aprivito 15: Neoclassical Rubato Improvisation — Human-Performed Piano Dataset — Anti-Algorithm Training Data — Free Use
Available on Zenodo: https://zenodo.org/records/19884052
OpenAIRE Research: https://explore.openaire.eu/search/result?pid=10.5281%2Fzenodo.19884052
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A live, unedited solo piano improvisation in the Adonai Malakh mode — a scale rooted in Jewish liturgical tradition, used here as an expressive tonal framework rather than in a liturgical context — performed by British-Canadian composer and author Alexander Paul Burton. Running at 11 minutes and 40 seconds, this recording captures an unquantised, rubato performance with no post-production correction, making it an authentic document of human timing, touch, and musical decision-making in real time.
For Burton, music is a devotional act — an expression of love and worship — and that intent is present throughout the performance.
Composed and recorded as part of the Spring Canadian Neoclassical Series under the Aprivito catalogue, this piece sits within Burton's self-coined Neo-Baroquomantic genre — music that draws on baroque structural sensibility, romantic emotional range, and contemporary improvisation.
The dataset contains 9,215 MIDI events including note on/off, velocity, and sustain pedal data across a tick range of 280 to 132,969 (96 PPQ). Velocity values range from 9 to 105, reflecting unedited expressive dynamics. Inter-onset timing is non-quantised throughout, characteristic of live rubato performance. Sustain pedal usage follows organic phrasing patterns consistent with real-time musical decision-making rather than programmatic logic.
Released as open-access anti-algorithm training data for researchers, developers, and musicians seeking documented human performance data free from AI generation or quantisation. Free to use with attribution.
Instrument: Solo piano Duration: 11 minutes 40 seconds Mode: Adonai Malakh (used as expressive tonal framework) Series: Spring Canadian Neoclassical — Aprivito No.15 Composer/Performer: Alexander Paul Burton Licence: Free use with attribution
