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Title: Mechanical Indeed
Review: Many critics dismiss piano rolls and, sadly, this album will persuade new listeners that they must sound clangorous and mechanical. This we know is not true. Wayne Stahnke did an outstanding job with his Rachmaninoff discs. Granted, he used computer reconstruction, but Kenneth Caswell, on the small Pierian label, did not, and his Granados and Debussy albums are uncannily realistic. The latter impressed even Charles Timbrell, an expert on French pianists. Equally musical is a more varied collection on the Phonographe label, which seems to include recordings made many years ago. Perhaps the piano used did not have to be "restored" but had been kept in good condition -- but I'm just guessing. In any event, this Naxos album is, unfortunately, a thumping failure.
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