CC;~e AMICA New s Bulle ti n of the A UTOM ATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT C O LLECTORS' ASSOCIATION
ARENT ORGANIZATION ACTIVITIES • •••••••••••••P. 1 1OGRAPHI CAL SKETCHES •• ••••••••• •• ••• •••••• •P. 4 OUTHERN CALI FORNI A CHAPTER • ••••••• ••••••• ••P. 10 NSTRUMENTS • ••••• • • • ••••••••••••• ••••••••• ••·P. 12 oLLS & MUSic P. 15 rECHNICALI 'TIES ••••••• ••••••••••••• •• • •••••••F. 19
AMICA BOARD MEMBERS: F rank L o ob, Pre siden t Roger Jo hnso n, Vice President G in ny B il l in gs, Publisher 1971 Nick Jarr ett, Treasurer A ober ta Ch erney, Re co rd i ng Secretary Dick Re u t linger, Me m b er sh ip Secretary M el L u ch et t i , Adver t isi ng Secretary THE Al\tICA NEWS BULLETIN 1__------The AMICA News Bulletin ...... ----..... Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' Association, a non-profit club devoted to the restoration, distribution and enjoyment of musical instruments using perforated paper music rolls.
Contributions: All subjects of interest to readersof the bulletin are encouraged and invited by the publisher. All articles must be received by the first of the month. Every attempt will be made to publish all articles of general interest to AMICA members at the earliest possible time and at the discretion of the Publisher, in the following areas: * Letters to the Publisher * Research Findings *Questions and Answers * Biographical Sketches of Artists and Composers *Photographs, Old Advertisements *Technical Information * Anything elseof general interest to AMICA
. Advertisements: Personal ads are accepted by the AMICA Bulletin Board. Businesses which are interested in placing ads must follow these rules: - Each ad will consist of one full standard page in the bulletin. - Payment of $25 must be included with the ad copy. - Ads must reach the publisher by the first of the month. - Ad copy must be complete and ready for print. - At least 50% of the ad must consist of photographs or art work that will be of specific interest to AM ICA readers. PUBLICATION OF BUSINESS ADVERTISING IN NO WAY IMPLIES AMICA'S ENDORSEMENT OF ANY COMMERCIAL OPERATION. However AMICA reserves the right to refuse any ad that is not in keeping with AMICA's general standards or if complaints are received indicating that said businessdoes not servethe best interests of the members of AM ICA, according to its goals and by-laws.
I THE AMICA WHO & WHERE THE AMICA BULLETIN AMICA PRESIDENT PHOTOGRAPHS REQUIRING HALF-TONE Frank Loob Sam Thompson 219 Montecito Boulevard 6809 Iris Circle Napa, California 94558 Hollywood, California 90028 AMICA BULLETIN MUSICAL JIGSAW Ginny Billings, Publisher Ruth Bingaman Smith 1428 Liberty Street 206 Tuttle Road EI Cerrito, California 94530 San Antonio, Texas 78209 AMICA BULLETIN PAST ISSUES PARENT MINUTES & MEETINGS Dick Reutlinger Ginny Billings, Publisher 824 Grove Street 1428 Liberty Street San Francisco, California 94117 EI Cerrito, California 94530 NEW MEMBERSHIPS & MAILING PROBLEMS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES Dick Reutlinger, Membership Secretary Bob Pye, Editor 824 Grove Street 342 Leon Avenue San Francisco, California 94117 Kelowna, B.C., Canada MEMBERSHIP DUES & TREASURY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CHAPTER Bob Whiteley, Treasurer Karl Petersen, Reporter 175 Reservoir 314 South Halladay Street San Rafael, California Santa Ana, California 92701 BULLETIN BOARD INSTRUMENTS Mel Luchetti, Advertising Secretary Bob Billings, Editor 3449 Mauricia Avenue 1428 Liberty Street Santa Clara, California 95050 EI Cerrito, California 94530 AMICA AUCTION TECHNICALITIES Gar Britten, Auctioneer John A. Patten, Editor 642 Diamond Street 601 Penn Street San Francisco, California Pasadena, California 91104 T-HE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 2
BE NICE TO YOUR PUBLISHER MONTH: ••••*¥t*tttfff••••••••••fff••tt ~ OU72 N~XT M~~TINO: ~ HAPPINESS IS ... PLANNING AHEAD ~ * THE BULLETIN IS TRULY A WONDROUS THING. AT THE ELEVENTH ~ * HOUR EACH MONTH, OUT OF THE BLUE, LOTS OF EXCELLENT t Dt:lbY: SATURVAY, APRIL 24 ~ ARTICLES APPEAR MAGICALLY ON THE PUBLISHER'S DESK, • Tinte-: 8:00 P.M. WHICH MEANS THAT YOUR PUBLISHER IS FACED WITH A LAST * MINUTE MARATHON OF TYPING AND OKGANIZING. TO DATE, t Place-: PORTCULLIS, HOME OF JAROV CLARK ~ MOST ARTICLES HAVE BEEN PRINTED IN "THE BULLETIN IMMEDI -tc 444 BRANNAN STREET, S.F. * ATELY UPON RECEIPT. THIS GIVES US LITTLE CONTROL OVER -tc * THE BALANCE OF CONTENT IN EACH ISSUE. YOUR PUBLISHER, .t••tttttt.¥••tt••ttt•••••ttttt FOR THE SAKE OF VARIETY AND FOR THE LUXURY OF PLANNING AHEAD, WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO HAVE SOME ARTICLES RE SERVED FOR FUTURE ISSUES. WE ARE ALWAYS IN NEEV OF INFORMATION REQUEST FROM VICTORIA, B.C. MATERIAL, SO IF YOU HAVE THE SEEDS OF AN INTERESTING SUBJECT RATTLING AROUND IN YOUR HEAD, GET IT ON PAPER AND SEND IT IN AS SOON AS YOU CAN. YOUR CONTRIBlIfIONS Dear Mrs. Billings, ARE WELCOME, BE THEY 2 LINES OR 20 PAGES LONG! I have been referred to you as one who may be able to help in finding some piano rolls made for Ampico ???????????????????? and shrn~ in the 1929 Catalogue. The Artist in each case was Gertrude Huntley, and the compositions were of Medtner, a distinguished WORK~N~ROGRESSBOX . teacher in New York at the time: 68671, Fairy Tale, Opus 20 No.1, and 66193, Danza Festiva, Opus 39, No.3. Jim Elfers has come up with an excellent idea which Gertrude Huntley, now Mrs. Jay Durand, lives in should help some of your researchers out there. Hope Victoria,' full of life and music and still playing yo~ll1 all cooperate in this: beautifully though not in public. I Please send in a note to me if you are working on . Our Province of British Columbia is celebrating the a~ article for the bulletin, or if you are doing any 100th Anniversary as a member of the Confederation of klnd of related research. I wi 11 publ ish a note in Provinces which make up Canada. We are organizing some the Bulletin so that if anybody has facts to add to galleries for the enjoyment of the public and we would your endeavor, he can do so before final publication. like to use some of this music for background. This should both help in the completeness of your Can you determine if any member of AMICA might have data, and will prevent duplication of effort. So let these rolls and be willing to have them played on to us know what you have in the "f/orks" ! --G-inny tape. We give our assurance they will not be used for commercial purposes. Black Box AMPICO Rol.l: Anal,ysi8 by Vernon Braun We will be most appreciative of any help you may be able to give us. Sincerely yours, (signed) A.J.He1mcken City Archivis t City Hall BOUND BULLETINS READY FOR DELIVERY Centennial Square Victoria, B.C., Canada The attractive and convenient spiral-bound anthology """"""""'" , of the 1969-1970 AMICA Bulletins is now ready to grace your bookshelf. It consists of the 24 issues of the Bulletin, with a strong front and back cover, and an additional mylar protective covering. Order your copy now from the Treasurer, Nick Jarrett, Price: $15.00.
