With the large storage capacity, fast processors and generous RAM allocation of modern computers, it is possible to store numerous high-quality digital samples of instruments ready for software sequencers or notation programs to utilise. This means that composers are now able to produce extremely convincing renditions of all kinds of music, from symphonic orchestral to jazz, pop and world music. Naturally one of the most important instruments to have available is the piano, though this has often been quite a difficult instrument to reproduce convincingly. There are a number of products available which offer samples taken from grand pianos, but they are invariably many gigabytes in size and make intensive use of system RAM and CPU. In addition, because they are only digital samples of real pianos, not much user interaction is possible to personalise the overall tone.

Pianoteq, from the small French company Modartt, is the first product of its kind where the piano sound is computed without the use of samples, and is therefore the first truly modelled piano available. Instead of the piano simply reproducing samples, it is ‘constructing’ the sound in real time, just like an acoustic piano, and responding to the touch and interpretation of the performer.

Pianoteq in Action
Installing Pianoteq is straightforward on any PC or Mac computer. As the product is only about 15 MB in size, it loads up ready for action very quickly, making it ideal for live performance via a laptop. Pianoteq may be used as a VST/Audio Units device from within a computer sequencer (eg, Cubase or Sonar) or notation program (eg, Sibelius 5). Alternatively, it may be used as a stand-alone program and accessed immediately from any keyboard linked up to a computer. When Pianoteq is loaded, you see an attractive interface with the upper panel devoted to Tuning, Voicing and Design, and the lower section to controls such as equalizer, pedals, reverberation and velocity. There are various piano presets to choose from, including about fifteen C1 or C2 (Classic) grand pianos and three M1 (Modern) grand pianos. There are a number of additional presets, such as electro-acoustic piano and marimba, and you can also download various historic piano presets – for example, a 1790 Schmidt pianoforte from Salzburg, complete with tuning and voicing features of that time. Most users, however, will probably proceed straight to the Grand C2 Concert preset, which is loaded by default. I played this preset without any user modification and was immediately impressed by the overall naturalness of the piano timbre, as well as the responsiveness when playing and pedalling. The top register is wonderfully bright and clear, while the bass is rich and sonorous.

Personal Adjustments
The sophistication in design of Pianoteq allows you to modify and adjust the response and tone of the instrument to suit your own taste. If you open the ‘Tuning’ section, you can change from the default middle C of 440 Hz between 415Hz and 466Hz. You can also choose from various non-standard tunings, such as Zarlino, Pythagore, Mesotonic or Well-tempered. You can adjust the tuning of the three strings of each piano unison, and by varying the slider you can hear the strings beating against one another like a piano tuner tuning each string. You can also adjust the octave stretching and direct sound duration, the latter adjustment giving the effect of reshaping the hammers. Opening up the ‘Voicing’ section gives access to controlling hammer hardness at three different velocities. The Spectrum profile allows you to adjust the intensity of the first eight overtones. You can adjust the hammer noise and soft pedal (una corda) smoothing. In the ‘Design’ section you can adjust aspects such as the soundboard design and response, piano size, overall resonance and sympathetic resonance. In the lower panel you can adjust equalizer and velocity curves, pedals (including sostenuto), output (stereo, mono or headphone) and various reverberation settings.

Conclusions
I was extremely impressed with Pianoteq. While the overall concept is sophisticated, with the ability to customise every detail to your own taste, it is nevertheless easy to operate, and I suspect that the default sound will happily suit most people. Playing Pianoteq from a hammer action digital keyboard really does feel like performing on a concert grand, and is genuinely satisfying and responsive as an instrument. It is also very easy to make a wave file recording directly from Pianoteq or when it is accessed from a sequencer or from Sibelius 5. You can download a trial version which functions for 45 days, although certain keys are disabled in the trial version, which will give you plenty of time to try out all the features and enjoy the wonderful piano sounds available.

Pianoteq is available from the web site www.pianoteq.com, priced at 249 Euros (approximately £168), which represents good value for a product of this quality. I think there is also academic pricing available if ordered through an educational institution, but readers would need to consult their website for more information. I would recommend Pianoteq without reserve – just hook up your keyboard to your computer and enjoy it!

Tony Cliff BMus MPhil ALCM, a freelance teacher, lecturer, composer, arranger, pianist and private teacher, belongs to the ISM’s Devon & Cornwall Centre. He is a member of the Society’s Specialist Sections for Musicians in Education, Performers & Composers and Professional Private Teachers.

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