MAY 1976 ~
VOLUME 13 NUMBER 4 ha.s eUUETIS AM I C A OF THE AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTOU ASSOCIATION THE AMICA NEWS BULLETIN
Published by the Automatic Musical Instrument Collectors' AMICA MEMBERSHIP RATES: Association, a non-profit club devoted to the restoration, distri bution and enjoyment of musical instruments using perforated Continuing Members: $ IS Dues paper music rolls. New Members, add $5 processing fee Lapsed Members, add $3 processing fee Contributions: All subjects of interest to readers of the bulletin are encouraged and invited by the publisher. All articles must be received by the 10th of the preceding 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. OFFICERS Advertisements: Personal ads by members are accepted and inserted in the Bulletin at a rate of B¢per word, $1.20 minimum. INTERNATIONAL CHAPTER Businesses and persons wishing more space may use the following guidelines: OFFICERS OFFICERS
- Advertising rate is $12.50 per quarter page or multiple PRESIDENT NO. CALIFORNIA thereof. Bo.b Rosencrans Pres.: Frank Loob Vice Pres.: Howard Koff Camera·ready copy must reach the publisher by the 10th of VICE·PRESIDENT the preceding month. Bill Johnson Sec.: Dick Reutlinger Treas.: Bill Wherry Ad copy will be typeset (at nominal additional cost) only SECRETARY Reporter: Diane Lillibridge if requested. Isadora Koff SO. CALIFORNIA All ads will appear on the last pages of the Bulletin, at the BULLETIN discretion of the publisher. Pres.: Prentiss Knowlton Tom Beckett Vice Pres.: Elliot Lacy Publication of business advertising in no way implies AMICA's 681 7 Cliffbrook Drive Sec.: Evelyn Meeder endorsement of any commercial operation. However, AMICA Dallas, Texas 75240 Treas.: Jim Christopher reserves the right to refuse any ad that is not in keeping with MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Reporter: Bill Toeppe AMICA's general standards or if complaints are received indicatinQ (New Memberships and TEXAS ------that said business does not serve the best interests of the members Mailing Problems) of AMICA, according to its goals and by-laws. Pres.: Dick Barnes Anita Nickels Johnson Vice Pres.: Doyle Cassel P. O. Box 666 Sec./Treas.: Tony Palmer BULLETIN ADVERTISING ·IS CASH IN ADVANCE Grand Junction, Reporter: James Guinn Colorado 81501 MIDWEST TREASURER Pres.: Milton Cooperman Jack and Mary Riffle Vice Pres.: Jim Prendergast Sec./Treas.: Jim & Sue Worgull Reporter: Molly Yeckley a Cover design created from menu BOARD REPRESENTATIVES PHILADELPHIA AREA Pres.: Larry Cornell cover submitted by Nick Jarrett. Nick Jarrett, N. California Vice Pres.: Ron Swanson Haden Vandiver, Texas International AMICA 70 Sec.: Barbara Macartney Ron Swanson, Philadelphia Treas.: Doris Berry Horowitz recital 73 Alan Mueller, S.O.W.N.Y. Reporter: Bill Pilgermayer AMICA Forum 76 Jim Weisenborne, Midwest SOWNY (So. Ontario, West N.Y.) Welte list 77 Pres.: Richard Drewniak Rolls and Music 78 Vice Pres.: William Hatzenbuhler Instruments 78 Sec.: Janet Drewniak Northern California 79 Treas.: Stan Aldridge Southern California 80 Reporter: Edythe Aldridge Felix Klempka Texas 82 Biographical Sketches: ROCKY MOUNTAIN Pending Olga Samaroff 85 Leo Ornstein 87 Technicalities 89 REPORT OF THE NOMINATING COMMITTEE - 1976 The following members of AMICA have been nominated for the positions as indicated:
President - Bob Rosencrans
Vice President - Rick Drewniak
Secretary - Isadora Koff
Treasurer - Jack and Mary Riffle
Membership Secretary - Anita Nickels Johnson
Publisher - Tom Beckett Anita· Nleket6 John6on NONCOM Chairman
NEW JERSEY MEETING The New Jersey Chapter will be holding its first meeting on Sunday, June 6, 1976, probably in
Morristown. For further details, please call Joan I B. Chase at 201-439-2762 •. Jnfernafional JlcfJrJf8Jl
MINI-CONVENTION REPORT FROM THE PUBLISHER BY LINDA KOEHLER BULLETIN PROCESSING
Enclosed in this issue of the BULLETIN is the final As a result of the flurry of calls I receive about registration form for the mini-convention to be the 10th of each month, I would like to repeat a held at the Ramada Inn in Joplin Missouri, on Jun~ few points that will perhaps be of service to all. 25,26, and 27. 1) I DO hold to the 10th of the month deadline. Bill Pohl, president of the Joplin Amicans, is This is strictly volunteer work and I just can't chairman of the convention planning committee. budget time for last-minute exceptions. Please Any questions concerning the convention should be send those articles and advertisements early! addressed to him. His address is 702 East 24th Street, Joplin, Missouri. His telephone number is 2) Do send cash with your ad copy. AMICA, as a non 417-781-5136. profit organization, is simply not in a position to extend credit. One of the highl ights of the convention will be the trip on Saturday to Eureka Springs, Arkansas, 3) BULLETINs are mailed promptly after I receive to visit the Hiles Mountain Musical Museum. Here them from the printer and bindry - this takes you will view a diverse collection of antique place generally between the 22-26 of the month musical instruments featuring everything from the preceeding the published date of issue. smallest music box to large dance organs. Even though you may have vis i ted Mr. Mil est museum i'n 4) Remember, 3rd class mailing takes time regardless the past, you will find that many fascinating in of what the postal rules say. A 3-week delay is struments are added to the collection each year. not unusual but even this should put the BULLETIN At the present, Mr. Miles is involved in a building in your hands by the middle of the month. program which will increase the capacity of his EXCEPTIONS: if you move and don't tell me before museum. the mailing date, well, it can be a sad story. Don't depend on the P.O. advising me of your The banquet that evening will be the end of a per whereabouts for 30 days or so. fect day. An eye-appealing meal and 1ive1y enter tainment will be the main attractions. At each 5) Finally, if you are having mailing problems or place setting participants will discover an unusual big delays, write to me about it. The postal and unique party favor. authorities will try to expedite things if specific details are made available to them. The home tours on Friday evening will feature a variety of instruments in each of the three col And, you might make note of it now - especially if lections. Most of the instruments in each collec you plan to place advertising - that there will be tion were restored and refinished by the owners NO AUGUST ISSUE of the BULLETIN. themselves.
Come join us in Joplin, the heart of the Ozarks, on June 25, 26, and 27. We are looking forward to seeing you. HONORARY MEMBER DIES
NOTE: See the Final Registration Form page else We have received word by postcard from the Loth where in this BULLETIN for further details. family that AMICA Honorary Member L. Leslie Loth 'For those who have sent in a pre-registra passed ~way ','nearly a year ago." The specific date tion deposit, be sure to deduct this amount from of Mr. Loth's death was not given. your final registration fee. AMICA ITEMS AMICA TECHNICALITIES BOOKS: Volume I AMICA Stationery, $3.20 (letter size), $1.75 FOR- SALE (1969-1971), $5.50 postpaid; Volume II (1972 (note size), including mailing charges. Fine 1974), $7.50 postpaid; or order both sets for quality stationery with ornate AM ICA borders. AMICA BULLETINS, BOUND ISSUES: 1969, $12.50 postpaid. Reprints of interesting techni Each packet contains 25 letters and matching $9; 1971, $15; 1972, $15; 1973, $15. 1974 calities articles which have appeared in the envelopes. Send orders to Robert Lemon, 4560 unbound. sets, $15; 1974 bound sets, $18; AM ICA Bulletin, arranged and indexed into Green Tree Drive, Sacramento, CA 94823. 1975 bound, $18, P RIC E SIN CLUDE appropriate categories, spiral bound to lie flat. POSTAGE AND HANDLING. Spiral bound to Send orders to Howard Koff, 2141 Deodara "They All Laughed When I Sat Down At The lie flat. Send to Mary Lilien, 4260 Olympiad Drive, Los Altos, CA 94022. Piano, But When IT Began To Play .. ." Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90043. This sound and color super-8 movie, produced ROLL LEADERS: DUO-ART, Authentic. For AMICA Sterling Silver Pins, $4.25, including by AM ICA members, is again available for loan order sheet, see the April, 1973 Bulletin. Nick mailing charges. Lapel pin or tie tack with to AMICA members and chapters. For more Jarre~t, 3.622 - 21 st Street, San Francisco, CA AM ICA design. Order ·from Robert Lemon, information write to Howard Koff, 2141 94114. 4560 Green Tree Drive, Sacramento, CA 94823. Deodara Drive, Los Altos, CA 94022.
