[About Rachmaninoff recorded piano rolls ...]
This is incredible.. you know, I was actually wondering this the other day. We should get all the living greats today (not the dead ones though) to record onto such a device and basically be able to save them for all time, but I guess this process has already been undertaken. Where could one find these CD's, and how would you know that they are the player piano recordings and not a scratchy one of himself?
That piano roll trick worked well for Rachmaninoff because:
(1) The piano roll technology at the time was good enough, AND
(2) Audio recording technology was NOT good enough.
Piano Roll, Disklavier, PianoDisc -- they are all very similar when it comes to recording -- they just record sequences of keystrokes and pedalling.
It would make little sense to record present day great pianists using something like Piano Roll or Disklavier because today's Audio Recording technology is so good that you'd be better off doing audio recording instead of finger-stroke/pedalling recording. (Well, may be a case can be made to do such recordings for teaching purposes -- something to let teachers and students analyse great pianists' performances keystroke-by-keystroke!)
Good pianists adapt to the instrument and the concert hall/recording studio and the audience to give the best performance, to get the best sound. Disklavier recording cannot adapt. So a particular Disklavier-recorded sequences of keystrokes/pedalling that sounded good while played on a Yamaha C7 in one hall may not sound as good on another C7 in another hall.
I think xvimbi alluded to those points earlier.
Follow
THIS LINK to see the Rachmaninoff Reproducing Piano CD recording's info. (Also related:
THIS LINK)