Boesendorfer Imperial

 

The big Vienna Instruments Collections are the most powerful sample-based orchestral virtual instruments ever created. The collections, organized in the categories of Strings, Winds, Percussion & Keyboards, and Voices, offer the most complete playing techniques and articulations of all instruments, enabling you to create sonic results of the highest caliber and utmost authenticity. You can purchase them as VSL Instruments Bundles for a reduced bundle price.

Beside the Standard collections we offer Extended collections for almost all Instruments Collections. Based on the Standard libraries they include additional instruments and articulations.
Standard library plus Extended library result in the Full library.

Vienna Instruments give you a wealth of possibilities for upgrades and expansions. Each registered Single Instrument Download or Special Edition Instrument can give you a credit toward the big Vienna Instruments collection that contains the corresponding instrument. In the shopping cart we will check for a possible discount which will be substracted if available. The licenses of discounted products will be delivered within a working day latest.

Boesendorfer Imperial - Instrument Collection VI16

Avec le soutien technique du facteur de piano Bösendorfer, l´équipe de la Vienna Symphonic Library a samplé son premier piano désormais disponible en tant qu´instrument virtuel. Lors des enregistrements de cette collection, les ingénieurs les plus expérimentés de Bösendorfer ont été impliqués. L´instrument virtuel Bösendorfer Imperial de la VSL dispose des avancées techniques du nouveau moteur audio des vienna instrument, par exemple, en utilisant les nouveaux algorithmes des répétitions. L´énorme banque de 54 Go disponible contient les samples note par note non bouclés avec et sans pédale sur 7 niveaux de vélocité, mais également aussi des répétitions de notes, de véritables samples de résonance avec la pédale enfoncée, des sons de relâchement de note ainsi que les bruits mécaniques des touches.

Le Boesendorfer 290 Imperial est le seul piano au monde à disposer d´une tessiture de 8 octaves avec un sub do . Ces notes supplémentaires ne confèrent pas seulement un son plein et volumineux, mais permettent également la reproduction d´oeuvres de Bartók, Debussy, Ravel et Busoni.

Pour la première fois dans l´histoire des pianos samplés, il est possible d´entendre et de restituer les véritables résonances qui apparaissent avec ou sans pédale. Avec le Boesendorfer Imperial Vienna Instrument, il n´y a pas de manipulation de samples, pas de faders entre les différentes notes et également pas de calcul DSP, mais au contraire une simple restitution, des samples naturels qui restitue la réalité acoustique de l´instrument. L´équipe a utilisé une technique d´enregistrement et de mapping qui permet une restitution fidèle des résonances. Ainsi, cet instrument réagit exactement comme un véritable piano.

Les "Repetition Performances" sont une nouvelle innovation qui mérite quelques commentaires. Ces samples sont automatiquement joués, lorsqu´une corde est déjà en vibration et qu´elle est à nouveau jouée. Avec le Boesendorfer Imperial Vienna Instrument, ces répétitions déclenchent un deuxième sample différent du premier donnant un caractère ultra réaliste à ce qui sonne souvent "machine" avec les pianos samplés habituels.

Il est également possible de changer la perspective acoustique et de déplacer l´auditeur de la position du pianiste à celle de l´auditeur, afin de rendre une meilleure image acoustique lors de l´insertion dans un ensemble orchestral. Chaque position comprend 4675 Samples.

Il n´y a pas comme pour les autres vienna instruments de version extended pour la collection Boesendorfer Imperial. La version Standard Library contient déjà la collection complète ainsi que le moteur audio qui en fait un plug-in autonome.

Plus d'information

Screenshot

Performances minimum du système

Your purchase of any VSL library entitles you to download the free Vienna Instruments player software that includes the Vienna Ensemble mixing host.