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SAN SYLMAR. TOUR AMICA STATIONERY BY ROBERT R. PERRY NEW! IMPROVED! Last May we had the pleasure of visiting San Sylmar. We now have available a new stock of letter size The timing mechanism used to get the people through AMICA Stationery. the tours on schedule, in part at least, was to let a lovely Knabe Louis, fire grained, Arnpico A The ornate printed border is the same but the rest play for us as we ogled the antique car collection is improved with new colors - brown on cream - and on the first floor. I must admit I was at first now an envelope with the AMICA Seal imprint. so captivated by the beauty of the piano even before it began to play that I could hardly con Unfortunately we can no longer hold to the 1973 centrate on the cars. There were cars (such as prices. Both the cost of paper and postage has the original Cord) that I would gladly have made. increased drastically since then. As a result, a deal with one of the representatives of the un the packages of 25 letters and envelopes, plus derworld to have. At any rate, my whole attention postage and handling, must now carry a "new im was diverted to. the playing of Charles Cooper's proved" price of $3.20. arrangement of the waltzes from Der Rosencavalier. Please send your order to Robert Lemon, 4560 Green I collect, as a speciality in my rolls, the waltzes Tree Drive, Sacramento, CA 94823. from ballet and opera and this was the first time I had ever heard this roll. It was so ex ceptional in its beauty and skillful playing that I could not pay attention to the cars. I'll have to return someday just to see the car collection which was very high on my priorities. International AMICA I loved the fabulous roll so much that I begged Organization for it to be recut. Happily it has been recut and I recommend it highly. I think of all the waltz IS A MEMBER OF THE music pieces I have in my collection it has more quick accents and expression than any of the others, and besides, the melody is utterly en chanting. Mr. Cooper has taken the waltz music PRESERVING FOR THE FUTURE THE HISTORY AND TRADITIONS from the opera and combined it subtly and exciting 1-1J".LL-..a.s.u~ ...... -----·-- OF THE BUFFALO THEATER ly with the love theme associated with the central 1976 135 characters of the opera. It is truly a beautiful No. YEAR arrangement. ~1.L.t.M-- SURER
Many of the early Ampico rolls were from the operas but they are unfortunately Brockway "pounders" and the early days of the Ampico did not leave much in AMICA International Secretary, Isadora Koff received the way of soft playing in their rolls. the membership card shown above as recognition of the Club's written (see October, 1975 BULLETIN) and At the time we visited the San Sylmar "wonderator financial support (see Jan/Feb., 1976 BULLETIN) of ium" we were delightfully included in a large the Friends of the Buffalo Theater. group of lovely senior citizens many of whom were quite talkative and friendly and had remembered the Ampico and its counterparts as the epitome of musical excellence for the home fortunate enough to have one. (They were quite expensiveJ AN EVENING TO. REMEMBER I must belatedly thank the staff at San Sylmar for BY ROBERT L. ·RUBIN letting me join a tour already half-way under pro The date was December 31, 1964•••• the place, New gress, then again after listening to my sad story York City. For several years, I and some dear permitting myself and two others to join a tour friends, Mr. and Mrs. Richard Schefline of three days later for which we had no reserv:;~9ns------Birmingham, Michigan, would drive or fly into New at all. /. , __ York City to spend New Year's Eve in Times Square. Being there among all the things I love most in In the days preceeding, we would all go from piano the world was like going to heaven without passing shop to piano shop searching for Duo-Art and Ampico on. As a child I spent many hours under my rolls. On this particular trip we had also visited mother's parlor grand as she played and sang. It the QRS factory in the Bronx, and had bought a seemed to be the only place to absorb all of the great quantity of Ampico rolls from Herman Kortlander music. It has never left me as I often obtain including a complete set of Ampico Favorite Fifty permission to lie upon the floor during organ con rolls. certs. - 71 - Jnfernafional JlJRJ8Jl I"
One of my favorite artists on Ampico rolls was Adam We left for the Black Angus Restaurant which was Carroll. I had often wondered if this brilliant very close to the hotel, and we all had prime rib artist was still living and made a telephone call dinners. We went back to the hotel about nine to Larry Givens in Wexford, Pennsylvania, inquiring o'clock and talked for another hour or so. We asked about the whereabouts of Adam. Larry told me that him if he would like to accompany us to Times Adam was alive and well and was living with Jimmy Square to see the New Year 'in, but he said he had Sheridan, the actor, on W. 57th Street in New York planned to watch the ceremonies on television with City. Larry and I talked for a good while and when Jimmy Sheridan. We were all sad to see him go. we closed our conversation I immediately started When he left we all felt a little down. He had looking through the New York telephone directory been such a marvelous guest. for the number of Jimmy Sheridan. I found his num ber listed and called hoping to reach Adam. Jimmy I moved to New York in 1965 and went to design answered the phone and when I asked for Adam Carroll school there. I bought a Mason & Hamlin AA 7'0" he said, "just a minute, please!" Adam came to the and began the task of restoring it. I called and phone and was thrilled that someone would be inter talked to Adam many times for hours on end. ested in meeting and getting to know him. This was the afternoon of December 31st, 1964 and I dearly Jimmy Sheridan died and Adam was no longer to be wanted to meet this man, so I asked him if he had found. I called Larry Givens and asked him if he any plans for dinner that evening. He accepted my knew where Adam was. He told me that he was staying invitation to dinner at the Black Angus on E. ,49th at the Lambs Club in New York. Again I was able to Street in New York City. I wondered if 7:00 would reach Adam and we talked many, many times. Then in suit him for dinner and asked him if he could come 1968, I moved back to Detroit and I called him three to my hotel a couple of hours early so we could or four times a year. talk and become acquainted and he was only too happy to comply. In 1969, I moved to Nevada. I bought a 5'4" Mason & Hamlin and restored the mechanism. It's first About 5:00, Adam arrived at the hotel, and he, my roll that it played after restoration was Adam wife Vivian and I and our two-month old son David, Carroll's "Diane." I called him in New York and and Mr. and Mrs. Schefline were there to greet him. let him listen to the piano over the telephone. He told us many little secrets that none of us had "That's my recording of 'Diane'," he said, and was ever heard before. He said that he was Harry happy to hear it after a long, long time. I offered Shipman and told a little story of how some wealthy to fly him into Nevada to spend some time with us, lady came into the Ampico Studio one day and asked but his doctor wouldn't let him travel. Quite some for Mr. Shipman. Adam said she was speaking to him time went by and I finally learned about AMICA. and since he was not at liberty to reveal Mr. The first issue that I received was pleasing to Shipman's true identity, he told the lady that Mr. read until I came to a page that had "In Memorium." Shipman was on vacation. She then asked Adam to I read about Adam Carroll's death with my heart give him the message that his latest recording was very heavy and tears rolling from my eyes as I her favorite and that she listened to it several said repeatedly, "oh no, oh no, oh no!" He was times eacn day on her Mason & Hamlin Ampico. Adam such a beautiful person. May his rewards be assured her that Mr. Shipman would be elated by everlasting. what she had related. Avery beautiful person, Adam told us about the number-one-selling Ampico roll, his own version of "L'amour Toujours L'amour". He went on to tell about his playing of all of Vincent Lopez's rolls since Vincent, according to him, played too fast for the Ampico recording machines. "He just couldn't make a roll," said Adam. So Vincent would play a number two or three times and Adam would then make the recording. He said Vincent insisted on Adam Carroll playing for him and had J. LAWRENCE COOK DIES tried other Ampico artists and had decided on Adam only. LATE RELEASE: I received a call from Frank Adams at presstime and I regret to inform Amicans that We talked for over two hours and were late for our the message was of the death of Honorary Member,
dinner reservations, but we were having such a J. Lawrence Cook o Frank had gotten his information wonderful time. I asked him if he would autograph from the East Coast and did not have a specific a roll for me and one for Hr. and Mrs. Sc~li~ date of Hr. Cook's passing away. and he was very happy to do so. He au~raphed a roll of "The Wedding of the Painted~ll" for me and here is the message he included along with his autograph: "12/31/64 Fon Vivian and RobeJt-t, who Me -60 inteJtuung and wondeJt6ul, God blu-6 Vavid and hope he will 6oUow in hi6 Vaddy'-6 6ooutep-6. Hi-6 mama i-6 -60 veJty nic.e. Sinc.eJtely, Adam CMJr..oU."
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f:>altlanb Ciribunt fues.,fues .• Feb. 17, 197' naments, his self.stYled,self-stYled, ferfer· Horowitz: mate, his added notes and his substantial augmentatioJl of dYtiamiccontrasts, he is your pianist. He interprets music the way Chopin wrote letters': impulsive, emotional,' senllsenll· Flashes of the Old Bravura mental, poetic. This unfetunfet· teredspirit of the Stein~ay remains a supremely musleal By PAUL HERTELENDY stylist and a mesmerizing TrIbaDe Music Critic Svengali. Flashes of the old bravura, erikindled the Paramount The·The Happy to say, the ParaPara· atre of the Arts Sunday afterafter· mount serves solo-piano recitrecite noon and brought a reverentlY als splendidly. Horowitz had attentive full house of knowl·knowl tinkered meticulously'with the edgeal!le music-Iovers'repeat acoustics the day before, flip·flip edly to their feet in wild ping off the assisted reso applause. Vladimir Horowitz nance circuitry, using the full was back and showing a whole orchestral shell, dropping the new generation of fans that he pit two feet lower than the had lost very lillie in his 23-' stage, and placing ,his, piano year absence. It was one, of' just six feet off center to stage the Paramount's most slgmfl left. The result I found to be cant classical music events to the best of any large hall in date. the Bay Area: strong, well: ,NoiJody but nobody. plays propelled, vivid. It's not a like HorowITz. He combmesan "warm" sound, more on the Ashkenazy-Iike blinding virtue, dry side; the bass notes sound osity with aquasi-fmprgvisa shallow, but perhaps the tory freedom that we thought piano was partly at fault had gone out of style well there. before World, War II. He takes iiberties with the printed An elite audience of many score of masterworks as no ages, including an astounding other touring pianist dares nurpber of local pianists, now. But he makes it work, in heard an all-romantic pro his own way, by imbuing his gram of eight works, the way exaggerations with a flair for virtuosos used to schedule at emotion and an indisputable .' the start of our century. The sense of dreamy romanticism, major work was, the Schu Horowitz generally observed mann "concerto," which (bar <;hopin's instruction to his ring crowd noise) will appear pupil von Lenz: "The left in a live recording later this hand is the conductor, It must year. not waver or lose ground. Do "Rachmaninoff was like a with the right hand what you Poppa to me since the day I will and can." So the hands THE INSTANT CHARISMA OF VLADIMIR HOROWITZ IS CONQUERING A WHOLE NEW GENERATION came to America," the 71 "uncouple" metrically many A lower-key performance of romantics.romantics, but still with the unbridled powers and peaks of yore year·old Horowitz explained times, with the right now the other day. The latter paid slower, now faster, Horowitz him a, return homage with goes one further: Even his left three pieces, the last the blaz hand becomes a quaint little Horowitz Recital ing finale of the Sonata No, 2 train that slows down at all as -an ehcore. Other encores the grade crossings and were Schumann's "Traeumer speeds up on the downgrade. ei" and Moscovskls "Etin: If you accept his added' ar W~nt celles" Etude. Horowitz peggios (four whole measures The Crowd Wild looked