Zenph Discs

Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano
Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff (Zenph Re-performance)

  • Stereophile, John Atkinson, "Records To Die For," Feb. 2010
  • The Absolute Sound, Andrew Quint, "Recording of the Issue," Dec. 2009
  • Audiophile Audition, John Sunier, "almost science fiction"
  • Positive Feedback Online, Tom Gibbs, "Never at any point did the technology get in the way of the music pouring forth ... Rachmaninoff was in complete control at the keyboard, and the subtleties of his pianism and pedaling were offered with astonishing speed and tremendous dynamic range."
  • live recital review, John Lambert, "all sounded equally wonderful"

Details and audio samples

recorded on a 1909 Steinway D SE concert grand at Peace College, Raleigh, North Carolina by Sony Masterworks

Sergei Rachmaninoff, piano
Joshua Bell: At Home with Friends

Hear a classic duet recorded by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Fritz Kreisler in 1928: the slow movement of Grieg's third violin sonata, in C minor -- but now with Joshua Bell in duet with Rachmaninoff in a Zenph Re-performance. Joshua studied Kreisler's recorded performance thoroughly, yet brings his own ideas to this beautiful track.

recorded on a 1909 Steinway D SE concert grand at Zenph Studios, Raleigh, North Carolina by Sony Masterworks

Art Tatum, piano
Piano Starts Here: Live at The Shrine (Zenph Re-performance)

Details and audio samples

recorded on a Yamaha DCFIIIAPRO concert grand at The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California by Sony BMG Masterworks

Art Tatum, piano
Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band: Act Your Age

Art Tatum plays in re-performance with Gordon's new big band arrangement of the song "Yesterdays."

The Yesterdays track was nominated for a 2009 GRAMMY award, as was the entire album. Hear a clip and read about this amazing technical production here.

recorded on a Yamaha DCFIIIAPRO concert grand in Los Angeles, California by Immergent Records

Glenn Gould, piano
1955 Goldberg Variations (Zenph Re-performance)

Hear Glenn Gould's playing with a stunning level of realism not heard in previous recordings.

Reviews and audio samples

recorded on a Yamaha DCFIIIAPRO concert grand at Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Ontario by Sony BMG Masterworks

Dr. John Cheek, piano
J. Mark Scearce: The 99 Beautiful Names of God

The world-premiere recording of a work for piano solo. The 99 Beautiful Names of God are the names by which Muslims regard God. Composer J. Mark Scearce was inspired to interpret these names into music from a desire to heal. He created 99 Beautiful Names in order to help a pianist friend, ill from cancer, by giving her a set of small pieces that she could play to bring her back to her instrument and through it, back to health. Pianist John Cheek comments that Mark's nobilissima visione for solo piano aims to heal and give the listener some soul time: Intimate, respectful ruminations on the Godhead or visions of Almighty Power.

recorded on a Fazioli concert grand at Zenph Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina by Albany Records

Dr. Thomas Otten, piano
Liszt: Operatic Paraphrases

Here is amazing piano playing of Liszt's transcriptions and opera paraphrases, played by a respected expert of Liszt' works.

There is a superb review of this wonderful album in Audiophile Audition online: "Otten plays the Yamaha [concert grand] whose mid- and upper range have a sensuous, rich tone."

recorded on a Yamaha DCFIIIAPRO concert grand at Zenph Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina by MSR Classics

Richard Howard, piano
Prairie Visions

"The seven pieces that make up the Prairie Visions piano suite, along with this recording, are the result of 30 years of composition, refinement, and performance. The music is my homage to the Texas Great Plains, which I have called home all my life." - Richard Howard

Records International writes: "A seven-movement suite of unashamedly programmatic content and full-blooded Romanticism, this is a very personal statement by a composer-pianist obviously well versed in the traditions of grand pianism. Emotionally charged and full of bravura pianism, stopping just short of sentimentality (most of the time, à la Percy Grainger), the most obvious inspiration and comparison for Howard’s style is Rachmaninov. The piece may strike those looking for innovation grounded in tradition (like Grainger, or Ronald Stevenson) as being derived from a ‘popular’ view of Rachmaninov - a distillation of ‘big tunes’ from the piano concertos - but there are worse models by far, and the piece has an innocent and heartfelt quality which, along with the excitement generated by its thunderous virtuosic passages, render it entirely convincing on its own terms."

Read more about the creation of this disc in an extensive article in the Amarillo Globe-News. Created using high-resolution MIDI, and re-performed on a Yamaha Disklavier Pro concert grand piano.

recorded on a Yamaha DCFIIIAPRO concert grand at Zenph Studios in Raleigh, North Carolina, by MSR Classics

Books

Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings, by Max Harrison
A biography of Rachmaninoff, included a thorough discography of every day he walked into a recording studio -- and whether the result was accepted or rejected.

Max Harrison authored the liner notes for Zenph Studios' re-performance in Sony Masterworks' Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff.

Piano Starts Here, by Robert Andrew Parker
A biography of the young Art Tatum, targeted toward 4 to 8 year old readers. The gorgeous artwork was created by the book's author.

Our album of Art Tatum re-performances has the same title, Piano Starts Here.

Grand Obsession, by Perri Knize
The author found her perfect grand piano on 58th Street in New York City. But when she got it back home to Montana, it didn't sound the same as it did in the store. This book is about her quest.

Here's the Web site for the book: Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey.

The hero of the book is Marc Wienert, who does the voicing and technical work for Zenph Studios' grand pianos.

Wondrous Strange, by Kevin Bazzana
A definitive biography of Glenn Gould.

Kevin Bazzana authored the liner notes for Zenph Studios' re-performance of Glenn Gould's 1955 Goldberg Variations on Sony BMG Masterworks.

Variable Star, by Robert A. Heinlein and Spider Robinson
An exciting science fiction novel, written by Spider from a sketch by sci-fi legend Robert A. Heinlein. He has numerous pages where he describes performances by virtual musicians.

Spider Robinson authored the liner notes for Zenph Studios' re-performance of Art Tatum's Piano Starts Here.

We continue to add new items to our stores, so please check again!

 

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