MINIMUM
• PC Windows 7 (latest Service Pack, 32/64-bit), Intel Core 2 Duo or AMD Athlon 64 X2
• Mac OS X 10.6 (latest update), Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2 GB RAM (4 GB recommended)
• ViennaKey (Vienna Symphonic Library USB protection device) or other USB eLicenser (e.g., from Steinberg or Arturia)
• eLicenser Control Center software (get the latest version from www.eLicenser.net)
• free hard drive space according to This Library Size Chart

Other configurations might work but are not actively supported.

RECOMMENDED
• PC Windows 7 (latest Service Pack, 64-bit), Intel i5/i7/Xeon
• Mac OS X 10.7 (latest update), i5/i7/Xeon
• Fast separate hard drive (7200 rpm or faster)
• AU/VST/AAX Native/RTAS compatible host (also works stand-alone)
• RTAS version requires Pro Tools 7.3 or higher
• 88 key master keyboard
 

• Il est impossible d´installer la version "Extended Library" sans avoir installé la version "Standard Library" 

 

Système FAQs

Product activation:
Vienna Instruments require the ViennaKey!
This USB protection device by eLicenser (formerly Syncrosoft) is not included in the box of any collection, it is a separate item you have to get additionally. So you’ll have to order at least one ViennaKey with your first purchase. It will be put inside the shopping basket automatically but can be deleted if not required. Customers who order the complete SYMPHONIC CUBE will get one ViennaKey for free (not shown in the basket). If you already own another eLicenser USB protection device (e.g., from Steinberg or Arturia), you can use it for the VIENNA INSTRUMENTS, too. Each dongle can store up to 100 product licenses.
Additionally an internet connection on any computer is required to authorize a VSL product.

Revue de presse

Sound on Sound 5/2007

This is the one Vienna fans have been waiting for. Though the string sections in VSL's Pro Edition library and Orchestral Strings I & II Vienna Instruments are beautifully played, exquisitely sampled and turn in a broader range of performances than Peter Sellers in his heyday, they have been said to lack the requisite lush, romantic 'instant Hollywood' sound. VSL have addressed this by recording Appassionata Strings (AS), an 18GB (12GB when installed) set of large string ensembles designed to provide a more overtly emotional, wide-screen listening experience - less European art film, more Titanic.

A substantial chunk of this title's 20-player violin section's samples was made available last year, as a free bonus to registered owners of VSL's existing strings. The 20 fiddlers are now joined by 14 violas, 12 cellos and 10 double basses. Having been scaled up from the Pro Edition's 14/10/8/6 format, the new sections make a correspondingly bigger sound, and approximate the number of strings used in a full-scale orchestra. As with all VSL projects, the recordings were made in the relatively dry acoustic of the company's Silent Stage - if you want a concert hall sound, add your own reverb!

All four of the AS string sections have a full, beautiful, sheer sound. Unsurprisingly, the new violins sound more lush than VSL's original 14-piece section and, as the name suggests, they play with a stronger, more impassioned vibrato, which is emotional and engaging without sounding mawkish. The 'progressive vibrato' delivery is very nice, adding timbral and dynamic mobility and making this attractive section sound even more expressive.

The 12 cellos' tremolos and pfp samples are gorgeous, and their monophonic performance legatos (interval-specific sample sets optimised for the creation of smooth melody lines) are toe-curlingly good. The violas sound equally sumptuous, their rich sound and wide range making them an inspirational patch for composition. If compared to the double basses in Orchestral Strings II, the AS bass section wins out in all areas except the pizzicatos, where they sound somewhat less punchy. The AS basses' menu of styles is relatively limited and, unusually for VSL, no performance legatos are provided for them.

One nice touch is that the violins, violas and cellos performance legatos contain sinuous Bollywood-style slides, which can be instantly accessed with a keyswitch. I also liked the three-note chromatic 'grace runs' - good Tom & Jerry comedy fodder. Samples are provided which start off out of tune then gradually drift into pitch; the idea (instigated in Vienna's Brass I) is good, but for me the musical effect falls between two stools - the initial skewed intonation rules out conventional usage, but the detuning is arguably too subtle for use in horror scores. AS's creepy atonal cluster chords and chaotic 'random pizzicato' samples are a better bet for that sort of work.

Getting a romantic Hollywood sound is easy with these samples, but more aggressive deliveries are few and far between. 'Harsh' performance samples are the only truly gutsy-sounding articulation here, but only the violins play them. To help busy composers, VSL have lashed together the four sections into ready-to-play 'full strings' programs, in a handful of basic styles. The Vienna Instrument doesn't permit users to create their own keymaps, so if you want to build more of these multi-section ensembles you'll have to find a workaround using your sequencer or VST host.

Choosing between AS and Orchestral Strings I & II (reviewed in SOS in November 2006) is a tough call; AS's lusher sound is an obvious winner, but the latter's far greater number of articulations (which include 'fast attack' trimmed sustains, flautando, played trills, snap pizzicato, harmonics, sul ponticello, con sordino, col legno, grace notes, glissandi, scale runs and so on) is indispensable for detailed string arrangements. Buying all three collections would be hard on the pocket, but the prospect of the luxurious combinations they can produce is mouth-watering.

Need a piano to go with your orchestra? Then you should definitely check out VSL's new Bšsendorfer Imperial Vienna Instrument, which weighs in at a hefty 36.7GB (installed size). The instrument (a Bšsendorfer 290 nine-foot grand) has 97 keys and spans eight octaves. To be honest, it's hard to discern the pitch of the sub-bass notes below A0, but they certainly make an exciting, thunderous rumble!

This piano is characterised by an open, clean and stately sound and a very clear attack which is discernible at all dynamics - even the quietest notes speak clearly and distinctly. This clarity would be a great asset when playing the precise mathematical inventions of JS Bach, negotiating the dense note-blizzards of a Rachmaninov piano concerto, or for making sure the instrument stays audible in a full orchestral score, but it might be a handicap when it comes to the more ambiguous, lyrical and intimate sonorities required for solo piano jazz improvisation. Either way, I was impressed with the way the samples respond smoothly and naturally to the touch, with no obvious jumps between the seven dynamic layers.

VSL have dealt with the notoriously difficult problem of replicating the effect of the sustain pedal by sampling a full set of 'pedal down' samples at seven dynamics. Since you can use any controller to switch between articulations, it's easy to set up a patch in which pressing the sustain pedal accesses the pedalled samples, but unlike on a real piano, you won't hear the effect until you play the next note. If you prefer a softer, less focused piano sound, a more distant miking with less obvious stereo imaging is also provided.

The precise, formal sound of this superior instrument lends itself to orchestral arrangements, and the identical recording conditions guarantee that it will blend well with VSL's other instruments. Committed Vienna collectors will buy this without hearing it, but piano sound being such a personal thing, I'd strongly advise checking out the demos on VSL's site before you buy.

5 STARS  Review: VSL Appassionata Strings / Bosendorfer Imperial  Sound on Sound, May 2007

This is the one Vienna fans have been waiting for. Though the string sections in VSL's Pro Edition library and Orchestral Strings I & II Vienna Instruments are beautifully played, exquisitely sampled and turn in a broader range of performances than Peter Sellers in his heyday, they have been said to lack the requisite lush, romantic 'instant Hollywood' sound. VSL have addressed this by recording Appassionata Strings (AS), an 18GB (12GB when installed) set of large string ensembles designed to provide a more overtly emotional, wide-screen listening experience - less European art film, more Titanic.

A substantial chunk of this title's 20-player violin section's samples was made available last year, as a free bonus to registered owners of VSL's existing strings. The 20 fiddlers are now joined by 14 violas, 12 cellos and 10 double basses. Having been scaled up from the Pro Edition's 14/10/8/6 format, the new sections make a correspondingly bigger sound, and approximate the number of strings used in a full-scale orchestra. As with all VSL projects, the recordings were made in the relatively dry acoustic of the company's Silent Stage - if you want a concert hall sound, add your own reverb!