buoyant, joyous and alone in the Variations of tireles:; throughout, like a one would be not a bit surprised to No, 12. man 15 years younger, I'd bet Schumann's Concerto Without see the nine-foot concert grand Orchestra, Ope 14 ), his al The sheer power is utterly he'll return next season-if tered phrasings, his' fussy or- levitate. ("Command, oh master! To remarkable. To hear him hurl Qot before. hear, is to obey.") himself Into Schumann's massive Apart from the sensatIOnal Sonata No. 3 - the "Concerto Oakland's Paramount Theater playing, the recital also bore the Waltz and especiallY.forespecially.for Liszt's "Au Without Orchestra", as the compos Bord d'une Source." If one were to has rarely if ever had so packed or subtje toucb of Horowitz' elegant wildly enthusiasticenthusiastiC a crowd. The ii er first called it - or the magnific pick a peak performance, it would programing. Yes, it' was an after- u- moment Horowitz stepped onto the ence of Rachmaninoff's Etude-Ta be for this last item. noon of Romantic piano music in Contributed by Bob Billings. Legendary Horowitz To Play Paramount His recovery from all the By PAUL HERTELENDY nervous and mental, anguish Tribune Music Critic involves a strict regimen: a 51 Classical music may: not be ow pace, a weeklY concert, a the fountain of youth. But why two·mile dally walk, relative else would so many Orman· 'seclusion, two cigarettes a ,dys, Casalses, Coplands, Rub· day, just 90 minutes' daily 'lnsteins,'insteins, Serkins and Stokows· practice, no meals of beef or AP Phoh kis be vigorous, active and pork, ,no fried foods, no eve HOROWITZ REMINISCES ABOUT SCRIABIN, RACHMANINOff, TOSCANINI alert long past 65? ning concerts. So far, so good. Take the legendary pianist The Kiev·born pianist's ca He loves fine·tuned concert-hall acoustics-and hotes his own recordings Vladimir Horowitz for in· reer reads like a who's·who. stance. At 71, he bounds about He studied in Moscow under great bravura sens~tion of the keyboard, and fluently played His pet peeves are piano ,like a man in his mid-fifties, Blumenfeld, picked up the se 20th century's second quarter, the cascade theme opening competitions, young American :8till endowed with a sharp crets of the great Anton Rub creating Siberian blizzards of the Schumann slow move· soloists ("assembly·line pian· memory, bounding energy instein (1829·94), auditioned flying notes in his romantic ment, then comparing it with ists! ") and-his own record :and bubbling humor. The before Alexander Scriabin, and Russian repertoire. But the love song opening the An ings. '''The moment I make a mental and physical strains knew Rachmaninoff and Bar he has been very tone-con dante of Brahms' F Minor record, I cannot stand it. If that kept him completely out tok, introduced Prokofieff's scious, now.more than ever. Sonata. "It's almost the it's on the radio, I switch it of concerts for 12 years (l9fi3· 6th,6tb, 7th7tb and 8th Sonatas te "Most important is to get a same," he exulted. off." He hates the identical 65) seem to haVe vanished, American audiences, arid pre· _mellow tone, to get-" he Regrettably, Horowitz has repetitions. but he still ratiolls himself to miered the Barber Sonata as groped for just the right taught very little. No conserv· I leafed through the pile of 15·20 concerts pel')'ear, most well. When he gave his Amer words-"Wine vintage quali atory class has even heard his piano music atop his baby ly close to New York. He ican debut recital in 1928, the ty. reminiscence of Alexander grand, an unusual collection abhors flying and detests New York Times raved, stat·, "You know, to give recital Scriabin (1872-1915), the emi· for these days: Rachmaninoff trains. . ing that he was given "the is very boring thing for pub nent composer·pianist. ("He was like my uncle"), "I am a sound friend of wildest welcome a pianist can lic. So acoustic' adjustments "When I was 11, my uncle Liszt, Clementi (62 sonatas!), playing, not a sound friend of receive." He has been a leg. are very important." sent me to play for Scriabin to Scriabin, Schumann. "I don't travel," he declared last week end ever since, playing all the His, adjustmerits payoff have his opinion. It was three want to play hackneyed in his lavish hotel suite during great halls. His last local ap· handsomely. Audiences reo bours, before his recital, and pieces," he declares. And his The Tribune's exclusive inter pearance was at San Francis main devoutly hushed, in con· the first lime he'd play' his 7th programs bear him out. view. co's Opera House in Decem· trast to the hot·dog crowds or 8th Sonata, one of those His "sabbatical" changed But he has passed the high· ber, 1952. bravoing in mid-music at the crazy things nobody liked, him, he says. est hurdle in his cautious, 10· The unfamiliar Rumor has Opera. and he was a nervous wreck. "When you travel, you only year·long comeback. He final· it that he would have played But why would this su "He listened to me, and he give, you don't absorb. You Iy got himself aboard a cross the Opera House instead of premely sensitive artist risk a gave my father his advice: give less and less. You get country jet, had a smooth Paramount Feb. 15 bad it recital in a totally unfamiliar 'Your son will be a pianist. 'tired. You play so much, you night, and rather enjoyed it. been available .. but there is no converted movie·palace like But look that be becomes an begin to imitate yourself," he His West Coast concerts have truth to that. "I won't play in the Paramount? all·around cultured man. If he says, perhaps autobiographi· soUl' out (including next Sun' the' Opera House any more," "Old wood is better than plays a Brahms intermezzo, cally. After the long layoff, day's event at the Paramount he asserts flatly. "I never new wood,just like in violins,'" he should know all the sym there was a new maturity. "I Theatre of the Arts), and he liked the acoustics there. So he declared, alluding' to the phonies and concerti of give, I take." '~ ~lready talks about returning inany overtone~! I had a little acoustic reflecting character Brahms." But he already bubbles en· 'fext year, "if they will havebave row there with Monteux and istics of the walls. The p~ra. Pursuing this comprehen thusiastically 'about returning me." the union. I even refused once mount's walls date back to he sive philosophy, Horowitz now next year to play one of the 14 The piariist is about five· ·to ,play." early 1930s. ' "knows" Liszt, Chopin, Bee sonatas of the "Russian foot·seven, trim, and elegant Should I tell him about the thoven, Brahms, Scriabin and Brahms," Nicolas Medtner. in his tweed suits and broad No one is more acoustics Paramount's plaster-relief Schumann. "I knew him! I like him! bow ties (his trademark), conscious than he. He always walls and metal·grillwork "I learned that you don~t I'll play him!" Like the Steinway piano that sets aside the day prior to his ceiling? No, let's wait. It must play Chopin 12 hours a day. For another 3,ooo-or·so fans, travels about the country with weekly Sunday matinee recit have some wood somewhere. You also go to Bellini operas that should prove an offer him, he is high·strung. . als to clfeck out the hall "Modem halls can be like a and hear string' quartets, And they cannot refuse, "I, was everywhere (until acoustics by playing, clapping dentist's. What you hear is literature, too-but not the 1953), playing rour, five times and shouting staccato. He in iike an X·ray of music!" wrong 'books!" He read a lot, a week for 25 years. It was too sists on, an orchestral shell The recital will be a Para· and mastered four languages. which has to be moved about much for me," he said in his mount first in several ways. He spoke French with Mae C!i'aklanb ll:'ribuue strongly Russian·accented En just so, and the pit is covered Among other things, his per stro Arturo Toscanini and his over. HiiL-piano is mO,ved formance of Schumann's Con daughter. Only after Horowitz glish. "I don't sleep, I don't Sun., Feb. 8. 1976 eat. I got nervous, and got about until all is perfect. certo Without Orchestra, Op. had played Beethoven's "Em pains here," he" explained, He has played Carnegie Hall 14, will be recorded live in peror" Concerto, with him did Pointing to the place of a s~ often that permanent co~ forthcoming Toscanini introduce his typical duodenal ulcer. marks in the floor indicate RCA disc. daughter at intermission. "I took a 'sabbatical.' Then precisely where to positio s "Schumann is ver·r-ry ne·, Wanda and Volodya, he is planes came along. Some piano. "Now," he serts glected," Horowitz moans. familiarly known, married times I read in the paper proudly, "The pianis all ask "Today they (young pianists) and have lived out a marvet· there is a crashcrasb here and before their concerts, 'Where don't understand it! And how ous mutual dependency ever there. and I say that is not is the Horowitz mark?'" he influenced Brahms!" With since. MY cup of tea. Now I think it Horowitz has made Iris that, the peppery little giant is better." mark many ways. He was the bounded up, dashed to the \ \ - 74 - Jnfernafional JlcJJfJ(8Jl From: the DULUTH HERALD, September 17, 1975 No blues in the old piano role William Matheson' has a special of AMICA worldwide, 55 are owners him well iIilo next spring or maybe some parts such as player ·mecha reason for being happy. He con of Welte-Mignons, either in upright even longer. nism, hammer heads, stcetera, are siders'himself a most fortunate indi grands or Vorsetzers' (front-sitter "As for rebuilding and restoring, a not, because they are different in vidual, too. robot piano player.) Of those 55 only collector would rather have an in size, shape and weight, and will have Askilled craftsman in a profession five are Vorsetzers. Matheson has strument in 'mint' condition, need to be made by hand." in which there is little competition, one of the five. His console bears the ing complete rebuilding, than one Matheson's entire family is musi he h3s acquired a rare musical in number 2,530. He said it would be in someone else has tried to restore cal. He has three sisters and two strument, a Welte-Mignon Vorsetzer teresting to know where it has been and failed," Matheson said. brothers, all of whom play musical "origirial" player piano. the past 50 yearS or so. "Many of the paris are available instruments. Matheson has played Matheson, 1818 E. 4th 5t., who re Matheson has begun restoring the that are needed, such as rubber tub violin since the '30s, formerly own- tired two years ago after serving for instrument, a iob he figures will take ing, pneumatic cloth, etcetera. But 28 years with the Duluth Water and See PIANO, Page 3 Gas Department as an operating en girieer, has come out of retirement, he says, in his hobby of restoring player pianos. He is a member of AMICA, the Au tomatic Musical Instrument Collec tors Association, the only organiza tion of its kind in the nation. About three weeks ago he received a call from a woman in New York, a fellow collector' of player' pianos, bll1Jd organs, etc. who asked Matheson if he would be interested in owning a Welte-Mignon Vorsetzer. "I" I could hardly believe my ears when she asked that question," Matheson exclaimed. "This instru ment is one of a few manufactured prior te;> World War II (none were produced after the war), and there are only a small. unknown number of them in existence .. ' Matheson figures his caller must have gone down the membership list of AMICA and chosen his name at random. At any rate, he's glad she did, for he promptly decided to pur chase the piano. It is American built . under German patent and is a con sole-type player. The mechanism works by Air and the insides com· prise some 30 large units of which there are many parts to each seg ment. Technically he calls the in strument a reproducing piano player. He has other rel\SOlls to be excited about his find. Of some 780 members and rather .than dismantle it, ship someone capable of rebuilding On the avocation of restoring and the parts to Kansas for rebuilding them. He has been asked to do re rebuilding piano players, the 66 PIANO having them returned to him, all at a building, but prefers to confine him year-Qld Matheson says: cost of over $1,500, he decided to do self to that task for his own instru "One worry about going into it is ( from Poge One) the entire job himself. Through his ments. that after a certain length of time membership in AMICA, he o~ Matheson's house is a veritable one does not know much is left. To literature'on how to rystore and re storehouse of musical knowledge take one of these things completely ing and operating a studio in down build SUC~inst ments,nfents, and then and his collection of over 1,000 piano apart and then have something hap town Duluth. The love for music and started the w on the Weber. He rolls, plus over 900 record albums pen to oneself, and leave the parts the musical talent is still being car worked 0 . from August until the and countless musical tapes, consti laying allover the house or base~ ried on, as his daughter, Charlene, following January to restore it. tute a collector's paradise. ment without anyone around to com 10, is a gifted pianist and has been He also has origirial piano rolls in His rolls. albums ancf tapes are plete the work, is like destroying playing since she was old enough to mini condition and adds daily to his mostly classical and represent something quite valuable," reach the keyboard. collection through purchases at auc works of the world's greatest com- "So you can see there is a feeling Itwas only five years ago he took a tions. posers. "- of apprehension while working at it. serious irilerest in restoring and Matheson' said he knows of other He also has found time to build a You feel you must get it done. but owning player pianos. He obtained a reprod4cing player pianos in Du' sizable collection of s~amps about still you do know you must not rush Weber duo-art recording piano (1924 luth, at least three for sure, mostly music for a musical education for it." vintage) from his sister in Chicago not in working condition for lack of his children. he declares. - 75 - Jlmica dorum .to.