I would keep the strings in, as its difficult to create emotion in a sampled piano, and the strings build up the tension in the piece at the right points.
Personally, I like them. The work you put in shows. I also like how the piano is the focus, its good to see the strings taking the background in a piece like this.
Overall, its really tender and beautiful. and I'm considering learning it. Any chance you could link the sheet music? or a MIDI? I can turn a MIDI into sheet music pretty quick

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Seriously i just think you're being hypercritical. Its amazing and you should be happy.