AD REPRODUCTIONS
Keep on sending those ad reproductions in. Weill print them just as soon as we canl Please, don't expect an acknowledgment of each one as it's printed; we agree Musical Jigsaw that it would be a good idea to do so, but frequently Fit the pieces togetner~they're scattered through t~e several people send in the same ad. For the sake of bu 1let in) and ident i f y the tit 1e and c omp 0 se r 0 f t his ~-~ simp 1icity they wi 11 be pub1ished anonymousI v. But we classical selection.The first correct answer received are grateful for them and very appreciative. ~hank you! by the Publisher wi 11 claim a surprise at the end of the year. t1embers on ly;one pri ze per person per year. 3 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN
OPEN LETTER FROM ANITA NICKELS
/Jaw tha.t we aile gJtow-ing in .6ophi.6Uc.a.ti,on and moJte THE INSTRUMENTAL MUSEUM OF BELGIUM and mO.'le alLticlu bUng w!LU::ten by vani.ou» membvr. c.on ta..i.YUng teehnic.a.l -i.n60JUna;t{,on and Jte6eJL~nc.u to translated from the Museum Catalog by Leonard Grymonprez pJtevioU6ty pub-U6hed R.1..:t.eJr..a.e, theILe Me .6ome beuic. Jwi.u tha;t .6hou1..d be 60Uowed. (I.'heneVeJL a .6OUltc.e 06 in60JUrla..tion Ls given whe.theJt in. qu.otu on: -in geneJUtl, The Instrumental Museum of Belgium is estimated as theJte .6hould a.1..60 be mentioned .6omewheJLe in tile alLtie1e, being one of the finest and most important of its kind pJte6eJLa.bly tu: the beginning, the exaex .6OUltc.e. Tha.:t.iA, throughout the world. It possesses well over four i6 U.iA a book, then the 6u.U. authoJt'.6 name, ~, thousand musical instruments housed in twenty-eight pub~heJt and daxe, 16 it -i6 a magazine, then, when halls. These instruments have been collected with known, .the aiuho»: 06 .the alLtic.le, tile t1.:tle 06 the great care and valuable donations, unveiling to us the alLtic.le, name 06 the magazine, volume, ckU:.e 06 .i6.6ue musical history of many ages and from many countries. and page nwnbeJt. Thi.6 iA not bec.a.u6e we don't Vtwt you, One hundred and fifty of these wonderful musical btu: .6 0 tha.:t the neade»: may do 6uJLtheJt Jtueaneh. on: be masterpieces are really unique, not to be found else c.aU6 e 06 -inteJtut may want to nead the olLiginal.. The where. Amongst these are a "Basse de viole" made by 6ac..t .that U ~ old and in. the hand6 06 a plLiva:te. indi Gaspard Duiffoprugnar (16th Century) with .a paintin~ vidu.al does not mean that U Ls -i.nac.c.u.6ible. TheJte Is representing the city of Paris of those days. It once the public. UbJtaJi.y and 1 am .6U1Le the a.Ultac.Uve UbJUVL belonged to the French king Francois I. ian will. be moJte than hei.p6ui. by inteJt-UbJtaJly loan A "Geigenwerk," a very rare piece of design and con 6JtOm .6ta:te on: na.tional UbJr.aJLiu, mic.Jto&ibn, exe, No ception, manufactured in 1625 by the Spaniard Truchado, alLtic.£.u w-i.:th 600tnotu on: b-i.bUoglU1phlu at the end- is also included in the co1lection~ [uss: mention U onc.e, plea6e. There are many different "c1aveuns," "epinettes," and "virglna1s" of the famous Antwerp manufacturer, Thank you, Ruckers (16th and 17th century), surrounded'by about a I Anita Nic.kel4 hundred other old manual instruments manufactured in [IA many instances this is a very good idea. However, Belgium, England, Germany, France and Italy. we want your articles with or without footnotes, The Museum also possesses the renowned epinette of Bibliographies, or exact sources! If you have some Patavini (1550), which is decorated with amazing wood thing you want to have printed, but are unsure of your carvings, representing some characteristics from the writing ability, send it in anyway•••welll touch it Venetian patrician fami-ly of Bembi. Among the many up for you if you ask us to. --publisher] different "luths," "archi1uths,"theorbes," and "Chita ronni" are some which could never be found anywhere [[ [[ [[ [[ [[ []]]]]]]]]] else. There is also a large section of Oriental instru ments, and once again some of these are completely out * * * of existence, except in the Museum. Worthy of mention I-IE PERILS of renown were once eloquently de is the unique complete family of the "cromoines," lying Tscribed by the composer, Igor Stravinsky, who in their original cases, just as when they were manu said: factured. ....<-\. plague on eminence! I hardly darecrossthe There is also a wonder fu L collection of "violins" of street any more without a convoy, and I am stared at wherever I go like an idiot member of a royal family the 17th century, 9nce owned by the late Comte Correr or an animal in a zoo; and zoo animals have been of Venice. known to die from stares." In one section there is a series of instruments, made in the very early days of manufacture by the world-famous Belgian instrument inventor, Adolphe Sax, inventor and designer of many different "saxophones" and "saxhorns." One of the most ingenious instruments in the Museum is probably the one and only preserved "Comp onLum" made in 1829 by Nicolaus Winkel in Amsterdam. This is a large automatic instrument which, once set in motion, could play endless variations on one certain theme! The Instrumental Museum of Belgium is located at 17 Place du Petit-Sablon, Brussels, and is open to the public on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., and on Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Coach parties can be conducted around the Museum, if ADDRESSOGRAPH NEEDED they will give ten days notice to the Museum Conserva tor, telephone number 13.25.54. Admission is free. The Museum is associated with the Royal Conservatory ~ Help! We're growing! Does anyone have a stray Addresso of Music in Be~giurn, and the instruments it contains graph or its equivalent languishing in a back room that awakes the interest and curiosity of musical amateurs he would give, loan or sell inexpensively to Arnica so and students concerning the history of musical instru we can expedite our mailings? If so, let us know, ments of ages gone by. Quick! =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 4
URSULA DIETRICH-HOLLINGSHEAD by Bill Knorp I n we Lcominq ro II artii.e ts as "Honorai-i ee " in AMICA, beaause it will give a wea ~ th of i nformation aonaerning we aroe indebted to those who have supplied us wi th rare a fasainating era . The reason for th e title is tha t biographiaal i nf ormat i on, as it i s harod t o find today, when she was a ahi ld of 9 it was di f f i au l t for her and of unlimited inte res t t o AMICAn menbere , Mrs. Diet family t o rai se the money f or her weekly lessons , so in riah-Hollingshead has supp lied us with s ome programs, her own words . .. "so I set f or th and eol.iei ted a ll the photos and artiales pertaining to her aaroeer. Ursula kids in the neighborhood and tau ght th em what had been Di eta-i oh-Hol.Li.nehead was born in Cle ve land, Ohio, and taught me for ten aents a l esson ... thus I raised the she studied at th e Roahester Sahool of Musi a, later be dollar eve ry week and THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF MY aoming a wel/l-knaan ooncert: pianist who appeared in MUSICAL CAREER." After a period of study, and having person and on rolls for varoious aompanies . Her aaroeer beaome an arotist who was gifte d with musi aianshi p, has been put in book f orm; reminisaenaes entitled "Ten showmanshi p, style, stage-presenae, interpretation and Ce nts A Lesson" whi C! h i t is hoped will soon be published drive she had aaquired all the neaessary attributes . And so then she had an "Impresario" in the form of the Me Lui: Ll.e-Clark: Piano Company in Chioaqo. After she won a sahol aroshi p, the aompany deaided to give t oUr's , pr o viding concer te and "compaz-i eon Concerte " wi th the artist and the "Art-Ap ollo" Reprodueinq piano ioh i ch. they manufaatUl'ed . Ursula Dietrioh-Hollingshead made vas t pub lia appearoanaes canpar-inq her p laying wi t h her reaordings. She was one of the first t o tour i n t hi s manner, and la ter oth er aomp ani es tOUr'e d with their own instruments and ar tists. After th is i nteresting period, she r eaorded fo r t he Ampiao and th e Duo-Art and aonaert i zed in suah aities as Buffalo, New York, where she t ook up residenae after getting married. She now lives in San Antonio, Texas , and i s presently teaahing a fine group of piano students. I n aomposition, Mr s . Dietriah- Hollingshead has pub Zished a number of pieaes inaluding the i nte res ting Piano Novel:ty "Sandman Frolias " whiah was pub Li .e hed i n 1927 by the Mi lls tduei: c Publishers . Another compoe i tiion, "Ecs iaeu ," was recorded and aanpoeed by Di. etr-ioli Hollingshead. Regarodi ng this pieae, issued amongst the new Ampiao Reaordings listed in the September 1929 Bulle tin, the following i s written: "Tunefulness and lilting rhy t hm will win popularoi t y for this Comp oser Played number ." 70203- F Eastasy .. . , .. .. . Ho llingshead Unclouded happiness is r e cr eat ed in t he r haps odi c mus i c of this l ovely t one poem. I t makes ab undant and skillful use of the r es ourc es of t he pi an o and will delight with its many pl eas i ng and vari ed e f fects . Mme . Hol l i ngshead plays it he r self br i ng i ng her fine musicianship to a notable int erpr etat i on . It may be count ed amongst t he l i ght e r c l assics wi t h Ur sula Dietriah-Hol lingshead at age 79 ! mu ch of popular tunefulness and lilt to wi n for it a wide and enviable popu larity. (Continued )
