Brahms himself at the piano 1889 my restauration

[Josh06320]

Beautifully done! This is far and away the best restoration of the Brahms cylinder I've heard -- you can actually hear some of his playing. (I trust you're ignoring the ignorant fools who are criticizing your restoration without knowing how badly damaged the cylinder is, despite the fact that other versions are easily accessible online).

[EmmetEarwax]

Now to see if we can restore a tin foil record and play it.

[EmmetEarwax]

This appears to answer my question as to whether playable WHITE wax cylinders exist.

[kutmusic]

wow, very interesting, and sounds better than another version I just heard.

[ndbass09]

It's beautiful.

[1401JSC]

Good work on the restoration.

[Taew2009]

This definitly sounds better than any of Justin Bieber's songs!

[MrMladen11]

Terrible restoration!

[malcocreative]

WOW...TIME TRAVEL. THE MACHINES ARE STILL IMPERFECT. WHAT IF WE HAD WAX CYLINDERS OF HOMER AND PLATO, JULIUS CEASAR AND TUTANKAMEN?

[BenMcCormack91]

@malcocreative Then we'd certainly know how well they played the piano. As for Brahms, we can certainly tell that he was a master of scratching noises. Didn't even know you could do that on a piano.

[lansanova]

great work. Thanks for up.

[jubbaflubb2]

im not sure if im the first one whose said this, but you spelled "restoration" wrong

[bag3lmonst3r]

Aw give him a break with the spelling error, guy must be French.

[rubinsteinway]

Restauration?

[karshook]

Poor Brahms: it sounds like he's playing the hammerklavier without the klavier part.

[volodya2]

Great restauration!

[Geisterschiff]

Finally I could hear something from this wonderful document!!! What a high pitch voice he had...Thank you so much for the effort!!!

[NikoYamamoto]

Someone can't spell.

[inwalters]

otterhouse: I heard a program on SC public radio today [June 11, 2010] where a digitally remastered version of this was played. Can't recall who did it, but that's why I was looking for this. wondered f someone had put it on youtube.

[otterhouse]

@inwalters Interesting, thanks, can you dend me the website of the station? (or was an npr program?) Greetings from the Netherlands, Rolf

[tomitstube]

i understand the significance, but the recording is indistinguishable.

[Glinkaism1]

@tomitstube Hahaha. Good one! :) & it should be extinguished as well.

[Glinkaism1]

@tomitstube And should be extinguishable. :)

[Karlfalcon]

The problem here seems to be that you started with an MP3.

MP3's are highly lossy, and often I find any attempt to clean up heavily damaged audio from one (like this cylinder) results in more artifacts and harmonics than listenable material.

Here's hoping you find that cleaner copy.

[zonatec]

uta madre está buenísimo!!!!

[beerdeddi]

Hear I a cat sometimes? meow...meow

[blekksprutkongen]

Wich piece is it?

[beeteep60]

Hungarian Dance no.1

[Psamiad1986]

it sounds like some dog barks

[sallyrob101]

This recording was made on an Edison cylinder machine in Vienna in 1889. This was the best technology available at the time. We can at least clearly hear Brahms' spoken introduction and, if you know the music, you can pick out the melody and appreciate what a great pianist Brahms was. The recording is now very old and has suffered from wear and tear, so it probably doesn't sound quite as good as it did originally. This is a very good restoration.

[newgeorge]

how recording ever caught on after stuff sounding like this is anyone's guess

[wks1978]

It didn't sound like that when it was first recorded!

The quality has degraded over time.

[ilove1994]

No this how it did sound back then otherwise how did it sound????.

[wks1978]

No it didn't sound like this back then.

I take it is was you who gave me the negative feedback.

Back then there was not as much noise and distortion, and the recording itself would have been more audible.

These recordings were probably not even intended to last a year, let alone over 100 years.

The reason this recording sounds so bad is because the condition of the cylinder has degraded over time. Immutable fact.

[ilove1994]

I understand but I do not believe you because its the Needle on the cylinder witch makes it make this noise But still this is how it sounded back then we cant expect it to be prefect.

[theguyof1900]

No the other user is right this is how it souned back then after it was made & Mr. Borri who is the presadent of the Edison Phonograph Works says on the brown wax cylinders in my opinion the piano dose not sound good on the brown wax but on black wax it dose thats what he said in a interview in 2002 so I think hes right.

[wks1978]

sigh,...Just because one man said the brown wax cylinders didn't sound as good as the later black ones doesn't mean the recording sounded like this originally.

Anyway... I give up trying to make a sensible point, on youtube.

[theguyof1900]

But its Shawn Borri the presadent of The edison Phonograph Works.

[KawhackitaRag]

@wks1978 I agree this is what audio "cleanup" software can do in the wrong hands!

