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Edward MACDOWELL (1860-1908)
Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor Op.23 (1885) [27:44]¹
Clara SCHUMANN (1819-1896)
Piano Concerto in A minor Op.7 (1834) [22:41]²
Frederick Moyer (piano)
Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra/Nayden Todorov [Used with permission of Music Minus One]¹
Midi Orchestra created by Dan Kury from sampled sounds using Garritan Personal Orchestra and Garritan Orchestral Strings; solo cello in the slow movement by William Rounds²
JRI RECORDINGS J122 [50:22]

This requires some comment. The MacDowell is a ‘Music Minus One’ performance and the Clara Schumann features a Midi Orchestra. So, as the pianist Frederick Moyer announces in his section of the notes, this is an experiment in using computers, the first such – he thinks – in classical music.

This is so unusual a concept that a brief background is in order, though given the circumstances background has become foreground. Moyer wanted to prepare for his concerto engagements so developed computer software that allowed him to play along with an ‘orchestra.’ He attempted to solve the ‘orchestral return’ dilemma (when the soloist stops and the band comes back) via a foot pedal; apparently effectively. Advances in computer technology and sampling have enabled him to employ a midi artist, Dan Kury, who has contribute materially to the sound of the ‘orchestra’.

The easier of the two to evaluate is the MacDowell. Having practised with the backing, Moyer was able to establish how best to accommodate his performance with that of the inflexible band. They were separately tracked of course. Well, the results are fairly predictable. The Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra is serviceable only. The first piano entry sounds like a 1950s Rubinstein set-up, very ‘piano first, band take the hindmost.’ The recording itself is a touch drab and dull. In the slow movement lower string lines are semi-audible but Moyer justifies the experiment through his alternately expressive and vivacious playing in the finale.

The Clara Schumann Midi performance is enlightening to hear, given the rapid advances in this kind of technology. I remember, years ago, reviewing a series of Midi recordings produced by a composer. They sound antediluvian in comparison to these very much more sophisticated efforts. The solo cello in the second movement is ‘real’ – elsewhere one must note the lack of body in the generated sound. As a simulacrum of a symphonic body of instruments though it’s actually rather good.

This kind of experiment generates questions as to authenticity of sound, the role of editing, computerised sonics, and the nature generally of technology in the recording process. Moyer proselytises for Music Minus One partly on the grounds that the more people play instruments the better it is.

This experiment, borne of frustration at not being able to record with an orchestra, occupies, as yet, a small place in what may well prove to be a more wide-ranging examination of Midi in the years to come.

Jonathan Woolf

 

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