$1,000.00 tARTAPOLLO Will be paid to anyone Gold Coin (p rofessional mus ician or R epr e 8ent ed BY" otherwise) who ca n dis j , W. Greene P iano Co. tinguish bet ween th e TOLEDO, OH IO hand playing of a fin Mel ville Clark ishe d musician and th e Piano Company music produced by th e Ch icaJlo u\RTAPOLLO ==i:======:======1lP----=- II 5 THE AMleA NEWS BULLETIN
( Con trinued) Rotary Recital
much of popular tunefulness and lilt to win for it Thl' :\pollo Rcproducinu Piano is indeed onl.' III the greutv...t 01 modern a wide and enviable popularity. l·ont ...hutitln.... It irnrnortaliccs for all t ime t hc pla~..ing of t hc world·... urc...uv...t piurust«, The Iur-rcaching influence 01 this murvclou- in In California Mr8. Dietrich-Holling8head has concert vent ron will h l ' -evn at once. ized in Oakland, San Franoieoo; Sacramento, San Diego, Los Anqelee, Riverside, Pasadena, and has lived in Oakland for a period. Program Some of her »evieiae: Miss Dietrich has made rolls for the Apollo Repro ~r\VO PIANOS ducing piano, and originated the idea of "Playing Southern ~ights Waltz Lee S. Roberts duets with herself," as she terms it. A record is l 'rsula Dietrich and the Apollo Reproducing Piano placed on the player-piano and Miss Dietrich plays the same composition with the record on another VI()LI~ piano. She 5hows the human possibilities of the \ lcclitation from Thais \'lassenct player-piano with startling realism, and has ap Isabelle Radman peared before large audiences and was very splen Arou.o A:\l[) MISS DlETRICH. didly received in nearly all the large cities of the Vulsc Parisicnne I.cc S. Roberts United States. .\POllO REPROl)LJCIN(~ PlANt) Mrs. Hollingshead is a musician of no mean ability ~hudcs of :\ight ' . Friedland & Franklin and has studied music for years under the best Plavcd by !\ 1. Kortlandcr masters. She is a native of Denver, and has studied rill" ,.... an exact rccrcat um "I' t lu ..... vleet ion a .. 1"\la\"ed l-v t he ahtl\'l' anl..t • fall hfullv r\.·prlldlll'l'd h~' t he :\poll" in Denver, Colorado, San Francisco and New York ••• ~r\VOPIA~OS Miss Dietrich, a pianist of distinction, played with Ching Chong Lee 5. Roberts particular brilliancy and sureness, alternating her L'rsulu Dietrich and :\pollo Reproducing Piano work with that of the Artapollo. In the "Cantilene Nupitale" of Dubois, played by Miss Dietrich, the lights suddenly disappeared, the melody went on with out break. The record used was one made from Miss Dietrich's own playing and it was impossible to tell the difference between the two. In other selections P:\I'1 KI':I'I FR (·1. Ilmlpl' (:0.) hu- made Miss Dietrich played alternately with the Artapollo. special urrungcmcnts to han' \ li-« Dietrich remain in Omaha for the balance of t his There are many such Lntereetiinq reviews, and I hope week. This young urt isr will give a sl'I'.ies of the book will be pub ld.ehed vePy soon. I also welcome Special Rccituls at the llosp~' Parlor" Thurs Ursula Die ta-i.oh-Hol.linqehead as an Honorary Member of JiIY. Friday and SillllrJa~: afternoon", be AMICAI tween z ;.II1J ~ oclock. with the wonderful . -, -.*.-,*.-, -,*.*. Reproducing .vpoll«.
Thl'- ROlilry member- arc l'''pl:ciilll\" 111 vit cd to c.ill lind brim; t hcir [rivnd:....
L L
TWO PIANOS. ••.• Invitation to the Dance-Von Weber Program MISS DIETRICH PLAYS A DUET WITH HERSELF ARTAFOLLO SOLO ..•..•..•.. La Fontaine Played by Ursula Dietrich. An exact reproduction of ROTARY CLUB OF TOLEDO Miss Dietrich's playing, impersonated by the ARTAPOLLO Toledo, 0., March 2, 1917 VIOLIN ...,..••••.. Meditation from Thais Mr. A, Ruvinsky, accompanied by ARTAPOLLO VOCAL ...... •...•. Elegie-Massenet Mrs. Mary Durfee. Soprana ARTAPOLLO and MISS DIETRICH-Valse Parisienne-Roberts $1000 to be presented to anyone who can distin6Iui~h Miss Ursula Dietrich, Concert Pianist Mise Dietrich's playing (rom that oithe ARTAPOLLO assist~d by TWO PIANOS .••... Southern Night'S Waltz-Roberts Mrs. Mary- Durfee MISS URSULA DIETRICH nnd ARTAPOLLO Mr. A. Ruvinsk)' / II THE AM leA NE WS BULLETIN 6
FRANK BANTA by Bob Pye It 's easy . . and basi c human nature , too . .. to dismiss 1920 's was extremely active i n the disc record s tu di os as justaUt t le second-rate th e work of someone who was as well, acting not on ly as solois t , piani s t wi th "house very pr olif i c; t o lioni ze the obs cure f ew per f ovrnances bands " making dance records , but also as accompanist. of some one whose outp ut was far smal ler, sometimes sim I t 's not often t hat a solo pianist serves well as ac ply because that work i s so inaccessi ble t o most of us. companist , but Frank Banta {and another ro ll s tar, Rube And i n t his ligh t , i t 's easy to f orget t he great con Bl oom} i s an exception. In a conversat ion with ' 20s tribution made t o t he musi c world of the 1920 's by Frank singing star Ai leen S tanley , she r ecal led t o me that Banta, certain ly one of the most pro l.i f i: c of piano-r oll Franki e {as she cal led him} was j ust wonde rful.. . I ~ e per f ormers , and a man who made many phonograph records , was always th ere, f illing i n...wi t h a wonder f ul beat . .. as wel.l . such a ni ce person , t oo." I n th e mid-' 20s, Frank Banta Frank Banta was born in New York Ci ty on Sept ember toured t he vaudevi lle circui ts in th e U.S. and Canada 28th , 1897 . His father, also a ta lented pianist, was one wi th the "Ei ght Popular Victor Artists . " I n a "Mi ni ature of t he true rec ordi ng pioneers, having begun a recordi ng Con cer t " rec orded i n 19 25, he p lays a short but spirited career f or Edi son i n the 1890 's . He died i n 1903. Frank version of "Strut Miss Li zzie . " I n 19 28, 1929 and 1931, began hi s musical education when he was 9, studying Frank Banta went abroad wi t h The Reve le re- »-a popular piano until he was 15. An early i nspiration was Felix vocal quartet on records and radi o. They concertized i n Arndt, we l l- known to piano- r ol l col lectors, and Frank all European citi es and played varie ty houses i n Paris, Banta replaced him in th e Van Eps Trio wh en he was 17. Berlin and London. Frank Banta r emai ned active th rough But t his was not the beginni ng of Frank Banta 's career the 1930's, 1940 's and eve n in the ' 50's, in radi o first, as a pro fe ss ional pianist . As he recalled, his f irst la ter playing i n smal l clubs. job was a weddi ng he played at t he age of about 14, in Frank Banta Died on December 27th , 1968 . Another of the company of avioUnist. They each earned one dollar . the le gion of f orgotten s tars of his era . I n his obit The next ye ar, he played i n dancing school f or weekly uary i n the January 8, 1969 issue of "Var i ety," th e dances with a 5-piece orchestra . The sidemen in this show-b usiness world said goodbye t o him i n a f ew lines : orchestra earned two dollars each . ..but the leader was Fr ank E Ba nt a , 71 , retired NBC r a di o pi anist , died Frank Banta, sa lary: $2.50 . De cember 27t h in Avon New Jersey . Bor n i n New York , CU f f He ss , who died i n the mid-fifties , was an ear ly . he joined NBC i n 1926 an d r emaine d for a 25-year duet partner of Frank Banta -- they made a number of tenur e . He was piani st f or f ledgling radi o show records fo r Columbia and Vo calion. "Manhatt an Mar r y-Go-Round" among others . Besides Around 1920, Fran k Banta began his association with making seve ral r ec ordi ngs , he pl ayed the European the Aeolian Co. , which was to yield dozens upon dozens circui t t hree times as accomp anist for s i nging of r ecordi ngs , mos tly in the snappy dance r hy thms of the quartet, The Reveler s . His wi dow, Ceci lia , s urvives . time . He moved to Ampico i n 192 7, and all during th e Frank Banta About 1930 ~~~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~~ I""""" Frank Banta 1959 THE AMleA NEWS BULLETIN 7