~. NOTE COMPENSATION ROLL SPOOL INFORMATION (FROM APRIL J 1975) BY ROBERT R. PERRY BY JOHN R. GRANT I cannot locate the particular article in past I have received several inquiries regarding my BULLETINs which dealt with this sUbject; however,. request for roll spool information on page 52 of the question still plagues me and I wake up in the the April 1975 issue of the BULLETIN. Herewith is middle of the night thinking about it. We know as much as I have been able to determine (with the that the inventors and developers of the Ampico help of Edgar Purdy, Roger Anderson, Ed Sprankle, 'B' issued a special note compensation roll which and Allan Geddes.) was intended to even out the soft playing through out the entire keyboard. It seems that even before First, the easy part. Spool B is definitely from an.Ampico 'B' left the factory the extreme treble the early Aeolian 46-note player organs (Style 1050, pneumatics were partially closed and that all the 1500, etc.). This same spool construction may others were slightly more open until the lowest have been used for a 11~" wide (65-note?) roll made bass note where the pneumatic boards were fully by Farrand-Cecilian. open. Spool A is probably a 58-note roll to fit Melville The reason for this was tpat the researchers dis Clark/Apollo "push-up" players. There are also covered that the Ampico mechansim did not take Apollo machine$ which use a 15~" wide roll (Solo into consideration the fact that the lighter treble Apollo 88-note)(6-to-the-inch?) which has the same hammers would play louder at first intensity than spool construction. the heavy bass hammers. My question is then, if this was a part of the Ampico 'B'" why do we not use the note compensation roll on the Ampico 'A'? Did the artists playing for 'A' rolls and the coders preparing 'A' rolls already compensate for this difference in touch knowing that the Ampico, a machine, would not know that lighter treble hammers require a softer touch? If in fact we should regulate the openings of the pneumatics on a graduated scale from fully open in the bass to somewhere partially closed in the treble, should we not make this regulation, not on the basis of audibility steps, the premise that the 'B' compensation uses in its rationale, but in fact, upon a mathematical measurement of the dif ference in the hammer mass between the heaviest and lightest hammers played by the Ampico action? The manual action must be in as near perfect reg ulation as it can be before the note compensation is made. Spool C is believed to be an attempt by Universal to produce a 65-note roll that would, by the ~se of ~ am of the opinion that th~ treble notes are much adapters, fit all 65-note spool boxes. No machine ~o strong in my piano and that the bass notes are h~s been identified as having a chuck to fit this not heavy enough. I suspect that this is because roll directly, however, a set of "vintage" adap.ters if the Ampico were regulated to play the bass and h~s been seen which would mate this spool with the tenor sections as loud as I have heard humans play "standard" 65-note pinned end spool chuck. Perhaps them, that the treble playing would be unbearably there was a different set of adapters to mate this loud. spool to the Apollo square chuck as in A above, and others for other mechanisms. I believe that the note compensation idea is cor rect for the Ampico 'A'. I have even heard fine player piano technicians say that they turn down AMPICO PUMP BEARINGS the loud playing on the entire treble section. BY HARVEY ROEHL If new hammers are installed, voicing, or several Bob Barnes of Berkeley Heights New Jersey tells me years of uneven wear result in gain or loss Pfr~- that he has discovered an item of note for Ampico haps more frequently uneven wear) of the ammer owners. mass, the note compensation regulatio should be redone. Exact replacements in his Ampico pump of the ball bearings are readily available as Delco NDH Cat. #Z99503-3 for the main shaft and Cat. #77500 for the connecting rod cluster. '- - 76 - WELTE-MIGON American maker list by Carl H. Paetzold (1118 E. 15th St., Loveland. CO 80537) Here is a "probable" list of American made pianos with the Welte-Mignon (Licensee) actions in them for the year 1929. Most of this information is taken from the 1929 Edition of the Purchasers Guide to the Music Industries. By 1929 the "Licensee" was back "down" to "112" pianos in which the action was installed. The pianos with the numeral (1) after it indicates pianos that said reproducing pianos in their advertising but did not indicate what kind. (2) indicates that the Acollstigrande was taken over by the Foster-Armstrong Co. by 1929 and whether the American Piano Company would permit "Licensee" actions to be installed in them is another question. All the other pianos had "Licensee" actions installed in them. The following pianos: Bond, Ellington, Laverne, Schraver and Sons, and P. C. Weaver also listed reproducers but for one reason or another I have not included them in the list. If anyone has one of these pianos with a "Licensee" action in it I would appreciate you dropping me a line indicating what kind you have. As I have said before this is a probable list and any information or inquiries are welcome. Acoustigrande (2) Jacob Doll McPhail Alden (Lester) Faber (Jacob Doll) Madison Astor Farrand Mansfield (Shoninger) Autopiano Jesse French & Sons Mathushek Francis Bacon Gabler (Jacob Doll) Mehlin & Sons Baldwin Gorham (Jacob Doll) Melodigrand(Lindeman, S.) Julius Bauer Gounod (Lester) Henry F. Miller Baus (Jacob Doll) Haddorff Milton Becker Bros. W. P. Haines (1) Needham (1) Behning Hamilton (Baldwin) Norris & Hyde (Jacob Doll) Bellaire (Lester) Hardman George B. Norris (1) Behr Bros. Harrington (Hardman) Oktavec (Laffargue) Boardman & Gray (1) Hazelton Bros. Packard Bogart (1) Hensel (Hardman) Poole Bowen (Jacob Doll) Holland (1) Premier Bramback Howard (Baldwin) Rauworth (1) Braumuller Ivers & Pond Regent (Lester) Briggs (Jacob Doll) James & Holmstrom Ricca & Sons (1) Brinkerhoff Janssen Adam Schaaf Bush & Gerts Laurence (Lester) Schubert (Lester) Bush & Lane Laffargue Schumann (1) Cable Lehr & Co. M. Schulz Hobart M. Cable Leonard & Co. (Lester) Schiller Cable & Sons (Lester) Lester Schwab (1) Cable-Nelson Lucien (Jacob Doll) Shoninger Channing (Lester) Lyon & Healy Sohmer Christman Kimberly (Jacob Doll) Charles F. Stein Clarendon (Haddorff) Kimball Charles Stieff Francis Connor (1) Kohler & Campbell Stodart (Jacob Doll) Conover Krakguer-- Story & Clark Cunningham ~anich & Bach Straube Davenport-Treacy / Kreiter (1) Strich & Zeidler Underwood (Jacob Doll) Kroeger Stultz & Bauer Waldorf (1) Kurtzmann Voss & Sons Werner (1) Victor (Bush & Lane) Weaver Weser Bros. (1) Waltham Wentworth (Jacob Doll) York (Weaver) Wel1smore (Jacob Doll) Wissner P. S. Wick - 77 - ,t...... aoffsand cJEusiccJJ(usic '~ and jazzy. The music in this roll is sure to please as well as the lyrics. "HULA LOU" - The roll is QRS word roll #2555 and a foxtrot with words by Jack Yellen and music by Charles and King. The song was published in 1924 by Ager, Yellen, and Bornstein. This roll is played by Pete Wendling and has a Hawaiian Blues sound with a mixture of good old Tin Pan Alley Jazz. The lyrics are bound to bring a chuckle and maybe some surprise of kind of lyrics that were being written in 1923- such as the fol lowing example. "I've been in and out, I've been back and forth, I've seen them in the South and I've seen them in the North; seen them shake them in the East, seen them shake 'em in the West, but she does her shakin' where the shaking is best." "TO WAIT FOR LOVE" - QRS word roll #10-252 with To celebrate 70 years of the founding of words written by Hal David and music by Burt the Aeolian piano factory at Hayes, Mr. Bacharach. Copyright 1964 by Blue Seas Music, Inc., Holland is trying to bring together as Jac Music Co., Inc. and U.S. Songs Inc. The roll many as possible of the people who worked is played by Dick Watson and is, in the wrtier's on the machines. opinion, the best arrangement possible for a player piano of this type song. It promises to be a nostalgic occasion as well as a brain-picking exercise. The event w~ll be held in early April to mark the opening of the museum for the summer session. Jnsfrumenfs PIANO ROLL REVIEW BY DAN TUTTLE ------88 NOTE ROLLS ~THE STARS AND STRIPES. FOREVER" -A- A John Phili~ S6~sa march that is stIll as popular today as It was when first written. It has become a standard march song for just about every band in America. However, with all the piano roll companies making "played to the note" arrangements of this march, The Imperial Roll Company put out its idea of the / famous march song on roll #510510-70 played by Burt Franklin,in a ragtime style. The march sounds very good in this style of playing and aLso very American. Dick Merchant has provided an interesting interior "YOU CAN'T FIND' LOVIN' WI!ERE THERE AIN'T ANY LOVE" photograph of his 1928 Weber Duo-Art showing the The titIe alone ma'kes good sense. A good foxtrot key-shift pneumatic attached to the inside of the with words written by W. E. Skidmore and music by case on the bass side. Its valves are back under Jack Baxley and pUblished by Shapiro, Bernstein & the sound board on the same side. Dick says none Co. in the year 1919. The roll described is QRS of the Duo-Arts he's seen pictured have shown this word roll #1017 and is played by J. Russel Robinson. pneumatic. Dick knows of two other such installa Anyone who is familiar with Mr. Robinson's play- tions both in Steinway pianos. ing knows that the man's style is very intricate - 78 - ~ Jnsfrumenfs (8alilornia Dick also sends a photo of his wife Mary, son John, daughter Carolyn, and himself in front of his father's 1940 Chickering Ampico. We also received an instrument and family portrait from the Richard Parkers. Pictured are Richard and Marie Parker, Craig, Karen and Cat. The instruments include a Wilcox &White "Symphony" Organ, Aeolian Pianola Duo-Art (S' -2"), and a Gem Roller Organ. Sharon Bartlett and Nick Jarrett. spool-box is in the console above the top manual. The rolls are long Capitol pipe organ recordings. The tone of the organ is soft and sweet and is per fectly suited to its intended use in mortuary work. Bob only has a few rolls for the organ so he has made an adapter which allows him to use the QRS rolls. These play on the lower manual only. Among other interesting instruments the Bartletts shared with us that evening were the MehlinWelte grand, a Tanzibar player accordian, a Play-a-Sax and some rolmonicas, a large player reed organ and a bealutiful Symphonion disc music box-grandfather clock combination in their entry hall. (8·alilor!,i~ MARCH MEETING AT BOB AND SHARON BARTLETT'S BY DIANE LILLIBRIDGE Saturday, March 27, the members of the Northern California Chapter of AMICA saw the newest star in the crown of the Bartlett Collection - their newly acquired Reproduco Pipe Organ. The organ has 2 manuals, pedal, and 3 sets of pipes B~b Bartlett demonstrates the reproduco. all contained in a large theater type console. The - 79 - IT c!lr.