I know Rolf didn't do this, but whoever did ought to be hammered with a klavier!

I hope that there is a clean version of this somewhere.

Brown wax cylinders, by and large, can sound much better than black wax, but only IF they're in good condition and IF they're played with the correct needle or stylus. Brown wax is softer, I believe.

[Professor6871]

@wks1978 I know the feeling about trying to make a sensible point on You Tube its impossible. Mind you some of the people here have the mentality of 8 year olds so its a bit unfare.

[maxreger100]

@wks1978 But please do keep trying. A few people out there will appreciate your insights and knowledge. Ignore the jerks.

[leonengard]

@wks1978

You are right. It had degraded with time.

Anyway, it dosen't sounded MUCH better, just a little bit better, but enogh for make it count to do the recording (for Brahms and Edison).

Of course, to me, even if today it's difficult to listen clearly, this record is a treasure.

Sorry for my poor english.

:)

[thomase13]

Your english is much better than most people on YouTube.

[Karlfalcon]

And better than many native English speakers.

[thomase13]

@Karlfalcon That's true too.

[leonengard]

@thomase13

Thank you!

:)

[leonengard]

@wks1978

Sorry:

for Brahms and Felinger. Edison was not there.

[priscianusjr]

This is indeed the best restoration I've heard yet. Why do you say the first 30 seconds are not audible? The melody is audible, it's just that it begins not at bar one, but at bar thirteen! In other words, the first 12 bars of the piece are simply not there. I can hear this, never could before. Also, somebody did a midi RECONSTRUCTION based on acoustic data analysis, it's very helpful.

[archangel1187]

Brahms is playing Hungarian Dance no. 1 in this recording, but it is only clear at the end of the recording. If this is really Brahms playing this is a treasure of a recording.

[wks1978]

This is by far the best restoration of the recording I have ever heard

[Lassann]

I heard enough to tell that Brahms could play the hell out of a piano.

[lsbrother]

@Lassann  - or play a piano from hell

[rlbluver]

in the beginning it sounds like a terrprist said i kidnapped doctor brahms then he said i have doctor brahms

and then the terrorist played the piano meaning that he is a bad piano player this was on the radio

[mehandas]

Is this real? Plus is he playing the hungarian songs?

[BrendanKennedy96]

OMG!!

[beerdeddi]

Im Haus von Herrn Doktor Fenlinger, bei Herrn

Doktor Brahms, Johannes Brahms!

[BrendanKennedy96]

At the start what does Brahms have in his hand a cigar or something

[Pischnaholic]

Sorry, but it sounds much more like Nightmare on Elm Street than Brahms.

[esthetichaos]

hungarian dance no. 1?

[esthetichaos]

..."I have Doktor Brahms" or "I am Doktor Brahms"?

[neinsudtexas10]

This is amazing.

[BrendanKennedy96]

imagine there was an actual video of this, actually see Brahms himself rather than just photos or drawings

[Ceristimo1]

The spoken text at the start of the recording has been wrongly attributed as belonging to Brahms. Considering the time between the announcement and the start of the music it seems improbable that the same person could segue from speech to playing so quickly particularly given the technological limitations.

The denoised excerpts reveals enough of the speech to suggest that the speaker introduces Brahms as follows:

"..Haus von Herrn Doktor Fellinger, bei mir ist Doktor Brahms, Johannes Brahms".

[MaryPWeber]

There is some disagreement about what the speaker is saying and who he is. My German-born husband and I have listened to the recording. We think it is indeed Brahms speaking loudly and saying, the first phrase in German, "House of Herr Doktor Fellinger." Then, in English, "I am Dr. Brahms, Johannes Brahms."

[BrendanKennedy96]

Is that Brahms talking or like an announcer?

[BrendanKennedy96]

Did He Say "Brahms, Johannes Brahms" at 0:04

[Invisus944]

sounds like it

[BrendanKennedy96]

OMG! Was That Really Brahms? Cos judging by the sound and when he died the Audio is Terrible! Well most movies in those days were just silent.

[BrendanKennedy96]

I bet even someone who spoke German wouldn't know what he's saying.

(Brahms was German for people who don't know)

[LazlosPlane]

You sure that's not WAGNER talking????

[MillyProductions]

what would make you think it's wagner? because he's speaking german?

[LazlosPlane]

No, that's a joke son. Brahms and Wagner are musical rivals, so to speak, representing two different branches of German Romanticism and overall philosophies of music. I don't think it's Brahms, Chopin, Schumann, Gershwin, OR Wagner.

[MillyProductions]

i see, if this was a chopin recording, however, i would never stop listening to it.

[IrishPianoMan1996]

Yeah, me too. No matter how buzzy it is.

[otterhouse]

Still searching for the "unedited" file, so I can do more with it!