HOWARD BROCKWAY (1870-1951): AN APPRECIATION by David Hudson Wallis For a long while now I have contemplated writing an by Anton Seidl in Brooklyn; a "Sylvan Suite" in article on Howard A. Brockway, American pianist, com Boston by William Gericke and the Boston Symphony poser,and lecturer-recital ist. Only recently, through Orchestra, and, in April, 1907, the same organization my far-flung research efforts, have I accumulated perfo~ed his Symphony in D Major under Dr. Karl enough material to make this article possible. The ob Muck. His choral works have been performed by the vious feature of interest of such an article to the Boston Cecilia Society, under B.J. Lang; the Musical Ampico collector is based on the assumption that every Art Society, of New York, under Frank Damrosch; the Ampico owner has, at the least, several music rolls by Mendelssohn Choir, of Toronto, and other organiza Brockway. But, for the Ampico collector, the Brockway tions. He has played repeatedly with the Kneisel rolls have, perhaps, come to be taken somewhat for Quartet and other chamber music societies. granted, because, as one of our American writers, Last February, Mr. Brockway was appointed by Earl Thomas Paine, has said, "What we obtain too cheap, we Grey, Governor-General of Canada, a judge of the esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives musical competition in the Earl Grey Musical and everything its value." Perhaps one reason we do not pay Dramatic Trophy Competition, which took place in too much attention to the Brockway rolls is that there Toronto the week of April 4, 1910. were--and still are, relatively speaking--so many of Mr. Brockway will give piano and lecture recitals them. I wonder how we would consider Brockway as a this season throughout the country. He will lecture pianist if there were only four or five rolls listed in on the "Latest Word in Opera," illustrating his re the catalogue, and if these were rather rare. Let us marks on the piano. Last season he selected "Madama suppose that the list of the Brockway rolls consisted Butterfly," "Pelleas et Me1isande" and "Electra" as only of the following: "Kammenoi-OstrON" (Rubenstein), representative of the three modern schools of oper "Dance of the Hou rs" from La Gioconda (Ponch iell i), the atic composition. He made a very deep impression by I'Preislied l l from Die Meistersin er (Wagner), and IINot his clear analysis of the texts and by his playing. turno, I In Boccacc i o ' s Vi lla l l l Nevin}. How would we His experience in translating orchestral works on rate him as a pianist--and, in the cases of the Wagner the piano is long, and he is successful to a remark and Ponchielli rolls, as a transcriber--if these were ab le degree. the only Brockway rolls? (These four simply come to That his Symphony ~~ was performed by an orchestra mind quickly because I consi~er them especially fine performances; there are, of course, many recordings I of the stature of the Boston Symphony under the great have never heard.) I presume to suggest that perhaps Muck needs no further comment. Furthermore, I might add ·a re-appraisal of Brockway as an artist and as a musi here that my friend Ralph Obenchain brought to my atten cian is in order. The fact that I have assiduously tion that the eminent virtuosa Fannie Bloomfield-Zeisler endeavored to "dig up" material about him, and the fact had recorded a Brockway composition, "A Serenade," for that I am now writing an article about him, of course, the We 1tee clearly manifests my own high opinions about the man1s One may gather that at this time, 1910, Brockway was l~cturer-recitalist, work, which we all know something about through his busily engaged in his work as Ampico recordings. which, I am quite sure, led to his employment by the Although, outside the mystic cult of Ampico worship American Piano Company from about 1912 to 1916, during ers, very few people today, even in the field of music, which time he recorded probably close to four hundred know the name of Brockway, he was, nonetheless, in the music rolls, and perhaps even more. One may ask the latter part of the nineteenth century and the early question, then, why did Brockway, if he were an impor part of this century, considered to be one of the up tant composer and musician, "stoop" to making piano and-coming young American composers and pianists. This rolls and giving lecture-recitals, especially since this is obvious from the inclusion of his name in a number was during the infancy of the reproducing piano as a of encyclopaedias and dictionaries of music and musi serious instrument for the translation of the pianist's cians of the period. The following is from Musical technique and style? Surely the "pianola" was looked America, September 3, 1910, as some evidence of his upon, at best, by serious musicians, as an interesting position in the American musical scene: (the article is novelty. Certainly Rachmaninoff had not yet made rolls entitled liThe Distinguished Career of Howard Brockway"). for the "p l ano l e'"! I think the answer to this question is clearly elucidated in another article which is an Howard Brockway, one of the most eminent of the interview with Brockway about the then-very-modern com younger generation of American composers, was born poser Enrique Granados, of whose music Brockway was very in Brooklyn, New York, in 1870. In 1890 Mr. Brockway fond, and whom Brockway personally knew, having met him went to Berlin, Germany, and devoted himself heart at the pianist Ernest Schelling's villa, where both of and soul to composition and harmony under the admir them were guests. The following is from an article from able tutelage of the American composer, O. B. Boise. Musical America, August 28, 1915. The interviewer of He continued his piano studies under Heinrich Barth the article laments the fact that, after mentioning for four years. After giving a recital of his own several of Brockway's then-recent compositions, nothing works with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra he re more had recently come from his pen. He then offers an turned to New York in 1895 and there taught compo exp 1ana t ion: sition and piano and also devoted himself to recital work and lectures on the Wagnerian music dramas. But what would you have? The gods of musical cre Thirty-five of these lectures were given during the ation themselves have found all too often that season of 1902-03. composition even in its most transcendent reaches Mr. Brockway's Ballade for orchestra was produced (C:Jn tlnucd next page) THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 8
(Con t.inued) Al. Sterling are Brockwayls.) And yet, practically all brings in relatively meager material returns. Govern the titles listed in the Rythmodik catalogue are of a ments have not yet attained that stage of evolution general'iy "cl assical': or, at least, popular-ballad, dreamt of by Schubert and Wagner when they shall nature. Another interesting possibility is, when looking beneficently lift the burdens of financial obligation at all these titles in the Rythmodik catalogue that are from the shoulders of the creative artist. Mr Brock- not in the Ampico catalogue, were these rolls ever way has a wife and a daughter of college age. Proper issued as Stoddards? I would be interested to know if ministration to the needs of a family required more anyone has any of these "non-Amp i co" Rythmodiks on than an American composer of recognized talents can Stoddard issue. But, since Stoddard rolls are so very derive from the products of his inspiration. It was elusive today, perhaps we will never know how many of imperative that he undertake more ilnmediately remun these Rythmodiks wepe issued as reproducing rolls. erative labor. That he has done and with honor to Certainly there are some interesting titles. himself as ample, in its way, as that with which his Brockway was certainly well suited to the task of compositions dowered him. "churn i nq out" all these rolls, as he had the abi 1i ty to read, from the orchestral score, a spontaneously The interviewer then goes on to explain--and this cer conceived transcription of the work he was playing. tainly touches our interest as Ampico collectors--what Again, to quote from the above arti c 1e: (B rockway Brockway had been doing recently: speaking) He does much teaching. Ris abilities as an ac 'Success has likewise attended my lecture-recitals, companist long ago gave him eminence in a field and I think I may claim, without unseemly egotism, wherein he continues to win distinction. An ency to be better equipped for this work to-day than any clopedic knowledge of Wagner's works and of modern but two or three others in this country. I am so opera in general, as well as an exceptional skill in fortunate as to be gifted with the analytical facul giving luminous exposition of their character and ty and I play with much ease from a full score in contents, lifted him from the first to the front such a way that I need never restrict myself to rank of lecture-recitalists. And in the practice of piano arrangem~tlts, which are also more or less un playing compositions for pianola purposes he has be satisfactory. In musical clubs out of town these come an adept. 10 the duty of recording music for lectures are greatly relished. Most of my efforts the mechanical piano he consecrates much of his time are nowadays directed toward the new operas in the and boundless enthusiasm. Five afternoons a week are Metropolitan repertoire, since almost everyone to spent at the rooms of the AJ.