Disklavier Featured in "More Mastering Classic Favorites"

BUENA PARK, CA (September 24, 2004) — Yamaha artist and pianist Paul Sheftel is a legendary teacher and performer who has authored countless popular books for children and adults. He teaches Piano Pedagogy at The Juilliard School, and is a renowned pioneer in the creation and development of materials using computerized technologies. It comes as no surprise he's highly enthusiastic about the Yamaha Disklavier® Pro DCFIIIS.

"It's obviously a wonderful tool for recording and, of course, it's a beautiful piano," Sheftel points out. "When recording in a studio, there are always slips, retakes, and so on, but the Disklavier's digital record function makes such issues easier to deal with, which saves on engineering costs."

The Disklavier is unparalleled as a pedagogical tool. "But," says Sheftel, "there's also the fun of hearing and watching it perform on its own, and students can access any part of a performance, even speed it up or slow it down."

In February 2004, Sheftel and acclaimed pianist and educator Phyllis Lehrer recorded the second in a series of Carl Fischer piano studies, "More Mastering Classic Favorites, Volumes 1-4," on a Pro DCFIIIS at Yamaha Artist Services, Inc. (YASI) in NYC. James Steeber, coordinator of YASI, assisted while initial tracks were recorded at YASI, then moved the Disklavier to the famed KAS Music & Sound, the recording studios located at the Kaufman Astoria Studios (KAS) in Astoria, NY – the largest film studio east of Hollywood, established in 1920.

During the recording sessions at KAS, the two pianists discussed each piece while the Disklavier played back their earlier performances. "All we had to do was mic the Disklavier, and Phyllis and I offered a mini-master class on each piece as it played," says Sheftel.

"It was just magnificent to see the Yamaha Disklavier sitting there at KAS," says Lauren Keiser, CEO and president of Carl Fischer, and editor for the series. "It's a novel way to do instruction. People can open a book and follow along with the music while hearing and seeing the performances as they're supposed to be played."

Joe Castellon, engineer, KAS Music & Sound, was on hand for the KAS recording sessions. "Using a Disklavier, you just push a button and off it goes. There's no sequencing, no going back, and no crabby artist either," he laughs. "I know Disklaviers are being used a lot in hotel and bank lobbies, but their real worth would be to save performances by the great artists of today so people can hear and use them for years to come. Students can breakdown how these pianists are playing and see exactly what's going on. This is a terrific project."

Carl Fischer is the only music publisher issuing master class instruction folios using the Yamaha Disklavier. The first folio in the series, "Mastering Classic Favorites, Volumes 1-6," is selling briskly.

"More Mastering Classic Favorites, Volumes 1-4" was released in July 2004. More information can be found by visiting www.carlfischer.com.

To learn more, write Yamaha Corporation of America at P.O. Box 6600, Buena Park, CA 90622-6600; or telephone (714) 522-9011.