- f8a!i[ornia f8ati[ornia Jones' (who had the meeting the month before which will be covered - with pictures - at a later time) fire that reporterl, Jim Crank, who had very kindly assisted Bob in the tuning of the pipes of the organ prior to the meeting - (his talent was displayed at the Lloyd's at Woodside as well I), and Mel of the taped "golden ankles" who was busy at the pumper. While the music wafted above and beyond the beams in this super example of Tudor splendor, Nick Jarrett, the Heintzs, Russ Doering, the Vitecks, Bob Owen and John Field were observed sampling Sharon's marvelous "tasties and tidbits" in the elegant dining room -- what a perfect finish to a lovely evening! Elegant music box (Symphonion) and grandfather clock. Entrance to the Bartlett's Tudor style home. Mel "Golden Ankles" Luchetti at the pumper. \ &. f8atilornia , =- AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES TOUR BY BILL TOEPPE The first 1976 AMICA Southern California Chapter meeting was held at the American International Galleries in Santa Monica, California, Saturday eve ning, 28 FebruaLY 1976. Our hosts were Dave Bowers, Jack Riffle at the player reed organ. Terry Hathaway, and Bonnie Tekstra. This Saturday evening produced a number of members The feature of the evening was the Concerto Model from the Northern California Chapter among them CC-3 tape-cassette reproducer attachment which was "Issie" and Howard Koff, the McCoys, the Goldfarbs installed in a Mason & Hamlin Ampico B grand. As (our new, but old members), the Riffres - who explained by Terry Hathaway, the installation al journeyed down from Ukiah for the occasion, the lows for playing either cassettes or rolls. The - 80 - ~. Balilornia ~. = attachment consists of a long "black box" placed amused themselves playing the many music boxes and under the piano and tubed into the Ampico reproducer examining the antique furniture. mechanism. The "black box" is connected to the out put of a standard cassette deck with a single electrical cable. MEL SHORES HOSTS MARCH MEET BY BILL TOEPPE The second 1976 AMICA Southern California Chapter meeting was held at the home of Mel Shores in the Los Angeles Silver Lake area, Saturday afternoon and evening, 27 March 1976. The feature of the meeting was the Concerto Model CC-3 tape-cassette reproducer attachment. This was the prototype of the unit demonstrated at the Feb ruary meeti ng. The prototype was ins ta11 ed ina J &C Fischer Ampico grand. Host Terry Hathaway demonstrates the Concerto CC-3 tape cassette reproducing unit installed in his Mason & Hamlin Ampico piano. The manufacturer records the Ampico roll coding as an audio signal on the cassette (as supplied, there is no provision for the buyer to record his own tape cassette). The "black box" converts the played back audio signal into the equivalent of tracker bar hole openings. These, in turn, operate the Ampico mechanism. Operation is straight-forward and no more complicated Clare Spencer, Host Mel Shores, and Northern Cal. than operating the reproducer without the cassette. visitor Sally Lawrence in front of Mel's J &C Reproduction seems to be as good as with rolls. Fischer Ampico with the Concerto CC-3 reproducer attachment installed. Members, guests, and friends listen to Terry's demonstration of the CC-3. A closer view of Mel's J &C Fischer Ampico with the Concerto CC-3 installed. Interspersed with playing of the piano by the Con certo were selections from the several playing or Also available for amusement of guests were several chestrions in the Hathaway collection. Guests also antique phonographs and radios. - 81 - ~ ~ 8. f8afilorl1iafBafi!orlzia d'ezascrezas - - ~ -=- -=- -= =-:=- Northern California visitors Dale and Sally Lawrence listen to Mel (back to camera) explain workings of Concerto CC-]CC-3 while Chapter President Prentiss Noble Stidham and Dick Barnes enjoyed Doyle's new Knowlton looks on. purchase--purchase- a British-made Steck Duo-Art upright. SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA SCHEDULE June 19 Mary and Ben Lilien - Los Angeles. Evening August? Technical meeting to be arranged. Evening October 23 Bill Toeppe - Orange. Afternoon December 11 Dick Rigg - La Habra. or 18 Evening For out-of-towners it is suggested that these dates be verified with the meeting host before making plans to attend. Virginia and Elizabeth Klein displaying Virginia's publication Playing The Masters for the Troubadour S2E.or Pedal Harp. --... d'ezas crezas- - AMUSICAL SWAP - SHOP BY CHARLIE JOHNSON Twenty-six Texas Chapter members and guests enjoyed an all-day Swap-Shop at Doyle Cassel'sCass~l's home on Sunday, MarthMarch 14, 1976. All members and guests were treated to chips, dips, coffee, lemonade and cookies. The weather was beautifully mild so the traders all entered directly into the garage with their loads of sheet music, phonograph records, phonographs, and player piano parts. Bert Plonien about to make a purchase. - 82 - ~ cf}(usiccfJ(usic J'ezas- WIN.NIPEC FREE _PRESS. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1975 Piano player NiIllicl{ ·likes pre-rock songs LONDON, ·Ont. (CP) says. Ivan Nimick, 70, says rock He proceeded to play most music lyrics today are repeti clubs and hotels in the city tive, juvenile and mean noth and only missed the Hotel ing. London because "they tore it A nali'·e of Stratford, ant., down bel'hre I could get Tony Palmer and Merrill Baltzley discussing the he has bee·n playing· piano there." Diamond Disc record just purchased from Tony for and violip since he was seven Mr. 1\'imick was also a years old. He says his mother fOl'lller teacher' of music and 50¢. told him ··the reason I am a shuws a method of learning musitian is becal\:::;e I hated lhat would Jure most hostile (0 do dishes.. ' you n g scaJe-plodders into "I I]ad a younger brother long daily sessions with the alld Wht.:fl iC tame time to pia no. Instead of drilling wash up fd always have a notes and scales into young piano le~son.·' students, he tcaches chord His lavorite picces are progressions so the. novice comJlositions from thc 1920s can be playing harmony the and 1930s ,"hich,,,hich he says are first day of a Jesson. bcltcr \\Titlen than today's He feels that this teaching rock music. He says that technique shouJd be used in cumJlusers had thc lime be music schools but the "trou· tausc "during the Depression ble is, most of thcm don't there \\"(l,sn't much else to do" know this method. but to sit and \\--rite music. "But, by gosh, it works bet .\!tcr a somewhat confused ter than the old way." l' a .I' eel' CIS a construction ~lr. Nimick says he wasn't \\'orker. a medical studenL much for playing classicaJ and a piallo player. i\fr. 1\i mllsic and calls himself "just Illick. \\"Ill) no\\' plays a baby a piano player." grand lJiilllU iJl LOlld<;m'::; Au Bccause of his musical abil· berge Can'llil'. ::;ay::;. "This is ity he :::mys he has never been jll~t fine for me nu\\" " furced to spcnd a lonely half lie pl"ys for fOllr hours houi'. each night and duestl't ft:el "As ::;0011 as I begin Co play the HSlIi.ll pressuJ'('s of orches I find mj',elf with more than tras. - 83 - Clilllon,ClilltOIl, OlltarioOlllario Sl'rolll/5/,colld SI'CI;OIl5/,('ti,01l 110th Yl'ar-Y/,ur- No. 12 Thl/r.,day,Thurstl".\', MorrhMflrch 20, 1975 MurrayMurra} DraperDrape,- of ClintonClinlon LOL'eLo've of music boxes led to biggest collection inIn Canada "I"I saw a OLGA SAMAROFF the Stokowskis to be under SUspiCion and,on orders BY EMMETT M, FORD from Washington, to be watched. The marriage ended in 1923, Stokowski using the grounds of temperamental Olga (Hickenlooper) Samaroff (Stokowski) was born incompatability. in San Antonio, Texas, August 8, 1882. She was named Lucie Mary Olga Agnes Hickenlooper, but in later years on her return from study and concertiz ing in Europe, assumed the name of Olga Samaroff. Reared among musical traditions and influence, her grandmother and mother, pianists of high accompl ish ments, were her first teachers in pianQ. The piano study began at the age of nine. Later she was a student at the Ursul ine Convent in Galveston, Texas. At the age of 14, Mme. Samaroff went to Paris to enroll in the Paris Conservatol"Y to study with Marmontel, Widor, and Delaborde. Musical instruc~ tion was in piano, organ, and harp. She was the first American girl to attend the Paris Conservatory. Later there were studies in Baltimore with Ernst Hutcheson. She returned to Berlin to study with Ernst Jedlicska, a former pupil of Anton Rubinstein and Tschaikowsky. Other teachers we,e Constantin ~ Von Sternberg, Ludovic Breitner and Hugo Riemann. Her U. S. debut was in Carnegie Hall in 1905 as soloist with the New York Symphony Society under the direction of Walter Damarosch. During the 1909 OLGA SAMAROFF 1910 season of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra con ducted by Stock, Mme. Samaroff brilliantly played During the 1919-1920 season, one of the first pro the Rubinstein Concerto No.5 in D minor and at the grams after the war, Mme. Samaroff played the Bach Academy of Music performed with the Orchestra as concerto for three pianos; Harold Bauer and Ossip soloist in Schumann's Concerto Op. 54. After this Gabrilowitsch were the other two pianists. successful debut, she toured Europe and America and appeared in joint recitals with Fritz Kreisler, In 1921 she announced her plans to perform the en Efrem Zimbalist, and others. tire 32 Beethoven Sonatas in eight recitals in Philadelphia in honor of the 150th anniversary of Her first marriage was to Boris Loutzky, a Russian the birth of Beethoven. Her audience taxed the ca civil engineer, but the marriage was later annulled pacity of the hall and gave credit to Philadelphia's by the Pope. A second marriage in 1911 was to the musical clientele. conductor Leopold Stokowski. Mme. Samaroff, a fiery and temperamental pianist, was constantly on Mme. Samaroff's determination to record the Rhapsody tour th'l"oughoutth,l"oughout her marriage. She bore Stokowski of Brahms and the recording company wanting her to one daughter, Sonya. In 1917 she disappeared from record the Mendlessohn "Spring Song", finally ended her home in Merton, Pennsylvania and her disappear in a compromise resulting in both compositions being ance was reported in the newspaper. Later she was recorded. (Note: Only the "Spring Song" is listed found in the Roosevelt Hospital suffering from in the 1928 Victor catalog under No. 826) Often amnesia caused by her strenuous concert tours. The compositions to be recorded were longer than the tours were cancelled for a year for her recovery. disc could contain and resulted in two discs being made. A 1923 Victor catalog lists some of her During the World War One years, the Wi~~ r914 records and reference may be made to older Victrola 1915, the Stokowskis 4ived in Ardmore, near Phil Brunswick, Decca, and other catalogs for possible ' adelphia. They were surrounded by other musIcians recordings. In the book An American Musician's who could not return to Europe for their concerts Story (Q. Q. Norton & Co.-;-1939) she gives an because of the war. Often they were all guests in amazing description of the early years of recording' the homes of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Damrosch and the Reading the description, you may understand why • Ossip Gabrilowitsch's, where Leopold and Olga played some of the great pianists were not too enthused four-hand arrangements of Schubert's German Dances, about recording sessions since they were ordeals of or a concer-to on two pianos. In a six-handed ar the era of early recording processes. She stated rangement of Rossini's Overture to "La Gassa Ladra", that in every effort to record the Mendlessohn the three musicians were at one piano, Olga played "Spring Song", she continued to playa wrong note the treble, Clara Gabrilowitsch the bass, and or two at the end and her displeasure was expressed Leopold in the middle. Not all was free from dif by a despairing "damn," Consolation was offered to ficulties at this time. The war hysteria caused her in the statement from a recording expert that - 85 - a- JJiosrapRical 86efcRes8KefcRes .t~ : it had occurred to Caruso. Of course, there was the and professional people, the Committee's first ever-present conflict of what music was to be award, a silver plaque, was presented by Mme. recorded; musicians wanted good music and recording Samaroff to Irving Berlin for his "God Bless America o" companies wanted popular music for sales. President Roosevelt, in 1941, appointed MmeMmeoo Samaroff A fall in 1926 injured her left hand and interrupted as a member of the Advisory Committee on Music to the distinguished concert career. She became a the Department of State. She a1so served as vice music critic for the New York Evening Post. Her cha i rrn-crn-otrm-crn ~of the Arts and ProfessionsProfess ions Commi ttee, a favorable reviews of her former husban~successful women'swomen1s aux~aryau~ary of the New York Republican Club o conducting of Stravinsky's IlLes Noches" helped to make the composition a successsuccessoo Her review of From 1935 to 1947, she published many books. The Rachmaninoff's first New York program, February 19, Layman's Music Book (1935); Magic World of Music 1927, estimated the