This was entirely new to me also. But apparently there were player pianos that could record dynamics in some way.
It was, however, very crude and most pianists were dissatisfied with it. The speaker on Scriabin was confident that Scriabin's airy, ethereal playing didn't sound at all like his piano rolls do when played back.
I forget which speaker said this, or which famous pianist the anecdote was about, but the story was that the pianist was approached for a recording contract by a piano roll firm that boasted its rolls could detect and play 16 distinct shades of dynamic range. "I'm sorry," replied the pianist, "but I play with 17 distinct shades of dynamic range."
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It was, however, very crude and most pianists were dissatisfied with it. The speaker on Scriabin was confident that Scriabin's airy, ethereal playing didn't sound at all like his piano rolls do when played back.
I forget which speaker said this, or which famous pianist the anecdote was about, but the story was that the pianist was approached for a recording contract by a piano roll firm that boasted its rolls could detect and play 16 distinct shades of dynamic range. "I'm sorry," replied the pianist, "but I play with 17 distinct shades of dynamic range."