Robert Taub

World-renowned pianist and Beethoven expert Robert Taub has replaced his piano sonatas with software… at least for now!  A few years back, Robert had an idea to create a software platform that musicians could use use as a practice tool.  His original idea was to be able to photograph any music and the software would play it back to you, allowing the student to imitate what they heard.  He wanted to create a program that could do everything he learned in music theory class:  listening to passages and transcribing them according to tempo, key signature, and time signature, yet also have the ability to read and play a musical score.

Soon after his ‘eureka’ moment, he began putting his performing career aside and started doing intense technological research about creating his dream software.  He established MuseAmi, now a growing company in the software world.  In the age of smartphones and downloads, MuseAmi has invented its first app, entitled Improvox, which debuted on iTunes in July.  Improvox is an app designed to help users manipulate the music that they record in the program.  They can fix pitch problems and insert their own harmonies into the piece they’ve recorded.  It allows amateur musicians to create music and change it as if they were working with a professional recording studio.  The app is not the photographing software that Robert dreamed of in earlier years;  however, he hopes to release another app with those abilities later this year.

Robert is best known for his performances and recordings of all the Beethoven and Scriabin sonatas, as well as recordings of works by Schumann, Liszt and Babbitt.  He also wrote a book entitled Playing the Beethoven Piano Sonatas  that serves as a useful tool for any Beethoven performer.  I had the pleasure of participating in one of Robert’s masterclasses while in college — I can tell, you his knowledge of the Beethoven sonatas and about piano performing in general is amazing!  Now that Robert has transitioned from performer to software entrepreneur, I’m sure we can expect many great performances in the world of technology as well!

For more information about the software, check out MuseAmi’s website:  http://museami.com/

Click here to for information about Robert’s book, recordings, and editorial work.