pianist more highly than his (1936); and an autobiography, An American Musician's program. She resigned from the Post to give master Story (1939)o(1939)0 - classes and to lecture on music appreciation. Her playing was referred to as of a clear singing She taught at the Julliard Graduate School of Music tone and poetic charm and she was famed for her and was later head of the piano department of the interpretation of Edward MacDowell's compositions. Philadelphia Conservatory of Musico While teaching Piano rolls were made for Ampico and Welte-Mignon. at Julliard, some of her famous students were William Kapell, Eugene List, Joseph Battista, Rosalyn Tureck, Mme. Samaroff had been receiving treatment for a Raymond Lewenthal, Natalie Hinderas, Jerome Lowen cardiac condition and death was caused by acute thal, Claudette Sorel, Isabelle Yalkovsky and others pericarditis and cardiac hypertrophy, May 17, 1946 from allover the world. She was considered one at the age of 65. A nurse found her in her apart of the most distinguished and eminent piano in ment at 24 West 55th Street. Survivors were her structors in America. In an interview about 1916, daughter, Mrs. William Thorbecks of Cambridge, when asked about teaching a student, she said, " Massachusetts, and a brother, George La Hicken let the student seek with all earnestness for looper of St. Louis, Missouri o A memorial service knowledge, mastery, control of his medium, and un was held in the Julliard School of Music. derstanding of his subject, and then upon this solid foundation let him give free rein to whatever is in May 17, 1973 was the 25th anniversary of the death him. He cannot go far wrong; that is to say, if of Mme. Samaroff and a permanent piano studio was he has real talent and something to say••• " established at the Manhattan School of Music through the efforts of a pupil, Isabelle Yalkovsky In 1927 she founded and was Secretary to the Schubert Byman. A committee for the Olga Samaroff Memorial Memorial, Incorporated o Her Layman's Music Course Fund was established with members being Angeline was held in Town Hall each Friday and was well at Battista, Isabelle Yalkovsky Byman, Maria and Al tended. The course was later presented over radio lison Drake, Richard Gregor, Vera Cravath Gibbs, station WQXR. In 1931 she founded the Musicians Natalie Hinderas, Harriett Johnson, Raymond Lew Emergency Fund and received the honorary degree of enthal, Eugene List, Rudolph Loening, Solveig Lunde Doctor of Music by the University of Pennsylvania. Madsen, Etta Kambram Schiff, Claudette Sorel, Ruth She was also chosen as an honorary delegate in 1936 Steinway, Rosalyn Tureck, and Alexis Weissenberg. to the International Music Education Congress iQ Prague. The contents of the studio include two new Steinway grand pianos, acquired through contributions (con John Erskine, after his stroke and resignation from tributions of any denominations are tax deductible the Presidency of Julliard School in 1939, met Olga and payable to the Manhattan School of Music for Samaroff at lunch where she informed him of the the "Olga Samaroff Memorial Fund". Mai 1 to Mr. National Committee for Musical Appreciation o She Stanley Bednar, Senior Director of the Manhattan was appointed Director and was busy teaching at School of Music, 120 Claremont Ave., New York, NY Julliard and the Philadelphia School of Music and 10027. Donors'Donors I names will be inscribed on a doing private teaching and lecturing. Her time scroll which will remain in the studio) of Mme. consuming tasks caused her to ask Mro Erskine to Samaroff's former students, friends, and colleagues. take the chairmanship which he assumed in 19400 -Memorabilia gathered from friends, relatives, and Both Mr. Erskine and Mme. Samaroff were dedicated former students are on display in the studio. The to the task of popularizing music and getting it studio is Room 525 in the old Julliard building before the public. A series of one million sets of where Mmme. Samaroff taught; it is now the Man phonograph records were made by twelve orchestras hattan School of Music. and recording companies and were sold to the public for $1075 a seto The records listed no names, but brought to the public the playing of great musicians My appreciation and thanks to Isabelle Yalkovsky and the music of great composers. Later the Com Byman for information and the photograph of the mittee issued two sets of records, the first was studio sent to me which has greatly helped in the opera, "Carmeno" At the first annual dinner compicomp i 1liningg morerna reiinformationnforma t ion for tthishis artarticle.ic1e• E•M•F•E.M.F. of the National Committee for Musical Appreciation, (Etude C# Minor, Ope 2 #1 - Scriabin - Isabelle and before a crowd of over 1400 musicians, artists Yalkovsky - DA 73259) - 86 - .o-Jf·"' JJioorapRical ~llefcRe8 Monday, Maroh 22, 1916, DALLAS TIMES HER'ALD IFuturistl composer enjoying comeback after six decodes new and startling thing for rhem. You his Concerto. for Piano' and Orchestra In could hardly expect theni to penetmte to Connecticut for the mst 1dme sinCe its e...,nce immediateiy. These things Ornstein himself play.ed it in 1925.) tJake time wd a.Pprenticeship." Ornstein, who grew up in a strict If America needed an apprentl'ceship, Jewish family in Krementchug, Russia Former 'wild man' Ornstein smiles at fate Ornstein determined to become it5its tutor. and consequently got a thorough reli On his highly popuiar cancert tours, he gious education, is a speculative man, il!li!;hed his role as. musical. avant played ail styles of. music-Dhopin and concerned as much with the why of By JOHN BLOOM ~ardism's undisputed leader, and be. Lis:u as well as tile modern.....b~t he composing as 1ihe how. Staff Writer toncertized all across America u the also. included his own music whenever BROWNSVILLE-The Holiday Inn ;l1fant~l1fant terrible 01 living composers. "Sometimes I will be working," he' possible. seemed an odd place to meet Leo ;.; . His energy and dynamism endure. says, "the notes will rome, and it will Then came the Great Silenoe. Om Ornstein. Especially a Holiday' Inn in {\t't;lving f~ his interview, he literally aU seem so obvious, so !nevitableinevitable {\t't;lving his interview, he literallY stein stopped playing 1933, and Brownsville. iII almost childlishly simple. But then later flunds out of the car. His wife of 51 "futurism" faded. "All the travel and But Ornstein-the wild-eyed radical )lears is a little slower, so he hurries to some barrier app'ears between you and the mght life was interfering wittwiti! my composer of 1914 who tossed tradition to ~er the music; you yourself are puzzled at aid (she is nursing a recently So the wind and was hated on two w6rk, " he explains. instead of what you 'could have thought. injured leg) and assists her into the vro,ir:wind roncert tours, h€ slackened continents for it-had an explanation for "The remarkable thing is that I ,tning room. The next hour will his pace am! sought sedusioo-first as a this improbable rendezvous among the ~"aporate under the spell of his frank, teacher in Philadelphra, later in New wrote all these things without hearing scorched palms of the Rio Grande Valley. freaetic conversation-now jocular, 'now Harn.pSlUre, Florida_ Arizona and iately any modern music at all. I almost "Absolutely no intellectual preten .amest and serious- always With the in Brownsville. doubted my own sanity at one poin't. sions," he said. "Here it's so unlike the ~ of' a man who Imows his own mi.'Id Unfortunately Ornstein's repul.ab as 'What is h"ppening?'happening?' I said to myself. cities. We're surrounded by working !nd will be happy to let you know what a composer disappeared &long with his 'Why am I writing these things?'" people-farm workers, 'the salt of the ~ has discovered to be the truth. life a:; a daring, dashing pianist. Although Or~stein is called the leader. earth,' if you must use a cliche-and the : He is delighted to recall his days as "But k.t me ,empbasize this," he of the moder,;;st "movement," he privacy is total. Sometimes I wonder ).: .heedless, if not much loved, rellOlu says. "I'm oot really i,n(erested in believes that "movements" have little to myself what I'm doing here so far away tiOliary, but says his style has mellowed. !nventing a style. I'm not making styles do with creation and that a romposer Irom everything, but the weather is so ~'A ~'oung do with creation and that a rompos"r man at a certain age has an but writing music. Now when I wrote should trust his own judgment above all. niCE: in the winter." ~a\lacity, a devil-may-care attitude," he the Wild Men's Dance, obviously all my He dismisses the idea that his music So far Ornstein has spent three ~llJis, "and he's much more reckless previous t.raining was il1'ade played that way, or with a board oroc other.olh@!'. object. M Ornstein Changes His Mind ''I'm apart from the present writers," .~. Ornstein slates eurtly.curtly. "I don't understand ~.~ First recording ~ favorite selection destroyeddestr"oyed 'whatwhat they're tryi:lgtrybg to do. ...I.ilA .~. because artist changes interpretation.interpretation. "Let me emphasize again. I have ~ this fear-andlear-and always have-this terrible ""ljif',.. fear of getting over-stylized, becoming ~~··:rr· so stylized thatthai you are really writing OUou My Lady, and you, Kind Sir, who know the AMPICO only as a style instead of01 something intrinsic." Y drawing room entertainer little realize the troubled workings of the Consequently, the string quartet that M many turning cogs~ the making of the finished product. For in Ornstein is now working on is "moreOlmore ~ Ir1llr1l stance this matter ofthethe Debussy Arabesque recorded by Ornstein advanced, more experimental than any ..A.. on record 61233:- thing I have ever done." He hopes to ~J~ (i] q Leo Ornstein recorded the selection and later heard and approv 'have it finishedlinished within eight weeks. ed the master. ThatTI1at meant it was ready to manufacture so it was "But if you want to ·hear something." ~f-~ llisted in a certain month's bulletin and started through the factory. Unexpect he says, "listen to this new recording 01 ~~J edly one day, Ornstein returned to New York fresh from a recent great concert whe,,~ ....4""..... my quintet, whe.e the vernacular is ··~r· triumph and infonnedinformed us that he had changed his interpretation of the Arabesque much less horrific, not quite sosO extreme. ~~ and wanted to make it over the new way. ltIt didn't demand extremity, so I didn't ~ u,c it. But listen to it! That piece will -A- qt] Lack of time, total los8loss of the first recordings already manufactured and get to you. There are some awfullyawfully" sad ~t.&<~, overtime to be paid editors and factory workers meant nothing to Ornstein, the ~ Artist or to us where the standard of AMPICO superiority was at stake. As moments there. Some people have been ~I":~ reduced to tears by it." ~i..., Ornstein hked his new interpretation better than the old one and as the opinion But currently the new recOI'dingrecording i. of music critics and public coincided with his the new interpretation was re <~i':> corded and the old one destroyed. sold out, unavailable at any record shop ~~ in Dallas. ~it: q orOf course the artist was right. The new recording is superior to the first "I'm delighted!" he says. "But l"mI'm one in every way. The quiet, reminiscent melody just sings itself into the soul sorry rhat nOw I have to go. I suppose I ~ SOITY that now I have to go. I suppose I ...... 4;",.. of the listener making an instantaneous appeal to all classes of hearers - a fitting am admitting how old 1I am, but I have ~.' ~,..,. companion to Ornstein's ever popular and ever beautiful "Liebestraum""Liebestraum".