph Studios

Thanks for your kind words. I’ll give a somewhat lengthy reply, because the process has been so interesting.



On Glenn Gould’s birthday, September 25th, we performed the entire 1955 Goldberg Variations before a live audience; this was broadcast on CBC Radio Two. Later that evening, we made the studio recording with Sony’s finest classical team: producer Steve Epstein and engineer Richard King (between them, they’ve won 27 Grammys). Supervising the Glenn Gould Studio was Peter Cook (who was also Richard’s teacher). The recording session took 14 hours, for 38 minutes of music. The performer never tired (!), but the Disklavier Pro was re-tuned, re-voiced, and re-calibrated multiple times. Steve and Richard are among our biggest advocates now; they were amazed by the extraordinarily precise quality of the results (all praise the inventors of the Pro), and can’t believe they’ve had the chance to make a new recording of Glenn Gould.



We should see the cover art for the album this week. Biographer Kevin Bazzana (author of the Gould biography “Wondrous Strange”) wrote the liner notes. The album has a lot of “firsts,” and there’s been a lot for the Sony production team to absorb. For example, there will be 5 separate recordings on the same high-resolution disc (a hybrid multichannel SACD). Two are CD versions that will play perfectly on any CD player – the two recordings are made from two different perspectives. One of those versions was specially recorded for headphone listening – the plans are in place to have it available as an iTunes download the day the disc is released. We heard the HD surround-sound version played back on great equipment in Sony’s NY mastering studio; it is, quite simply the most immersive piano recording we’ve ever heard.



The production run of SACD pressings should be complete next month, and we’ll begin interviews with the reviewers who have the longest magazine lead times. Oddly, we’ve learned there’s a bit of training to be done on how to listen to it. This is the first time in history where there’s been an “absolute reference” to match: the very well-known original recording. Every note and every nuance had to be perfectly re-created in our process. We matched the timbre and dynamic range of the original piano playing carefully, knowing that the recording technology of the time compressed the original’s reproduced dynamic range somewhat. So, a modern recording, with modern mics in different positions, shows the performance in a different light. It really does sound like a real piano in the room with you, but you’re seated in a different position from the original. You hear much more detail with the wide modern dynamic range, and the polyphonic lines seem to stand out more. A fascinating experience; same performance, different seat.



Again, I want to assure everyone this disc plays great on every CD player. The HD surround version (on the same disc) is so compelling, though, it may be a reason to upgrade your system (BTW, every new PlayStation 3 console plays multichannel SACDs).



The disc will be released at different dates in different countries, depending on translations, printing, and promotional material. It will be out as soon as it’s ready; it’s not being held up to coincide with any other dates. It looks now like the US/Canada release will be late April (just weeks away).



BTW, we’re finishing the coding of Art Tatum’s “Piano Starts Here” album. The team has fixed many problems encountered in the current CD re-issue, including the fact that the tape was remastered 34 cents flat (about a quarter step) – so he actually plays a little faster even than what you’re used to. We got a copy of the original live recording, so we can return some Gershwin material that was edited out over time. It’s such a thrill to hear Tatum’s playing.



John Q. Walker, Ph.D.
Zenph Studios, Inc.