Hyperion Knight - Music of Chopin

DSD file created from original analog master tapes

Cover art and liner notes included

Hyperion Knight, pianist. Hyperion Knight was born in Berkeley, California, and began his musical studies at age 4. He made his performing debut at age 14 with the Beethoven G Major concerto. His advanced musical training took place at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and later, the Cleveland Institute of Music. He won the Arthur Loesser award upon graduation, receiving a master's and a doctor musical arts degree at age 22. He has been a prize winner at both the International Stravinsky Awards and the Ohio Federation of Music Clubs piano competition.

Chopin's works performed here include Sonata in B Minor, Ballade in F Minor, Op. 52 and Polonaise in F#Minor, Op. 44. Such proud music is Chopin at his most defiant, ending with what Franz Liszt called a "convulsive shudder at the close."

This recording of Knight performing on a Hamberg Steinway took place Lucasfilm's Skywalker Ranch in Los Angeles, with its incredibly low noise floor and fully adjustible sonics. To capture a clean, dynamic and harmonically rich instrumental presentation, a pair of Seinheiser MKH-20 Omni microphones were used. The mics' signals were amplified by two Class A microphone preamps custom-built for Wilson Audio by John Curl. MIT cable carried the balanced line level signal to Wilson Audio's Ultramaster 30 inch per second analog recorder. Subsequent digital master tapes were made through the Pygmy A/D converter on a Panasonic SV-3700.