• only so much energy for the day, I getget. rather tired in the aftenoons,after:Joons, and 1I must gelget 'lP'lp tomorrow and work. ~ A Movie Hit "This is very rare for me. 1f never ~ give interviews."interviews.'1 -A- Wewe.sawsaw a great screen production the other day on Broadway entitled "Don't Call It Love" and throughout the production a familiar melody of (]I(jJ great emotional appeal was used as the leit motive. Every time the heart ache of unrequited love is pictured on the screen the same story ia told by this song played by the orchestra. Suddenly we recognized it. It was Contributed by Frank Adams. the old AMPICO favorite 50803 - "The Song orOf The Soul" which was featured in the much criticised and much praised drama, "The Climax". If it is in your collection play it, otherwise hear it at your AMPICO dealers for it is a thrilling, inspired song which movie audiences will whistle and hum for months to come. grand pianos, be was surprised to~ suitingsuIting engineer,engineer. Graves hopes to 8raves'strues's find that no one in the industry be able to compete in the higher had a satisfactory answer. priced end of the marketwith such Better PIaDo All that piano makers could tellten names as Steinway eft Sons and He has spent more than S90,OOO590,000 him was: "If you lay the IOUJldingIOUDding Mason eft Hamlin. "Margins are • of his own funds and invested board flat it will sound better." traditionally 2-3 percent with most more than 10,000 man-hoursman·hours in But to a man who'who·has invented piano manufacturers,"manufacturers." he indi design. But to Howard Graves, a 'such exacting products as an opti cates. His design, he believes, perper· l mechanical engineer from MassaMassa· cal device for inspecting Schick mits him to have margins of 15·1715-17 From Harch, 1976 issue of chusetts Institute of Technology band razor blades, an 8 millimeter percent pretax in volume produc MBA (Master in Business and music aficionado, the journey motion picture editor, and the dede· tion. There is a large segment of Administration) published to build the perfect piano is like sign of a computercomputei' printer for a the piano market thatbuys quality the piano market thatbuys quality by MBA Communications, Inc; the surfer'surfer's5 quest for the perfect major manufacturer, there had to regardless of price, he says, point wave. be more to it. ing out that there is a two-year 730 Third Ave, Hew York, NY Graves, born in Elgin, Illinois, -"I·"1 looked at the piano as a bacldogbacltlog at Steinway eft Sons. 10017. 47 years ago, first became inter product," explains Graves, who "He's a genius," comments the ested in how musical instruments has been head of the advanced de presidentpf1:liident of a competitive piano Contributed by Alf.A1f. E. were built as an MIT undergrad velopment group at Bell eft Howell manufacturer, "but it is going to Werolin. uate. It was then that he went Corporation. His design elimi be a tough road to hoe in tennsterms of through a small piano factory and oates much of the heavy hand la market research and developing a was "horrified at how primitive it bor and simplifies the frame and sales organization." was." He learned that the produc casting designs. As a result, the Graves remains undaunted by tion techniques,techniques. developed in bass tones can play an octave comments like these. Now that he small craft shops, have changed lower than conventional upright has invented as near perfect a very little in the last 125 years. pianos, and the high tones have a piano as he wants to, it is unlikely When he asked why upright bell-likeben-like quality instead of being that a small thing like buying a ~ pianos always sounded tinny or wooden.· company will be able to deter him. wooden when compared with the Currently an independent.con- -E.C. - 88 - ,e. J'eeRni c aIifie 8 disparaging the earlier rebuilding methods and the BOOBY-TRAP IN AMPICO PUMPS many members who like to restore their instruments BY ROBERT L. BARNS using near-exact replacements (when they can be obtained), but rather I am hoping we can present, There is one brass nipple (or elbow) in an through the BULLETIN, other methods with their pros Ampico A which should never be removed (except and cons so there are some rebuilding options. when the Pump Distributer is to be disassembled. This is labeled "10 - nipple leading to uni versal vent block" of "Illustration 8 - Pump Dis Also, there are some instruments which are still a tributer and Action Cut-Off Block" in the 1923 mystery to many of us. It's not necessarily a case of wanting to know how to restore th~m, but simply, Inspector's Reference Book. how do they work? Obviously a lot of different Nipple 10 passes through the wood of the dis instruments are out there - tell us about them! Try tributer. A rubber tube on the inside of the dis and include line diagrams and photos if possible. tributer connects between nipple 10 and an elbow on The art work doesn't have to be perfect. If your the action cut-out pouch block (4 of Illustration 8). sketch is not too complicated, I will be more than If nipple 10 is pulled out, the rubber tube slides willing to take the time to rework drawinqs to off and pushing the nipple back in will not recon you~ nect it with the tube. camera-ready form. If you wish to do own, I This leaves the connection to the action cut will be delighted! Do be sure and use a good dark out pouch in a state of limbo. If the tube is com ink as ball-point blue will not photograph well. pletely disconnected from the nipple, the pouch will be evacuated whenever the pump is running, One final thought. If you are about to undertake even during re-roll, which would allow the piano . the restoration of some unusual or little-publicized to play during re-roll (ugh!). project in the near future, consider the idea of If the tube and nipple were partially connected documenting it with photographs, drawings, and text by being butted end-to-end, the above symptom would as you proceed. Then after you·ve had a chance to be intermittent. So it might be a good idea to enjoy your restoration labors, finish up the stick a label on the pump insisting that nipple 10 documentation and share it with the rest of us. In must not be removed. this manner, you will produce a good record of your It is easy to test if the pouch has become dis endeavors for your own records and become an inter connected (perhaps simply by the tube hardening nationally read author in the process! with age). The pouch has no bleed, so sucking on Tom Bee-keft a tube connected to nipple 10 should result only in a small flow (due to the porosity of the large diameter pouch). TECHNICALITIES WANTED! If it weren't for the preceeding article by Robert Barns, this would be the second month in a row I was unable to present any "TECHNICALITIES II in the Bulletin. I have no lack for requests, particularly for in!orma!ion on rebuilding and regulating re produclng planos, but unfortunately no material has been submitted for publication. I realize a lot of information has been previously published in the BULLETIN and the AMICA TECHNICALITIES Series I &II and I do suggest that new members NEW ~1EMBERS ~va~l themselves of these items. Recent inventory su~ lndlcates that there is still a fair of Bound Roger and June Amos 1913 Weber upr Duo-Art Bulletin sets from the years 1971 through 1975 and 2621 Zora, both Tech I and II series. Jop1in, MO 648'01 417-781-1206 However, new rebuilding materials and techniques become available from time to time and often the old Robert & Evelyn Blase Steve Kemper restoration rules don't apply - as in the case of 1009 Round Hill Rd. P.O. Box 127 having to change the original valve bleeds when the Fairfield, CT 06430 Bellevue, OH 44811 more recent "airtightll synthetics are used for 203-255-0588 pouches. Jan Brauers Owner of Jan Brauer's Obviously there is still room for much technical Lichtentaler Allee 28 Musical Museum updating of restoration procedures for all roll 757 Baden-Baden operated instruments. I would hope that:fhese ideas West Germany could be freely shared with all members. I am not - 89 - John Aris Dousmanis Erhard Walters upr player Don Smith Chase upr Art Echo 1059 First Ave 15 The Court reproducer New York, NY 10022 New Rochelle, NY 10801 212 Mu8 9436 914-235-1727 Myer & Helen Fishman Haines reproducer All an Stafford 1936 Marshall & Wendell 64 Fairmont Ave. Box 96 41 8" Ampico B; Weber 51' 8" Newton, MA 02158 Fishkill, NY 12524 Duo-Art; Knabe upr Ampico A; 914-896-6890 Wur1itzerWurlitzer 153 Band Organ; Dav i d C. Fryma n 1975 Aeolian studio player Wurlitzer Style 1 Nick.; 320 Beale Drive Wurlitzer CU Duplex Photo Hayward, CA 94544 player; misc. coin pianos 415-581-8524 and players. Robert & Carolyn Kaiser Aeolian upr player; Frederick &'~ne&'~ane Ward 1928 PA Stark upr player; 200 Linwood Ave. Elworth baby grand recordorecorda 18730 Niver Rd. 1925 Ferrand Cec~lian upr Buffalo, NY 14209 Oakley, MI 48649 player Bush Lane 716-886-5842 517-845-6340 Gustav Laub, Jr. 1927 Fischer Ampico upr A; Bill & Geo rg ia Wi 11i11iams 1920 Coinola "Cupid" with 24 Crescent Rd. 1926 Steck upr Duo-Art; 3503 Ridge Road Pl. flutes Longmeadow, MA 01106 1924 WurlitzerWurl itzer IXB; Seeburg Lawton. OK 73501 413-567-8944 E; Seeburg L; Cremona 3; 405-357-1116 ---~:~~ns~~~=_r--~_Johnson player Ha 1 Kemp ~-~-- ---~--~------_ Jeff Wood 1910 Weber Pianola upr 192 Fairport Rd. Box 128 One Berrywood Lane 65/88 note East Rochester, NY 14445 Wilbraham, MA 01095 413-596-8959 Warwick Potter, MD Blake upr player Cable Medical Center Ipswich, MA 01938 CHANGE OF ADDRESS 617-356-3522 DeanDe an & DixDixiei e HarHarma~rna f\ Michael J. Dunne Robert & Romola Reineke 1915 Milton upr player 279 Bangor Ave. 832 College Ave. 904 Fairway Road N.W. San Jose, CA 95123 Davenport, IA 52803 Albuquerque, NM 87107 505-344-5138 Wayne Finger John & Marcia Daly 424 E. Ash Street Box 1945 Emil & Nevada Ruby Bennett Bretz upr player Perry, FL 32347 Ridgecrest, CA 93555 137 Chanticleer Drive w/trans. adjuster Pittsburg, PA 15235 Richard A. BellinBell in Richard A. Rabinow 412-795-0926 1205 Holly St. N.W. 7537 SocageBocage Ct. So. Washington, D.C. 20012 Baton Rouge, LA 70809 John Schaller 11975975 Aeo 11iianan up r 4241 State St. Larry & Sarah Keeler Santa Barbara, CA 93110 2935 Olden Oak Ln. #104 805-964-7019 Auburn Heights, MI 48057 TIGER I AL.L..AL.l- RIGHI:~IGHr: JUG,.J"U6-r t ((:6MEMge:~...IC:6MEMge~... '~ ~ .~ ~OM MlWl.E:MlWL-e c.C. '"1 ~UP'16MVUP'I~ l Oi'l MV ~ ~J' 1t>IZF!lUIZF! i i J Ir o¥ 'DOOLey'S WORlD ~e· S~~"(., !~ci:i:'l 0. "O~ ~ ~"(.,e "(.,'\.\-"0 GO~ STEINWAY DUO-ART GRAND (6') built in 1921. GOOD AUTOMATIC MUSIC ROLL COMPANY FINISH, NEW soundboard, pinblock, strings, hammers. PO Box 3194 Seattle, Wa. 98114 Beautiful tone. Runs quite well. Also included, 206 - 323 - 3376 bench and 135 rolls. $6,600.00 or best offer. Reason for sale - purchase of larger grand (7'6"). SPECIAL NOTICE FOR AMPICO OWNERS Jeff, Box 222, Sumneytown, PA 18084. WE ARE NOW SOLD OUT OF THE FOLLOWING TWO WANTED: Aeolian Hammond player organ rolls. AMPICO ROLLS LISTED IN BULLETIN NO.1 Please send list of roll numbers, and prices ex 30071 AUTUMN LEAVES Played by Roger Williams pected. Also want Seeburg brass nameplate as used 30081 'TIE A YELLOW RIBBON 'ROUND THE OLE on KT, E, Etc. David Love, 5627 Fairfield Drive, OAK TREE Played by Roger Williams Gibsonia, PA 15044 On certain new Ampico and Duo-Art recordings we are only HELP WANTED in rebuilding player piano. Would authorized to produce a limited number of rolls. We have now appreciate a helping hand from AMICA members in New sold all of the above two listed rolls on Ampico that we are York City area. Call John Dousmanis, 212-688-9436. allowed to produce. THESE TWO ROLLS ARE STILL AVAILABLE ON DUO-ART. Ampico versions of STEINWAY DUO-ART "A" (6'2") Serial No. 154721. these two rolls now enter the collector status AND AT PRES Piano and Duo-Art restored. Appraised at $10,000 ENT THEY ARE WORTH FROM $ 25.00 to $ 50.00 each. make offer. R. A. Bellin, 1205 Holly St. N.W. They cannot and will not be reissued again on Ampico. As Washington, DC 20012. Tel (202) 829-5187 each of these limited number Ampico and Duo-Art rolls are sold out we will advise you as soon as possible. WANTED: GRAND, gutted (former reproducer), preferably top-line name, any condition. Gordon Ralph, 6027 NOW AVAILABLE FROM AMR Menomonee Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53213. 1-414-476-5504. A Catalog Of Duo-Art Recordings FOR SALE: AMPICO r~lls, 145 rolls in excellent con A Catalog and 3 Bulletins of Ampico Recordings dition, many large size, including 5+ Christmas rolls. A Bulletin of Welte Licensee Recordings $500 plus shipping ($450 if picked up). Martin A Catalog of 88 Note Rec;ordings Roenigk, 26 Barton Hill, East Hampton, CT 06424. Phone 203-277-6598. SEND FOR THE CATALOGS OF YOUR CHOICE AMR ANNOUNCES THAT MANY OF THE ROLLS NOW WANTED: Rolls for 44-note Pianino Nickelodeon. LeRoy HAVE SPECIAL ENCLOSURES THAT GO WITH THE 2l2~ p. Krause, North Main, Mitchell, S.Dak. 57301. ROLLS. Several rolls have 3 copies of the words in large quality print and these are published on very high quality WANTED: WURLITZER 5 AND 10 TUNE NICKELODEON ROLLS stock. Some have 1 copy of the sheet music with the words AND CALIOLA ROLLS. PAYING $30.00 EACH FOR ANY CALIOLA enclosed. AMR has spent over $5,000.00 to bring to you ROLL I CAN USE. WANT ANY mJRLITZER ROLL CATALOGS. E. these high -quality enclosl.!res_ J. SPRANKLE, 1768 LEIMERT BLVD., OAKLAND, CA 94602. Original type glass beaded curtains made NOTICE TO LINE ADVERTISERS: for European orches trion and electric Current production costs make pianos. it necessary to raise our past Please write or call per word rate from 6¢ to 8¢ for for further informa all further issues of the tion and prices. BULLETIN" Mrs. Liliane Mossbacher Please observe the 10th of the 18020 Rosita Street month preceeding deadline. Encino, CA 91316 (213) 343-9857 All advertising is CAS~D~ VANCE. Please make checks out to AMICA INTERNATIONAL and forward your payment with the ad copy to the pub1isher o Thank. you -ABURO·WURLITZER.