-nerican Piano Company in day is too familiar with the Wagner operas to re performance of every manner of work from the HTrist quire any further elucidation of their character ann prelude to a one-step. And he champions the istics. My faculty for score reading also enables me contrivance against skeptics as passionately as to make my own versions of such orchestral pieces as though he had invented it himself--he will tell you I may be obliged to play for the pianola. ' in an exuberance of almost child-like pride how he converted to the pianola a whole company of hard This ability, of which Brockway speaks, accounts for shelled and incredulous piano teachers. Experts, on the success of his lecture-recitals on various operas- their part, will heartily vouch for the consumnlate this and the fdct tnat he was apparently a highly in excellence of the music rolls for which Mr. Brockway tellectual interpreter and an entertaining raconteur is responsible. with a charming stage presence. Incidentally, this also It needs, then, no considerable imagination to a'ccounts for his abi 1ity to spend "five afternoons a appreciate that the composer has small leisure for week" record i ng a 11 those musi c ro 11 s! the exigencies of creative effort. The sum of his It is indeed in te res t I ng how some of the names tha t accomplislilllents in this direction of late has been- so few recognize today have a way of "cropping up!' in a fox trot based on the Second Rhapsody of Liszt. the strangest combinatiuns! For example, from a Febru Yet Mr. Brockway evinces no mean satisfaction over a ry 2, 19 1I, not i ce : this exploit. Frankly, he acknowledges genuine de The Tonkuenstler Society's concert, last night, light in the rag-time of the day. His fox-trot, he at Memorial Hall, was one of great ante res t , being a informed the writer a short time ago, is a "cuckoo," night for American composers' works. The former a thing of which he is unconcealedly proud. And why Brooklynite, Howard Brockway, whom (he musical world not? A good round musical joke can be made a capital has signally honored, had che first nlUIlber on the thing in its way. programme. It was a Sonata of much virility and mel The above excerpt answers an interesting question, ody, and was played by Carl H. Tollefsen and Mrs. as well as it poses ~nother question. It is clear that Schnabel-Tollefsen. A group of songs by Mrs. H.R.A. Brockway was, more or less, employed "fu l l time" Beach, Qladwick and Whiting were next sung delight making music rolls during this time. But who, I should fully by Miss Bernice Case, accompanied bv Miss Caroline Taylor•. ~ .....---.._.._.._ .._._~ 1ike to know, has his roll of his arrangement, (and practically all the Brockway recordings are his own ar rangements), of the Liszt "Hunqar i an Rhapsody No. 2" as a fox trot? Did he ever actually record it? Did he ever record fo r Ame r i can i' i ano Company any popu1a r mus ic of that sort? A look at the Rythmodik catalogue of the time reveals, just at a glance, about twice as many titles as ever appeared under either his own name or that of Kmita in the later Amp i co catalogue. (un the subject of pseudonyms, I a 1so suspect tha t the ro 11 s 1is ted unde r (Continued next p~ge) 9 THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN
(Con t inued) them. He was born in Brooklyn and studied music there and in Berlin. At the age of 25 he had pro How many Ampico collectors recognize the name of gressed so far that he could give a concert of his Augusta Schnabel-Tollefsen, and her then-well-known own works with the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. He husband, the violinist, Carl Tollefsen? --and playing has composed a symphony and other large orchestral a Brockway Sonata at that! (Those of you, who, like works, and considerable chamber music, besides chor me, are collectors of old records will recognize as als and songs. well two members of the Tollefsen Trio, who made sever This review clearly shows a man whose talents com al records for the Victor, as well as Mrs. H.H.A.Beach, bined that of the finished pianist, the analytic critic several of whose songs were recorded for the Victor, of dramatic literature, and the polished and eloquent and who herself appears on several Victor Records as lecturer. accompanist.) Also, one of the Schnabel-Tollefsen In conclusion, and at the risk of drawing myself into Ampico recordings is a Beach compositionl Moreover, how an aesthetic or musicological controversy, I should like many people would ever connect the name of Brockway to make a few comments about Brockway's style as a with Mary Garden? Nonetheless, Brockway was her accom pianist. Perhaps I should define the terms I am using. panist on a concert tour in about 1914 or 1915. From By 8 ty le I mean II t ha t total 0 f piani s tic pe rs ona 1i t Y the brochure of Brockway's agent for his recital lecture traits which distinguish one pianist's individual per tours: formance of a piece of music from another pianist's As a pianist, too, Mr. Brockway has met with posi individual performance of that same piece of music." tive acclaim. His participation as assisting artist This is not to be confused with technique, by which I on the last concert tour made by Mary Garden brought mean lithe pianist's mechanical ability--velocity, accur him the unqualified endorsement of twenty-seven acy, etc., --to playa piece of music in the first leading cities. place." In other words, technique is, simply, the abil Another interesting review I ran across of one of ity to play all the notes that are written with Brockway's lecture-recitals concerned his program of accuracy at the proper speed. I doubt that anyone would the then-very-modern opera Electra of Richard Strauss: question the technique, according to my definition, displayed in Brockway's rolls. There are, however, some Many who have heard Richard Strauss' opera, "Electra," people--and particularly some of today's purist musi damned as hideous cacophony were led to change their cologists who seem to delight in making their Olympian minds by hearing Howard Brockway at Zenobia hall judgments about the "sloppy" pianism of the past--de Monday evening. Mr. Brockway, who appeared under the finitely would consider Brockway's style to be bad auspices of the Dauphin Institute, talked about style. That, of course, is their prerogative. Particu "Electra" and about Engelbert Humperdinck's "Koenig larly "bad,1I they would say, are the broken or rolled skinder," and illustrated the music by playing chords and erratic tempi, replete wi th lIexaggerated" selections. retardando and accelerando "1iberties." Mr. Brockway showed that he was among the few who Well, let us remember that style--and agai~ I am are unbiased on the subject of Strauss. He admitted, using my defi~ition--of execution in music, as in even emphasized, what he called the "dissonances" in everything else, does change, for better or worse, de the score, but he said that in no other way but by pending upon the subjective point of view of him who is dissonance could the composer convey the idea of levelling judgment against whatever "style" is being hatred and revenge which ruled the mind of the al~ judged. I think we are sometimes too quick to denounce most-mad Electra, bent upon avenging the death of the style of piano playing of the late nineteenth and her father, Agamemnon, at the hands of her mother, early twentieth century as IIbad," or "sloppy,1I or what Clytemnestra. ever, when, in fact, what we are really saying is that Undoubtedly the "dissonances" which Mr. Brockway style today is "differentll--the whole concept of what emphasized were disappointing to a great many who is desi reable, or acceptable, or in "good taste" is had expected sounds of extreme hideousness. Played simply diffepent from fifty years ago. upon a single piano, they lost a good deal of the If we look at some of the music rolls of some of the effect they might have produced if given forth by a most highly acknowledged pianists of their day, e.g., full orchestra. But Mr. Brockway's fine playing Rachmaninoff, Godowsky, Hofmann, Leginska, Lhevinne, et showed sufficiently why the opera, produced by a com al., , the music rolls wi 11 shON us that, in this case, pany like the Metropolitan, conveys horror to the the ear is certainly quicker than the hand. I mean that audience and causes shuddering and up-ended hair. you will find chords in which the notes are not struck And yet, as Mr. Brockway did not fail to point out, simultaneously, but they are so close together, in many there are passages of exquisite beauty, such as when cases, that the ear cannoi tell the notes have not been Electra begs her returned brother, Orestes, never to struck simultaneously. This is because the tones pro desert her. duced by the notes, particularly when the damper pedal As a lecturer--he professes to hate the word--Mr. is used, quickly blend together. One can actually see Brockway is a treat. His personal appeal wins the on the roll what the ear cannot detect. Of course, on audience from the moment he begins to talk. He is the other hand, many chords are very deliberately IIbro original. "Clytemnestra," he said, "reminded me of a ken!' and the ear hears an obvi ous ly broken chord. One toad. She was fat like a toad, and sickly white, and is only led to think that, considering the frequency she was covered with charms and talismans and amu with which most of the pianists on the rolls break-- lets. When she walked they glistened with a baleful chords, certainly with varying degrees, and since these light." And he played the music which, he said, meant were pianists of considerable technique, they must have the ominous sheen of the jewels. Mr. Brockway is 40 years old, and looks 30 of (Continued next page) THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN 10
