Gombessa
Ok- you asked for it, so here's lots more nattering...
YES, it's that exact same SE system you're thinking of, originally delivered with an IBM PC XT running MS-DOS 3.3. Mine is now running Linux from a tiny Intel NUC computer instead, but it came with the original IBM/DOS computer setup. Currently it's running command-line software (ported from DOS to Linux), but I envision a nice shiny web browser and tablet app interface for it in the future- in progress, but not anywhere near finished yet.
These pianos have been featured in a number of high-quality commercial recordings where the artist recorded on the piano itself using the computer, then the piano performance was audio recorded later as a computer playback (and sometimes with the artist watching). Also Wayne Stahnke produced a couple of CDs in the 90's entitled 'A Window in Time' featuring Ampico piano roll transcriptions of Sergei Rachmaninoff playing some of his own works (one CD) and some of other composers' works (other CD) using the SE system. The transcriptions came from a custom super-accurate Ampico roll scanner he built for the purpose.
There was also a highly regarded audio to SE project done by Zenph (now defunct), converting the 1955 audio recording of Glenn Gould's Bach Goldberg Variations into a performance done on the SE, then released as a CD.
Another couple CDs that come to mind are Dick Hyman playing the music of Fats Waller and Duke Ellington (recorded on SE). They were audio reference quality recordings and are also highly regarded.
These are all wonderful recordings, and they are all available on Apple Music and Spotify- I would encourage a listen!
I have personally been involved with these instruments since the mid-90s, working on repair and customization of the electronics and computer systems for a number of the owners of them, primarily those associated with the Maestro Foundation in Santa Monica CA. [https://www.maestrofoundation.org/]
The Maestro Foundation is a non-profit that lends high-end chamber instruments to gifted up and coming musicians that need them to progress in their abilities and who otherwise would not have access to such instruments. As a partial way to fund this project, they hold concerts for their donating members that often feature the Boesendorfer 275SE that the foundation owns (and is in the founder's house/concert hall in Santa Monica). This is absolutely the finest piano I have ever heard and is truly exceptional among Boesendorfers.
Over the years, I have assisted them with that instrument and others owned by the foundation members, as well as a few others- I've worked on 9 of the 32 that were made, including mine. The Maestro Foundation and other owners have collectively amassed a tremendous library of piano performances recorded on the SE system.
My association with Maestro is how I heard about this piano being available for sale and somehow at an attainable asking price for me, an engineer that loves music but isn't particularly wealthy. This instrument was previously at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (CCM) in Ohio and was the personal piano of Professor James Tocco in his teaching studio and not used by students. After he retired during the pandemic, the university decided to get rid of it as-is since they are a Steinway school and it doesn't really fit with what they're doing now. The acoustic instrument is in great shape for its age save for some minor cosmetic issues- the university did a good job maintaining it. The SE system however was non-functional and the university had given up on repairing it about 15 years ago. I was confident I could very likely repair it, so my wife and I decided to make an offer, thinking that at worst we'd have a fantastic acoustic piano even if the SE system was somehow unrepairable. Fortunately for us, our offer was accepted, and I have been successful in getting it back working how it should!
The quality of performance reproduction from these instruments is absolutely stunning! It accurately reproduces the softest of pianissimos and the loudest fortissimos (which are VERY loud in my home on a semi-concert grand, so I have to temper its dynamic range a touch in software sometimes).
I have barely scratched the surface of the music library, but some of the gems are the original SE recordings of the above-mentioned CDs, along with concert performances by many excellent pianists, some of them incredibly accomplished (Andras Schiff playing Schubert, for example).
Please ask additional questions if you'd like more detail.