All four of the AS string sections have a full, beautiful, sheer sound. Unsurprisingly, the new violins sound more lush than VSL's original 14-piece section and, as the name suggests, they play with a stronger, more impassioned vibrato, which is emotional and engaging without sounding mawkish. The 'progressive vibrato' delivery is very nice, adding timbral and dynamic mobility and making this attractive section sound even more expressive.

The 12 cellos' tremolos and pfp samples are gorgeous, and their monophonic performance legatos (interval-specific sample sets optimised for the creation of smooth melody lines) are toe-curlingly good. The violas sound equally sumptuous, their rich sound and wide range making them an inspirational patch for composition. If compared to the double basses in Orchestral Strings II, the AS bass section wins out in all areas except the pizzicatos, where they sound somewhat less punchy. The AS basses' menu of styles is relatively limited and, unusually for VSL, no performance legatos are provided for them.

One nice touch is that the violins, violas and cellos performance legatos contain sinuous Bollywood-style slides, which can be instantly accessed with a keyswitch. I also liked the three-note chromatic 'grace runs' - good Tom & Jerry comedy fodder. Samples are provided which start off out of tune then gradually drift into pitch; the idea (instigated in Vienna's Brass I) is good, but for me the musical effect falls between two stools - the initial skewed intonation rules out conventional usage, but the detuning is arguably too subtle for use in horror scores. AS's creepy atonal cluster chords and chaotic 'random pizzicato' samples are a better bet for that sort of work.

Getting a romantic Hollywood sound is easy with these samples, but more aggressive deliveries are few and far between. 'Harsh' performance samples are the only truly gutsy-sounding articulation here, but only the violins play them. To help busy composers, VSL have lashed together the four sections into ready-to-play 'full strings' programs, in a handful of basic styles. The Vienna Instrument doesn't permit users to create their own keymaps, so if you want to build more of these multi-section ensembles you'll have to find a workaround using your sequencer or VST host.

Choosing between AS and Orchestral Strings I & II (reviewed in SOS in November 2006) is a tough call; AS's lusher sound is an obvious winner, but the latter's far greater number of articulations (which include 'fast attack' trimmed sustains, flautando, played trills, snap pizzicato, harmonics, sul ponticello, con sordino, col legno, grace notes, glissandi, scale runs and so on) is indispensable for detailed string arrangements. Buying all three collections would be hard on the pocket, but the prospect of the luxurious combinations they can produce is mouth-watering.

Need a piano to go with your orchestra? Then you should definitely check out VSL's new Bšsendorfer Imperial Vienna Instrument, which weighs in at a hefty 36.7GB (installed size). The instrument (a Bšsendorfer 290 nine-foot grand) has 97 keys and spans eight octaves. To be honest, it's hard to discern the pitch of the sub-bass notes below A0, but they certainly make an exciting, thunderous rumble!

This piano is characterised by an open, clean and stately sound and a very clear attack which is discernible at all dynamics - even the quietest notes speak clearly and distinctly. This clarity would be a great asset when playing the precise mathematical inventions of JS Bach, negotiating the dense note-blizzards of a Rachmaninov piano concerto, or for making sure the instrument stays audible in a full orchestral score, but it might be a handicap when it comes to the more ambiguous, lyrical and intimate sonorities required for solo piano jazz improvisation. Either way, I was impressed with the way the samples respond smoothly and naturally to the touch, with no obvious jumps between the seven dynamic layers.

VSL have dealt with the notoriously difficult problem of replicating the effect of the sustain pedal by sampling a full set of 'pedal down' samples at seven dynamics. Since you can use any controller to switch between articulations, it's easy to set up a patch in which pressing the sustain pedal accesses the pedalled samples, but unlike on a real piano, you won't hear the effect until you play the next note. If you prefer a softer, less focused piano sound, a more distant miking with less obvious stereo imaging is also provided.

The precise, formal sound of this superior instrument lends itself to orchestral arrangements, and the identical recording conditions guarantee that it will blend well with VSL's other instruments. Committed Vienna collectors will buy this without hearing it, but piano sound being such a personal thing, I'd strongly advise checking out the demos on VSL's site before you buy.

5 STARS