(Continued) known what they were doing; and if they had wanted to Without further belaboring the point, allow me to do so, they surely could have played the chords with say that I think I understand Brockway's stylistic and all the notes struck at the same time. Therefore, the aesthetic rationale lying behind this characteristic, conclusion I have reached is that this business of and personally I like it. For, when several notes in a II ro11ed chords" definitely must have been a pianist chord are struck slightly before or after the others, a characteristic of the style of the entire period. Some greater number of separate tones are produced, initially, pianists, very simply, liked this characteristic more before they blend together with the damper pedal, pro than others did. We are, therefore, on "shaky ground" ducing an effect quite different from the sound of a --as it seems to me--to level too strong a value judg chord all of whose notes are struck simultaneously. I ment against this characteristic simply because most shall continue to consider Brockway's rendering of pianists do not seem to care for it today. It is a dan "Kanmenoi-Ostrow" as fine a performance, and as poetic gerous thing to label what we like or dislike in art as and sensitive a performance, if not more so than either IIgood" or "bad," because such judgments are Lhevinne's. But then, as the Romans said, "De gustibus necessarily highly subjective ones. non diepuiandum est." """"""""""""""""""""
AMICAN ABROAD roll. There is no roll number on the cards, only title, by Anita Nickels pianist and composer and the cards are in not particu lar order. The ptano, a beautiful ebony, is 210 cm. I am on a short leave from the school in Denmark to long, has the outside pump cabinet and is exhibit no. do some work at the International Youth Library in Mun 58984. A few more rolls have been donated since and I ich. My scholarship is for 3 months and I will be back counted 84 cards. The value of the instrument in 1926 in Denmark by May first. wa~ listed at 9,000 marks (today 1 OM is 27¢). The Probably one of the greatest attractions in Munich donor is listed as C. Bechstein, Berlin and M. Welte & second to the fabulous rococo palaces is the Natural Sohne, Freiberg. The museum was heavily damaged during Science and Technology Mus,eum. I t is supposed to be the the war and the piano rebuilt in 1956. According to largest scientific and technical museum in the world Herr Thomas very little work needed to be done and he with displays of machines and engineering feats. On the had the help of Mr. Bokisch (no longer living), son in second floor is the"physics department" which purports law of Mr. Welte. (See AMICA ABROAD, January issue.) to give one the theoretical groundings in science with Another item of interest was the Hupfeld Phonoliszt. made up glass display cases with handles, levers and This is 1is ted as exh i bit no. 73492. It is spec if ica 11 y buttons to push. There are even full scale reconstruc A Hupfeld Phonoliszt Violina, model 1 A in Eiche, year tions of factories and industrial items--and also an 1912. It was donated to the museum in 1956 by Herren tique cars, planes and ships. It is a kid's paradise. Baumgurtel and Winter, two elderly gentlemen, who origi And with all this there must be the history and devel nally worked at the Hupfeld factory. They also helped opment of musical instruments. While leasure1y partaking to restore the instrument. Herr Thomas felt, however, of all these wonders (much superior to Smithsonian) I that the instrument was not performing as well as it came across the musical instruments and music saloon. should. With it are 20 rolls and the value as of 1956 The section begins with instruments whose main function listed at 760 marks. is to mark rhythm of music. The developments continue Something else that struck my fancy was the electri to the room with the keyboard instruments. There are fied piano. A piano without a sounding board. The many beautiful examples of 16th, 17th and 18th century strings were lying in the normal manner (by outward instruments including the clavichord, harpsichord and appearances a normal grand) but for about every 5-8 the hammer piano and organs, about 40 in all. There are strings there was an attachment like the diaphram on also some music boxes. And then--according to the guide a telephone. All this was connected to a speaker cabinet. --IIAutomatic instruments reached their peak of develop The console holding the speakers also had facilities for ment with the Welte-Bechstein reproducing piano." A disc recording. The artist played and the sound was gentleman demonstrated various pianos by playing appro amplified. This is exhibit no. 66339 and is listed as priate music and then finishing with a selection on the the Bechstein-Nernst-F1uge1, after the inventor, Dr. Welte. During my first visit I was not aware of what Nernst. It was donated from the factory by Carl Bech- ~ was in store so it was very pleasant surprise. I s te i n Ber 1in i n Ap r i 1, 1934, va 1ue 1,000 ma rks • secured the name of the custodian and on my second For some reason, the photo morgue did not have pic visit was able to interview Herr Fritz Thomas. Herr tures of these instruments. The library director was Thomas was most obliging and answered my many questions. ill, but I left the appropriate AMICA 1i terature. In He took me to the catalog room where all items in the checking the library holdings I found a number of books museum are listed by number with the pertinent infor about music boxes, all familiar titles, but virtually mation, and the photographic department where a file of nothing on player pianos (German or English). Ther~was pictures are kept of all exhibits and the library. a book dealing..with the history of pianos: Dolge, Alfred. The Bechstein Welte grand was given to the museum I in 1926, a gift from the factory. With it came 80 rolls. The catalog of rolls consists of a file card for each (Continued next page) (Cont.i nued) It all star ted back in t he midwest , in central Iowa , when I r v was six or s even years old . A neighbor Pianos and The ir Makers: ACompre hensive History of the down the s t r ee t had a 65 note A.B . Chase f oot pumped De ve l opmen t of the Piano from th e Monochord to th e Con player pi ano which had been used years before in a cert Grand Player Piano. Covina Publish ing Co., Covina, silent movie the at er . The neighb or l ady a l s o knew she Ca l i f o r n i a, 1911. It pred ic ted a ma gn i f i ce n t future for had I rv hooked . She got him to mow the yard , cl ean th e player piano! No mention of cou rse abou t the Amp ico the attic or basement , or do some other chore with t he o r Du o-Art, but did ment ion some of the great artists rew ard being t he pr i ve lege of playing the pl ayer piano . perf orming on the Welte . Hopefull y, wi t h the influence Later on Irv de ve loped into the projectionist at of AM I CA the I ibra ry wi l l ob t a i n more books. the local theat er an d even hel ped ins tall the pr oj ec tion and sound equipment . On t op of t hi s he had his +++ +++++++++++++++++ own radio r epa i r shop f r om t he a ge of seventeen . Afte r t rying out Califor nia for fi ve years , he r e t ur ned to I owa to open a TV and appliance sales and EAG LE ROCK AREA EPICENTER OF RECENT RUMBLI NGS service store whil e acquiring three upri ght foot pump players as a hobby . One piano was a Howard , by Ba l dwi n , by Karl Petersen another a Hobar t M. Cable , and the third , finest of all , a Pac kar d . The r oll library gr ew t o s even hundred En thus i asm got t he be t t e r of t he l oca l attic and selections acquir ed mostly from friends who had l ong ba s emen t s earchers here las t mon th. After seei ng Irv s i nce disposed of t he ir pianos or s topped plaYing them. Ei l e rs ' pianos and she lves upon shelves of r ol l s, many Among these r olls we re six Amp i co r ec ordi ngs . I nvest i who ha d talked t hemse l ve s into a small t welve-roll or gat i ng , he l ear ne d t hey were a fabulous piano roll , and one ins t r umen t col l e ct i on went out s c r oungi ng for more he vowed t o ha ve an Amp i co some day . goodies . At 6 a. m. one morning a l ong sq uare box On r eturning t o California in 1959 , a fi r st pr oj ect marked "Ar s e t Calamitas" was s po t t ed a t t he bo t t om of was to acqui r e his Knabe Ampico grand f rom Comsky on a l a rge pile of misce l l any . Upon removing t he rare two West Pico i n Los Angeles . Twenty-five rolls came with note t ympani r e cording from t he he ap, t he wh ol e mess i t and now I rv has enl arged that t o a collection of b r oke loose , dis t urbing neighbo rs be tween San Diego and one thous and Ampico numbers . the San Joaquin. .Soon his piano fi xation gr ew stronger and a de al Good reporting dictates t hat you be informed of was made for a c ompletelY r ebui l t, restrung , and r e f i n t he de tai ls of the Ei l e r s meeting preceeding t hi s ev ished Webe r Duo-Art from Charlie Robbi ns who at that en t : t he program be gan wi th gree t i ngs from local Chair time had a pi ano s hop on Sunset Boulevar d . St art i ng in man Bill Mintz , then t he Treasurer 's report by Tom 1965, the Duo- Ar t roll co l l ection has grown t o about Meed e r showed t hat doo r receip t s wer e s till covering six hundr ed and the 88 note rolls number ne arly 1500. r efre shmen t and meeting noti ce expendi tures . Movi e s wer e next wi t h "Ca t Concerto," t he 1946 Academy Award wi nni ng Tom and Jerry cartoon ma de a t Wa r ne r Br ot he r s . Nex t , t wo rare shor ts of Duo- Ar tis t Phi l Ohman showed or chestra and stage n umbers wi t h excellen t clos e ups of Ohman' s ke ybo ard f orm showing that, by go l l y , you Duo-Art f ans , he really can olay like th a t! These we r e very much like TV va r i e tv shorts of t he late Forties, but we re und oub tedl v ma de f or some thi ng l i ke t he Rooseve lt shor ts of t he Thirties . Having t wo adjacent pi anos is fine for a neatly managed program , as Irv a l t ernated be twee n the Knabe Amp ico and Web e r Duo-Ar t for these demons t r a t ions: ppe lude, G mi nop Rachmani noff Se pgei Rachmaninof f ppelude, G minop Rachmanin off Jos ef Ho fmann Engu lfed Cathedra l: Debuseu E. Rober-t: Schmi tz Etiude- Ni.nt e» lii nd Ch opi n Al f ped COPt ot Enchan ted Numph. Levi t?ky Mischa Levi tzkl1 Jea ux d 'Eau' Ravel E. Rober- t: Schmi t z Pi ano f'laqe Barqu .90,11 Barqu HaPd Heapt ed Hannah Eduthe Bake p Li t tle Gpeu Home i n the West Lee Sims Wi l.l.o» Wee p f op Me PhU Ohman Sing Me a Baby Song Waltep Dona ldson I pv Ei Ze ps s i t t i ng at hi s Knabe Ampico, behind his Klavier Re cor ds we r e given as door pr i zes to a Web ep Duo-Apt at last month 's So. Calif. meeting. whol e bunch of pe ople. The numbe r of these excellent recor ding s given a s prize s as t ounded many guests, bu t (Con t i nued nex t page) no one r e fus ed his award. Luc ky reci pien ts i nclude d Bar r y Spence r , Richard J . Smi th , Derwood Cab le , David .....- .... ._.__..._...... _..._-_.-...... Si l verman , Dick Ri gg , and Ceci l Dover. Mrs . Ne t her c ut t .----- won a dona ted r ol l . The advance notices f or t he me e ting de taile d I r v ' s long i n t e r es t in mecha nica l music makers , and we quote : r ~ THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN
(Cont i nued ) Wi t h t he exception of t he Ampico stack r ebuilt by Clai r e Spencer ab out f our year s ago , I r v does a ll t he maint enan ce , tuning , and adjusting on bot h pianos . He fee ls t hat the mos t enjoyment from the pi an os comes from sh a r i ng them with othe rs who en j oy the hobby . The Glendale Ser vi ce Company employs Mr . Ei l er s as an Electronic s Techni c i an , handling al l the electronic organ ser vi ce an d some TV and hi-fi work , but I r v s t ill finds s ome time t o tune a piano now an d t hen on t he side . Last month we incorrectly reported th~ the new Vi ce-Cha irman f or Southern California was J on Lawson for he has f ound it ne cessary t o decline the ap p o i n t ~ men t a t this t i me. New ap pointments were Ma ter ial s Chairman , Gary Hess ; Ar r ang ement s , Bobbie Mintz; and Bul l e tin Board Chairman, Sam Thomp son. Sam Thompson also heads the committee in t his re gion t o coordinate local roll selections for the pro gram of recuts being developed by the Player Pi an o Company of Wichi t a . We are pleased that Ampi co col lectors and per hap s Welte and others in th e future wi l l be able to bene f i t from this outgrowth of dis cussions between Durrell Armstrong and Tom Me eder at the 1970 I nternati onal Convention last year. 'I'a» Meeder ( rt) , Treasurer , accepti ng a gavel from the """"""11""""""""""""" club i n appreciation of his pas t ye ar as Chai rman. Bi II Min t z , our pres en t Ch ai rman (center ) , is a lso pres ent i ng Sam Thomps on (lef t ) wi t h a letter of apore ci.at ion
]1I1~dglt.~.~.lg~~.~III!114;~~~~~III~_I~~lg~~~I~iI IINSTRUMENT NEWS AND EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT a well 1mown c.on c.eJt.t pii1J'U.6 t in :thebt endeavoM . The by Dave Saul /tu eaAc.heM we/te i n no way c. onnec.t:ed wd h bLUldeM 06 /tep/toduung pian0-6 , and made no mention 06 them i n t he , An i~em entitled DI SCR~ MI NATI NG PL AYER - PIANOS pub aJt.tic.le . The /tu uLt6, howe ve/t, we/te inevitable and qLUte whed.<.n l Mt month'-6 "B.<. ogttaph.<.c.al S/z etc.hu" (» , 6 ) c.onc.lU!.>ive . Quoting 6/tom the atttic.le' -6 ab-6.ttta.c.t: ma/z u c. eJt.ta.<.n M-6etttiOn-6 tha« desesve a bit 06 6ollow "Thi s study pres ents e xact quant i t a t i ve c on up t o c.leaA t he a-<-/t. Al:though ott.<.ginaUy pubwtied i n f irmation of t he f i ndings of othe r i nvestigators 191 3, .tJ:e a6o/tc;.mentioned aJt.tic.le ~u.du to populaA m.<.-6 that t he l oudne s s and tone of a pi a no note a r e ,:-onc.eptiovt-6 wlu.c.h, et;l:th ough l o~g M nc.e d.<.-6p/toved bo:th uniquely de t er mi ned by the veloc ity of t he hamme r .<.n t heMy and p/tac.ti c.e, aAe /tutettated and even believed at t he t i me of i mpact wi t h t he s tri ng ." ail to ~ 6 /t eq uen~y today . The mO-6 t ou.ttta.ge oU-6 a6 aU So be. .<..t. -6 uc.h ,mMc.onc.eptiovt-6 M M/tU :that d.<.66e/tenc.u i n tone. "t"""""" ,, t, , qual.<.ty c.an be. p/toduc.e.d -6ole.l y by d~66e./t e.n c. u i n touc.h on t h e. Ize. yboaAd. S ~ E C I A L The. notion titat d.<.66e./te.n c.u i n quality c.ould be. p/to RE QU EST: VOe-6 anyone. have. i n60mnation 06 any . duc. e.d by d.<. 66e./te.n c.e.-6 i n :the. time. :the. hamme./t .<.-6 i n I<..<.n d on t he. Soloe.lle.? Rom 06 til.<.-6 type. , c.ontaif1..ing c. ontac.t wi :th th»: -6 :ttUng .<.-6 , i n i u e.l6 , e. n.t.<.tte.ly valid. e. xp/tu -6 i on c. od.<.ng 06 a I11tj-6 t e.tt.<. OU!.> s on«, -6 eem to tuttn up H~we.ve./t , ~e.-6 e.aAc.h hM shoos: :that a c.onve.ntional g/tand in 6aUt numbe.M i n the. San Fttanwc.o Me.a. I vt-6 .tJtwn e.nu p.<.ano ac.tion 066e.M :the. pii1J'U.6 t no oppotttundy what e. ve./t t o play :them -6e. em t o have. gone. tile. way 06 :the. Dodo bbtd, howe. ve./t . Maybe. d ' -6 jU-6t M will, but it woul d be. n.<. c. e. ~o VaA~ til e. time. a6 ~ ontac..t wi:thout aU a vaAying :the. .<.nte.vt-6 .<.ty. M :the. bu..<.lde.M a6 /te.p /toduu n9 P'<' an0-6 /z neN to /znow 6ott -6 utte. . ","," r, i r r : I'" r, 6uU we.ll, t~ e. pii1J'U.6t c. on.t!toa (Mide. 6/tom pe.daUng ) only th« vaJt.<.able.-6 a6 time. and in.te.n-6ity 6o/t each. note.. How about -6 e. nd.<. ng u ~ a photo 06 qou« 6avo/tUe. ivt-6.t!tu One. 06 tile. mO-6 t c.omp/teheMiv e. s tudces on the -6 ubj ec.t tj~ .<.-6 ,~ u e me. nt ? TheM page-6 bel ong to EVE RYON E i n AmC A, and 10M pubwhed tn tile Oc.tobe/t, 1934 06 tlu: Jouttnal ne e d~ /t e~ ~ 06 tii e Ac.OU-6 ti. c.al Soc. i.et tj 06 Al1Ie /t.i. c.a . Re ~C aAc.l t eM llaA,t, dO H' t oJil etit.i Hg (,J1Ibling King Tut' peM OHell F ~e/t and L u ~ b tj pe./t60!l.me.d e.x h a u~ .t i. v e te~t i ng altd analy Duo-Attt t o get public.at i on -6 pac.e.. JU-6t a plai n oid ~ u at,tile. Uf1..t~e.!W .~y 06 Pe.nlt-6 ylvan.<.a '-6 :l foo/te Sc.l lO ol 06 band o/tgaft, 1t. GEORGE G. FOSTER OUTLINES Hamlin piano would take regarding the Ampico, it was a THE POLICY FOR MASON & HAMLIN difficult problem to face, to say nothing of what the by Doug Hickling Mason & Hamlin dealers looked forward to as to the pol On December 20, 1923, George G. Foster announced the icy that would prevail when all matters pertaining to acquisition by the American Piano Company of Mason & the affiliation had been definitely settled. Hamlin Company. Mason ~ Hamlin had been in financial With these complications brought about through the difficulty for years and had come under the control of well known difficulties territorial franchises presented the Cable Company, located in Chicago. Fred Rydeen re it took time for the American Piano Company and the calls that by 1923, it was clear that Mason & Hamlin Mason & Hamlin Company to arrive at definite policies could not compete with Steinway, Knabe, or Chickering that would be for the best interests of the dealers unless it had a reproducing action--and it selected the holding these franchises and what would be the best for Ampico. Foster would not let any piano use the Ampico the piano trade generally. unless it was part of his company and Mason & Hamlin After much deliberation the following plans were out was willing to sell. The prestige of the Mason & Hamlin lined by Mr. Foster this week at the meeting of the product and name was such that the owners of the com Ampico Art Society held on Thursday, and those who have pany were able to command a price of $2,OOO,OOO--certain been most concerned as to what the Mason & Hamlin and ly a startling sum for a money-losing business and an the Ampico would present under these new conditions are amount probably not exceeded by the sum paid by the now placed in possession of the facts. Heller (Winter) interests for the entire Aeolian Amer Those who have studied these conditions have sensed ican Corporation in 1959. that the Ampi.oo was the dominating influence in this The article which follows appeared in the June 7, affiliation. 