·AUTOMATIC-ABURO.WURLITZER.AUTOMATIC MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS -ARISTON"'ARTISAN. z OJm o WI:LLlAMWI:lLlAM H. EDGERTON :D 144 SOUNDVIEW LANE m z ~5: o NEW CANAAN, CONN. 06840 o J::I: 203 - 966-5912 z ~ o ~ (flit >> CJ:I C/)(J) :IiX- . ex: Interested in a fine reproducing piano? American International Galleries has a superb selection. Currently available are several Steinway Duo-Art pianos, including one in a magnificent Italian ~ art case with matching bench; several of the famed Model B Ampico grand pianos, including two of the formidable Mason & Hamlin marque; several Welte pianos; several Hupfeld pianos; plus quite a few other interesting things! Over the years we have been prime suppliers to discriminating AMICA members. Through our hands have passed many of the finest reproducing pianos ever to be sold--including nearly all of the reproducing pianos currently in the incomparable San Sylmar Collection of Mr. J. B. Nethercutt. Reproducing pianos are not all you'll find at American International Galleries. Beautiful classical orchestrions by Welte, Hupfeld, Wurlitzer, and others await your selection--as do colorful nickelodeon pianos, player pianos, player organs, and hundreds--yes, hundreds--of disc type music boxes by Polyphon, Symphonion, Kalliope, Regina, and other manufacturers. Our new American International Galleries "Review" NO.6 has just been published. Copies are available for $2.00 each, or a $10.00 subscription, to the next six issues. Send your money without, risk, for here's our guarantee: If you don't find our catalogs to be the best you've ever seen any where, just keep your copy and we will refund your money! By the way, no one has ever asked for a refund--and over the years we have distributed tens of thousands of catalogs! Our latest issue contains 76 pages of what we consider to be the best buys in the automatic musical instru ment field--a treasure trove of fascinating items! There is a catch: As you know if you have been one of our past customers, our catalogs tend to sell out quickly--so for the finest selection send your catalog order now! Also is the 1,008-page "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments," written by our directors, Q. David Bowers. Autographed copies of the latest edition are available for postpaid. Complete satisfaction is guaranteed. Plan to visit California on visit or pleasure? Stop by to see our showroom. We are open Wednesday through Saturday (closed Sunday through Tuesday) from 10 to noon and 1 to 4 P.M. Bring your "want list" with you and expect to see a lot! Also for sale are books, records, and lots of piano rolls, discs, supplies, and related items. There is no place like it anywhere in the world! AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GALLERIES 1717A Stanford Street Santa Monica, California 90404 Telephone: (213) 829-1808 Directors: Bonnie Tekstra, Terry Hathaway, Claes O. Friberg, Q. David Bowers (Our European office is under the direction of Claes O. Friberg and is located at the Mekanisk Musik Museum, Vesterbrogade 150, Copenhagen, Denmark) cli and mail or send reasonable facsimile FINAL REGISTRATION FORM 1976 MHCA MINI-CONVENTION June 25, 26, 27, 1976 Ramada Inn 3320 Range Line Joplin, Missouri 64801 (insert number) plan to attend the mini-convention in Joplin ---:;--=--=-:;- on June 25, 26, and 27. Please return by June 1 to Bill Pohl, 702 East 24th Street, Joplin, Missouri 64801. Include $40.00 per person registration fee, less deposit if previously paid. Signature: _ MINI-CONVENTION EVENTS Friday, June 25 12:00--5:00 Registration, Ramada Inn Lobby 5:00--6:00 Social Hour featuring a cash bar and hors d'oeuvres, Ramada Inn 6:00-10:00 Tours through the homes of Bill and Billie Pohl Gerold and Linda Koehler Ron and Daryl Bopp 10:00 Pizza Party--Shotgun Sam's Pizza Parlor 2601 Range Line Saturday, June 26 8:00--9:00 Breakfast, Ramada Inn 9:30 Bus leaves for Eureka Springs, Arkansas for tour of the quaint downtown area, surrounding area, and Miles Mountain Musical Museum. Lunch will be en route. Return to Joplin by 6:00. The buses will board in the parking lot of Ramada Inn at 9:00 a.m. 7:00 Cash bar, Ramada Inn 8:00 Banquet, Ramada Inn Burgandy Room Sunday, June 27 9:00-10:00 Breakfast, Ramada Inn 10:00 Business Meeting Afternoon Homes open for anyone who missed tours Friday Evening. Participants must provide their own transportation. COST: Cost of the mini-convention will be $40.00 per person. This covers all convention expenses except lodging. Special convention room rates at the Ramada Inn are as follows: Single--$16.12; Double $21.23; Double twins $23.12. All rates include tax. LATE REGISTRATION FEE: Due to the advance planning required for meals and transportation, a late registration fee of $10.00 will be charged after June 1 in addition to the base charge for the convention. Please register early! A8 BARGAINBARGAIN FORFOR COLLECTORS!COLLECTORS! World'sWorld's LargestLargest SelectionSelection ofof InIn honorhonor ofof thethe approachingapproaching oneone hunhun dredthdredth birthdaybirthday ofof thethe phonograph,phonograph, wewe MUSICMUSIC BOXES!BOXES! havehave hadhad producedproduced anan SS-noteSS-note limitedlimited MusicMusic boxes!boxes! NickelodeonNickelodeon pianos!pianos! CircusCircus organs!organs! ReproRepro ducingducing pianos!pianos! Orchestrions!Orchestrions! HundredsHundreds ofof antiqueantiqueautomaticautomatic editionedition ofof thethe clever andand capriciouscapricious musicalmusical instrumentsinstruments forfor salesale atat wholesalewholesale prices.prices. SendSend $2$2 forfor "Song"Song ofof Mr.Mr. Phonograph"Phonograph" writtenwritten inin aa fascinatingfascinating largelarge illustratedillustrated catalog.catalog. You'veYou've nevernever seenseen anotheranother catalogcatalog Iilikeke it!it! SatisfactionSatisfaction guaranteed.guaranteed. Or, sendsend 1878. Distinctively boxed, each rollroll $10$10 forfor SUbscriptionSUbscription toto nextnext sixsix issues.issues. isis hand numbered and comes with a cer Over 500500 instrumentsinstruments areare nownow inin stock-thestock-the world's largestlargest tificate of authentication bearing a selection.selection. Complete facilitiesfacilities forfor lowlow costcost shippingshipping toto you fromfrom our American or EuropeanEuropean warehouses (our(our European reproduction of thethe original sheet office isis directed by Claes O. Friberg, Mekanisk Musik music cover. Introductory price $5.95 Museum, Vesterbrogade 150, Copenhagen, Denmark). Our network of buyers inin America and inin Europe give you thethe postpaid - insurance 20¢ extra. New best selectionselection at lowestlowest prices ---- therethere are no middlemen York State residents must add tax. or agents toto pay. ItIt isis no wonder thatthat we areare America and Europe's main wholesale source.source. "Upon playing the-:the- /tali/tali we- we-.ttewe-Jte- de- Our California showroom isis open Wednesday-Saturday ughte-d at :the- quality On pe-JtnoJunanc.e 9 A.M. toto noon and 1 toto 4 P.M. Visit us thethe next timetime you lighted the- qualittj On pe-.ttnoJunanc.e are inin thethe Los Angeles area. A wonderland of instrumentsinstruments and wo/tRman6hip."wo/tRmaJ1.6hip." - Newsletter of awaits you!you' We cancan also supply thethe seven-pound,seven-pound, l,008-pagel,008-page American Phonograph Society. illustratedillustrated "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical Instruments"Instruments" forfor $30 postpaid -- thethe standard referencereference book inin thethe "In bJtie6,bJtie-6, a highly deAiJte-ableduiJte-able- item••• " field.field. Over 7,000 copies sold. Satisfaction guaranteed. For the best deal in buying orOr selling automatic musical Talking Machine Review International. instruments think of us. Directors of American International ,~~ Galleries are: Terry Hathaway, Claes O. Friberg, Bonnie Tekstra, and Q. David Bowers. 't>"£l-~~!!o AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL +"" ~~'~"""~:.t:"1/, ~~~,~~J!i;y) ~~%~{1 GALLERIES 0 17171717AA Stanford St. - Dept. F ~£3t. ," -~,:~ .. - ....-z" ~\t"' Santa Monica, California 90404 'e...~\\~~ D': w ,r..\coc\f Sf. NII Tel. (213) 828-2886 'Pt'~~~",~ 1~C.HESTER...1 'T.I4"'1I MECHANICAL SYSTEMS INC. • SI LUBBOCK.LUBBOCK, TEXAS ~eissues ~~~~~ Orc1hesttriloIDlOrcllrnesttrltOIDl CompOlillentsCompolill8nlts AMPICO **AMP-1027AMP-1027 HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN Played by Victor Arden tAMP-1028 HUNGARIAN DANCE and Supplies Played by Marguerite Volavy DUO-ART *DA-1027*DA-1027 HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN Played by Ralph Addison \lO'.~\lO'.~ SHIPPINGSHIPPING A TESTTEST ROLLROLL FREEFREE :IJITH'.lJITH EVERYEVERY aa tDA-1028tDA-1028 HUNGARIAN DANCE RJLLRJLL FRAME.FRAME. IFIF YOU'VEYOLJ'VE PURCHASEDPURCHASED ANAN 00 ROLLROLL Played by Harold Bauer FRAill[FRAME ININ THETHE PASTPAST ANDAND .lJOULD.lJOULD LIKELIKE TOTO HAVEHAVE A n::STTEST ROLL,ROLL, SENDSEND $1.50$1.50 TOTO COVERCOVER ;::JOSTAGE;JOSTAGE ANDAND HA\iJLING.HA~')LING. NO'.IINO'.II STOCKINGSTOCKING AA F(1JJFE'JJ 00 ROLLSROLLS FORroR SOUNDS OF THE TWENTIES YOuRYOUR CONVENInJCE.CONVENInJCE. ROLLSROLLS FEATUREFEATURE LABELSLABELS ININ THREE COLOA,COLOA, TUNETUNE CARDS,CARDS, SATINSATIN ENDEND TABS.TABS. Q-214 STUMBLING THESETHE:5E ROLLSROLLS AREARE "PREPLAYED""PREPLAYED" OVEROVER AA vACUUfrtvAcuurfl Played by Kortlander,Korllander, Arden & Confrey BARBAR DURINGDURING SPOOLINGSPOOLING TOTO ASSUREASSURE AA REmOVALREMOVAL OFOF THETHE mAJORITY OFor urnLINT ANDAND PAPERPAPER CHIPSCHIPS JJHICHJJt,,\ICH ACCUMULATEACCUMULATE DURINGDURING THETHE MA~UfACTUREMA~UfACTURE OF"OF SOUNDS OF THE THIRTIES MUSICALS ALLALL N('.iJNOJ ROLLS.ROLLS. RUBBERRUBBER TUBINGTUBING NO',iJNO',iJ ININ STOCKSTOCK ASAS ~"ELL~"[LL ASAS OTHEROTHER SUPPLIESsuPPLIES ANDAND CO~,1PONENTS.cm,1pONENTS. Q-215 WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF - OUROUR CATA'CATALOGUE.. OGUE ISIS STILLSTILL rREEtREE MiDA:JD MAILED TOTO From "The"The Three Little Pigs" (1933)(1933) 6~ YOUYOU VIAVIA nRSTFIRST CLASSCLASS MAIL.MAIL. THANKSTHANKS FORFOR YOURYOUR ~"uRLITZER Q-216Q·216 BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE AA DIME '{jJ( RECEPTIONRECEPTION TOTO OuROuR 0,0, A,At G,Gt ANDAND tlJURLITZER SPOOLfRAMES.SPOOLrRAMES. .IJE.IJE CAN"TCA.N"T HE:lPHELP ITIT '.'••• IfIF'" THEYTHEY FromFrom "Americana""Americana" (1932)(1932) TRACKTRACK PERfECTLYPERr[CTLY A~DA~D A,R[ARE TROUBLE-FREE.TROUBLE-tREE. IT'SIT'S JUSTJUST THETHE ',JAY',JAY ~E',iJE BUILD9UILD TH[I'I1.TH[l'!1. NE,\IN[,'J CATALOGUESCATALOGUES ~ AREARE ,~O'JJ,40'JJ 3EI~~::;3EI~~::; PREPAREDPREPARED rnRrnR MAILINGMAILING ~ 5UI'!'I~1ER . lATERLATER H:H: THETHE 5um~lER 5050 S£N!J5~ND usUS YOURYOUR W~;YtEW~!YlE AN'JAND GETGET READYREADY SENDSEND FORFOR COMPLETE CATALOGCATALOG FREE!FREE! "1~? FORFOR SUPERSUPER 5E.~VICE.SERVICE. 1(~% c P.O.P. O. BoxBox 10941094 Q·R·SQ·R·S MUSICMUSIC ROllS,ROLLS, Inc.Inc. Tel.Tel. 716-716-885-4600885-4600 lUbbock,lubbock. texastexas 7940879408 10261026 NIAGARANIAGARA ST.-BUFFALO,ST.-BUFFALO. N.Y. 1421314213 WHEN YOU ORDER - WHEN YOU BUY - WHEN YOU PLAY YOU CAN DEPEND ON PLAY·RITE MUSIC ROLLS Play-Rite Music Rolls, Inc. is owned by, and operated under the personal supervision of, Elwood L. Hansen, an active member of the Founding Amica Chapter and Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Bay View Federal Savings and Loan Association, San Francisco, California, the 68th largest savings and loan in the United ,States. In addition to his trusteeship for the California Bodies of the Scottish Rite, Cogswell Polytechnical College, Better Business Bureau of San Francisco, San Francisco Guild for Crippled Children and Adults, Salvation Army, Red Cross and many other civic groups, Mr. Hansen is on the Board of the San Mateo Chamber Music Society and a guarantor of the San Francisco Symphony Association, Civic Light Opera, and Spring Opera. Mr. Hansen's interest in music rolls and reproducing pianos began about 15 years ago when he restored a Weber Duo-Art. He now has in his living room a Chickering Ampichron, an Art Case Steinway Duo-Art, and a Knabe Ampico. So you see, when you deal with Play-Rite Music Rolls you are dealing with a man of proven personal integrity, business stability and reliability, and love of music. PLAY·RITE MUSIC ROLLS -A PRODUCT OF PROGRESSIVE EXPERIENCE BULLETIN Nonprofi t Org: rom Beckett u.s. POSTAGE AMICA Publisher PAID AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT COLLECTORS ASSOCIATION Addison, Tx. 6817 Cliffbrook Dallas. Texas 75240 Permit No. 19 DATED MATERIAL RETURN POSTAGE GUARANTEED ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED