Garritan Authorized Steinway Virtual Concert Grand Piano

Garritan announces the release of the Authorized Steinway Virtual Concert Grand Piano, a sample-based software instrument developed in collaboration with Steinway & Sons, maker of the world's finest pianos.

The Authorized Steinway Virtual Concert Grand piano accurately captures the distinctive sound of the hallmark Steinway & Sons concert grand piano - with unprecedented authenticity and musicality.

The library comes in three versions: Professional, Standard and Basic. The Professional version offers the superb Steinway Model D piano with five different listening perspectives:

Player perspective from the bench
A classical recording perspective
An under-the-lid perspective
A stage perspective
A close audience perspective

The Standard version offers the under lid and classic perspectives.

The Basic version, ideal for students, amateur musicians, and educators, is a light version that offers a single perspective. The Basic version will also be available in downloadable format.

The Steinway concert grand piano chosen for the sample set is among Steinway's finest Model D's – newly voiced, regulated, and meticulously tuned by a master Steinway technician. Recording was done in one of the finest venues in the world, The Troy Music Hall.

New Technology - ARIA Player

Powered by the robust and reliable ARIA Player, the Garritan Authorized Steinway Virtual Concert Grand runs on these platforms:

MAC OS X 10.4 and higher
Windows XP/Vista
Linux version under development
Standalone
Plug-in (VST, Audio Units and RTAS), as well as supported notation programs.

System Requirements

2.8 Ghz CPU Pentium 4 or better for PC, 2.0 Ghz
Core 2 Duo MacIntel or better for Mac.
2 GB RAM Recommended
45GB of free hard drive space–Professional Edition 16 bit; 67GB Professional Edition 24 bit; or 16 GB of free hard drive space–Standard Edition. 1.5GB Basic version.
Hard drive speed of at least 7200 RPM
DVD ROM drive required for installation
Monitor with 1,024x768 resolution or better
A sound card compatible with ASIO
MIDI: A MIDI interface may be required if you are using a MIDI keyboard (88-key full-sized MIDI keyboard recommended). Some keyboards use USB.
High quality speakers and amplifier, or high quality headphones
Internet connection for online registration

Features

Created in partnership with Steinway & Sons
The very finest concert grand piano–the Steinway Model D Concert Grand hand-picked by Steinway & Sons
Overseen by Steinway & Sons' most accomplished master technician
Sustain/Sostenuto/Soft pedal support
Proportional sustain pedaling
Multiple-stage tracking release triggers to provide the natural release of the hammer from the string
Sustain resonance and sympathetic resonance using convolution-based DSP modules
Adjustable mechanical noises
Adjustable velocity curves
Recorded soft pedal samples including releases
Adjustable polyphony
A variety of historical tunings and Scala file import
Aria Sample Player by Plogue included
MIDI playback and record in standalone
Ambience reverb and 3 band EQ
Graceful Copy Protection (no dongles or challenge response)
Many more compelling features

About Steinway & Sons

Steinway & Sons, headquartered in New York, produces the world's finest pianos. Steinway pianos are sold by nearly 200 authorized dealers worldwide. Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LVB for Ludwig van Beethoven. Steinway & Sons was founded on March 5, 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway and his sons in New York City, one of the major centers of the piano-making industry in North America at that time. Henry, a master piano-maker, built his first piano in the kitchen of his home in Germany. Over the next forty years, Henry and his sons developed the modern piano, patenting the most significant technologies in the piano industry.

"This was a very important project for Steinway & Sons," states Gary Green, Vice President Business Development and Customer Satisfaction. "...We were extremely lucky to have Gary Garritan work with us on this technically and musically complex project. Although both Steinway & Sons and Gary Garritan recognize that nothing can replace the actual Steinway piano, we are extremely delighted that there is now a sampling product that comes closest to capturing the distinctive Steinway sound that we are proud to endorse."