1924 issue of Musical Courier Extra and has been Mr. Foster announced that the Ampico Company was condensed. Foster1s establishment of the Ampico company, being formed and would become a division of the American as a sepe ra te divis ion of American Piano Company, was Piano Company. This means that the Ampico Company will really not much of a change, it being the Amphion com assume the same position as now does the Mason & Hamlin, pany, acquired in 1922, operating in a new guise. It is the Chickering, the Knabe, the Foster-Armstrong and also doubtful if many of the Mason & Hamlin grand other divisions of the American Piano Company. This pianos containing Ampico actions were in fact made with will serve to bring the Ampico into a division that out tension resonators. Despite the concern that the will allow the Ampico to stand alone and yet be co "beauti ful outl i nes" of the Mason & Haml in would be ordinate with all the divisions of the American Piano disfigured if the case were made deeper to house the Company. Ampico, the buying public was apparently willing to It was to be expected that the well known ambitions sacrifice beauty for quality, even at higher cost. of the American Piano Company lead to all that will hold the makes of pianos represented by this fiduciary George G. Foster, president of the American Piano to the top, and to do this it was decided that if the Company, outlined this week the policy of the affili Mason & Hamlin could be induced to affiliate with the ation of the Mason & Hamlin, the Knabe, and the institution built by these men in control, it would be Chickering companies, which tells the awaiting high a bringing together of the three most available high grade dealers throughout the country who hold franchises grade pianos of the industry, all presenting histori.es with these makes of pianos what will be brought about that had done much to bringi.ng the piano industry of through the affiliation of the Mason & Hamlin with this thLs country to that position iahere i.t: was possible to great combine of high grade leaders, probably the most acclaim that the pianos of America are the best in the important movement that has ever taken place in the iaonl.d, piano world. The Ampico will be installed in the Mason & Hamlin. Probably no movement has ever been presented to the This is the most interesting statement that Mr. piano dealers of this country that has created the Foster makes. amount of discussion as has this affiliation, and this This installation of the Ampico i.n the Mason. & Hamlin is said with memories of what took place when it was will be made in a way that will maintain the position announced that an affiliation had been effected between of the Mason. & Hamlin to the policies that have made it the Knabe, the Chickering, and the Foster-Armstrong such a marked inetrument: in its way. companies in 1908. The Ampico will be installed in two sizes of the During the time of the creating a firm foundation Mason & Hamlin, one a small grand to be built, and for for the business of the American Piano Company, the Am which designs are now in fruition, the length to be pico, an unknown quantity in 1908, was developed and something like 5 feet 2 or 3 inches. brought to bear a position that has excited the admir This small grand will not be manufactured with the ation of the piano world, to say nothing of what it has tension resonator. done in the musical world. The other style will be the Mason & Hamlin 5 foot It was well known that the policy of the Mason & 8 inches in length. Hamlin had been to not accept any reproducing mechanism This piano will not carry the tension resonator, in the Mason & Hamlin, and so strong had this been made except in those instruments that are built without the known that it caused many conjectures as to just what Ampico. would be the policy of the American Piano Company after Probab7.y this is all best explained by saying that the affiliation of the Mason & Hamlin with the great all Mason & Hamlin pianos that are deeiqned as st~aight institution that had reached the peak as regards the pianos will have the tension resonator, and all those exploitation of the high grade instruments manufactured that have the Amo ioo will be without the tension. reson and in which the Ampico was exclusively installed. ator, with the exception. of the new small grand to be With the Knabe and Chickering dealers throughout the bui It. country looking forward as to what position the Mason & (Con. tinued next page) (Con t.inued) BABY AMPICO ISSTILLPER FORMING FOR ORIGINAL OWNERS The Ampico can be installed i n t he Mas on & Hamlin pi an os wi th the t en sion resonator, but thi s carries by Dave Saul with i t a di sfi gurement of th e instrument that Mr. Fos Back in 1940 whe n Mr . & Mr s. Bruce McKeehan went to t e r exp lai ns oy the statement t hat such a disf igurement th e Oakland, California branch of Sherman-Clay Co. to wi l l mil i t a te a gains t the sale of the Mason & Hamlin purc hase a brand new Baby Ampico , they were told that wi t h t he Ampico . the entire stock of these instruments had been sold, All pi ano men can readily understand the pr ot es ts and no further sh ipments were expected. Disappointed, that woul d a r i se by a disfigur emen t of a piano of t he M ~ . McKee han made arrangements to purchase a conven beautiful ou tlines of the Mason & Hamlin . tional piano from another dealer. At the last possible Those who l ook to t he external app ~ arance of a piano moment a salesman telephoned t o reveal that he had woul d not f avor t he making of a case of a gr and piano loca ted a Baby Ampi co in another dealer's wa re house s evera l i nc hes deepe r than at present, and in the in several hundred mi les awa y. The other pending sale was teres t s of pi ano s e l l i ng i t was de ci ded to obviate this qu ickl y cancelled, and the McKee hans became the proud by elimina t i ng t he tension resonator . owners of t he George Steck ins t r ument shown in the This poli cy as to the tension r esonator has been accompanying photos . f ol l owed by the Mason & Haml i n i n t he past and this by Thirty one years later, the Baby Ampico still looks the elimination of the tension resonator in the upright like new. The hi gh- glos s finis h of its dark-stained pi anos of the Mas on & Haml i n productions. wa lnut case is unblem ished and immaculate . Directly to Those who desi re t he Mason & Hamlin pianos with the the right of the piano s tands a custom roll cabinet tension resonator can ha ve them by paying the difference exactly matching the tiny reproducer's finish and i n the cost of production , f or the installation of the st yl ~ng in every detail. tension r e sonator is a costly proce s s, and has i t s ad Although this Ampico has never had work of any kind va n tage s to t hose who have i mpulses that way , but it is performed on it, with except ion of tun ing and minor ad be l ieved t hat i n the presenting the Mason & Haml i n with justments, it re ma ins in top condition throughout. t he Ampico wi thout the tension res onator there will be Somehow es caping the ravages of ti me, t he or iginal a levelling of all objections that mi ght be made as to tubing and pneumatic cloth have rema ined as sof t and this installation of the one or the other, th~t is the pliable as new. Rolls run unhesitatingly at the correct Ampico or the tension resonator. tempo , calling forth music with the zi p and vitality of Na t ur a l l y the price ques t i on wi l l prove of i nte r e s t a reproducer in fine condi ti on. to all, but in this the dealers who hol d f ranch i s es for the Mas on & Hamlin, the Knabe and the Chickering wi l l be taken into the confidence of the ~eri can Piano Company. It wi l l be found that this ques t ion has been solved as lucidly as ha s that of t he placing of the Ampico i n the Mas on & Ham lin . t,t"" t", t"""" The spinet Ampi co reveals its inner workings in this photo wi t h th e bottom removed. The expression mechanism i s underneath the pneumat io staok, partly hidden behind the large r ubber hoses . Note the single oresoendo unit above and to t he le f t of th e pedals .