You can contact me on Twitter @otterhouse

[OperaBaritoneJoe]

this is funny

[beerdeddi]

his voice, i laught my ass off, too

[125themajjixmaaan]

I couldn't hear a thing until about the last 5 seconds

[carrietide]

Priceless

[karlakor]

I have long known of the existence of the recorded voice of Brahms, but until I read the comments here at YouTube, it never occurred to me to doubt that the voice is actually his. Why is there a doubt about it? Brahms was known to have a rather high voice and was quite self conscious about it, so the recorded voice here is in keeping with what I know of his voice. I would like to hear any evidence that this recording is not really the voice of Brahms. Thanks!

[davidkahan]

I seem to hear a jazz band (trumpet,...) behind the piano. Should i hear just a piano ?

[otterhouse]

I have opened a second channel called "europeanArchive". There I have gathered highlights from the European archive collection. 500+ Lp's from the Dutch public radio library. Those recordings can be downloaded for free if you live outside the USA (sorry for that, but it was the only way the library could operate). Search "europeanArchive" on youtube, and you can find it!

Greetings,

"otterhouse" Rolf

[sauerkraut145]

Analog mucic can last a long time. I wonder how long todays digital stuff can last? I doubt a 100 year old cd will work.

[mikecarlo610]

Barring no extreme wear and tear and nothing catastrophic happening digital audio would last longer. Analog becomes demagnetized after awhile and develops blotches on the film resulting in a loss of quality. However, digital recordings are regarded as a little inferior by some because it can clip, literally square off and distort a sound if recorded at too high a level whereas analog allows the wavelength of the sound to remain rounded, resuting in a "warmer" sound to the listener.

[NOSEhow2LIV]

Good work! The ending is certainly clearer in your version, and Brahms' voice comes out ok as well. I'm always surprised at his high pitch, in contrast to the gruff, bearded image and the music's rich, bassy character!

[suzettegm]

Great, thanks a lot for the effort put into this!

[d60944]

This is extremely good! My own restoration pales in comparison, though some bits of mine are cleaner. Well done! Now, if only you can get rid of the rumbling lower frequency noises next.

[d60944]

And how did you get the final two or three bars so clear? :-)

[otterhouse]

using the kalman filters on a program called "deNoise" (from the same maker as "clickRepair")

[ipmoic]

Have you any theory on whether Brahm's is actually the speaker? A wonderful document and you have worked a small miracle by restoring it so very well.

[egrantsouth]

This is fantastic, thank you so much for posting! If only there was a recording of Franz Liszt. . .

[helmuthoorn]

''Denn alle Fleisch vergeht wie Grass''

(Deutsches Reqium; J.Brahms)

[highlandsh]

I thought he said, "Hello Dr. Edison, this is Dr. Brahms" then proceeds to play. I think the "Dr." was just a playful honorific.

[beeteep60]

is they any way i could get a copy of this?

[blaster2012]

this is the best version i have heard.If you really listen carefully,you start to hear more detail,particularly right at the end,the last few seconds are the clearest,well done.

[vivacelife]

I think your restoration is the best on YouTube, thanks!

[philiphoward123]

This is an excellent version of the recording - the best one so far that I have found. Thanks!

[philiphoward123]

I think you have to listen a few times to these to get into the sound world. Er, it's hard to hear the music isn't it? Anyway I feel we're lucky we can hear anything!

[sam3putt]

well brahms was given an honory doctorate in music...so this would make sence

[4c00h]

wow i wonder if he had any idea how much value this would hold to a person inside, just to be able to hear it

[brianCIM]

this is truly special. i love it otter. ty so much!

[nextren]

Is that Brahms saying (first in German, then English) "I AM Doctor Brahms, Johannes Brahms," or is it Edison's man introducing Brahms by saying "I HAVE Doctor Brahms, Johannes Brahms"?

[mysterypianist]

Opinions waver about whether this is actually Brahms' voice. It's nice to think that it is, but it is unlikely that Brahms introduced his own performance.

[gmmix]

That any bit of the original sound survives is a miracle, one that begs to be preserved in the most stable form possible. It's distressing to comtemplate that I have cylinders and discs well over a century old that play well....and CD's and tapes that are

failing--and not from poor storage.

[jorgepoveda]

Theoretical :assuming no "evanescent" of electromagnetic waves in the space, is possible to "rescue" everything is radiated from a source. So it seems to me ,the same way, it is possible to restaurateur recorded music apparently lost for the change of the methods of transference...?.Is thats possible. ..? Is fantastic.

[1LoFi45]

Does the cylinder still exist? It seems that if an optical scan were taken of it (optical record players have been used for newer records) you could get a high definition copy recorded to at least 48000 khz. sample rate kept in wav. format. Then try to restore the music using THAT file. If you know the owners of historic recordings please pass this on.