Piano Rolls and Contemporary Player Pianos: The Catalogues, Technologies, Archiving and Accessibility Peter Phillips A Thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Historical Performance Unit Sydney Conservatorium of Music University of Sydney 2016 i Peter Phillips – Piano Rolls and Contemporary Player Pianos Declaration I declare that the research presented in this thesis is my own original work and that it contains no material previously published or written by another person. This thesis contains no material that has been submitted to any other institution for the award of a higher degree. All illustrations, graphs, drawings and photographs are by the author, unless otherwise cited. Signed: _______________________ Date: 2___________nd July 2017 Peter Phillips © Peter Phillips 2017 Permanent email address: [email protected] ii Peter Phillips – Piano Rolls and Contemporary Player Pianos Acknowledgements A pivotal person in this research project was Professor Neal Peres Da Costa, who encouraged me to undertake a doctorate, and as my main supervisor, provided considerable and insightful guidance while ensuring I presented this thesis in my own way. Professor Anna Reid, my other supervisor, also gave me significant help and support, sometimes just when I absolutely needed it. The guidance from both my supervisors has been invaluable, and I sincerely thank them. One of the greatest pleasures during the course of this research project has been the number of generous people who have provided indispensable help. From a musical point of view, my colleague Glenn Amer spent countless hours helping me record piano rolls, sharing his incredible knowledge and musical skills that often threw new light on a particular work or pianist. From a technical point of view, I could not have completed some aspects of this thesis without the help of my colleague and software engineer David Gosden. Both Glenn and David have been of such support that a heartfelt thank you seems inadequate. Particular thanks go to Dr Robert Mitchell who gave me unfettered access to the Denis Condon collection of reproducing piano rolls, prior to it being purchased by Stanford University. Also to Bryan Leech, who has meticulously poured over each draft of this thesis, with suggested edits that I rarely rejected. My thanks go as well to Denis Hall in London and Michael Water in the US for their expert opinions and help with some parts of this thesis. Many others went out of their way to help. Piano technician David Kinney at the Sydney Conservatorium saw to my every need regarding pianos, Associate Professor Kathleen Nelson provided much needed help with referencing, and helped in many other ways of which I am profoundly grateful. So too the librarians at the SCM, who patiently helped me navigate the internet in search of academic material, and to find numerous texts not typically available. Undertaking a thesis often requires the forbearance of friends, family and partners. My undying thanks go especially to my partner Warwick Moriarty, whose good humour and faith in me have provided a necessary foundation. To all members of my family and friends whom I have tended to neglect, thank you for your patience. Finally, to Marty the cat, who often provided sanity by sitting among all the mess on my desk. iii Peter Phillips – Piano Rolls and Contemporary Player Pianos Abstract Reproducing piano rolls have been of great interest to me for nearly 40 years, yet despite their significant potential in a number of research areas, they remain largely untapped. In my thesis I seek to discover why this vast historical library of music and interpretations is not more widely acknowledged and utilised. Reproducing piano rolls provide a valuable evidence of nineteenth-century performing practices, as well as offering unique pathways to other forms of research. The substantive catalogues of art music alone prove the musical worth of these rolls. Numerous commentators have chosen either to ignore or to consciously dismiss reproducing piano roll recordings as a valid representation of the art of the pianist. Clearly, in the majority of cases, their opinions have been formed through hearing rolls replayed on poorly adjusted instruments; the piano rolls themselves are not the problem. To dispel the myths that have taken hold as a result, I examine how three major piano roll companies made their recordings, and test the common criticism that these recordings were subjected to invasive editorial change. Accessing faithful piano roll recordings is an acknowledged problem. My viewpoint is that if piano roll recordings are made as accessible as early sound recordings, many rich research opportunities will present themselves. Archiving piano rolls remains an area desperately in need of further research. In this thesis I present the philosophy underpinning my methodology for developing the means to record piano rolls as raw MIDI files. Making the raw files compatible with contemporary MIDI instruments provides the sought-after accessibility, a topic that has so far attracted minimal academic interest. iv Peter Phillips – Piano Rolls and Contemporary Player Pianos Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................ iv Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Aims of my research ......................................................................................................... 2 Background ....................................................................................................................... 3 Accessing piano roll recordings ........................................................................................ 3 MIDI technology ............................................................................................................... 4 Importance of the playback piano ..................................................................................... 4 Mistrust of piano rolls ....................................................................................................... 5 The research project .......................................................................................................... 7 Becoming involved ................................................................................................................ 7 Research into piano roll catalogues........................................................................................ 8 Research into piano roll technology ....................................................................................... 9 Research into piano rolls as MIDI files .................................................................................. 9 Research into piano roll MIDI files and contemporary instruments .................................... 10 Research into correcting piano roll recordings .................................................................... 10 Applications in research ....................................................................................................... 11 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 11 Glossary of terms ....................................................................................... 12 Chapter 1 – Art music catalogues ............................................................ 13 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 13 Source data for piano roll databases ............................................................................... 14 Applying the data ................................................................................................................. 14 Typical content of piano roll art music catalogues............................................................... 15 Criteria defining art music categories ............................................................................. 16 Presenting data about composers .................................................................................... 18 Identifying notable pianists ............................................................................................. 18 Welte—the company ...................................................................................................... 19 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 19 Brief history ......................................................................................................................... 19 Welte instruments and piano rolls ........................................................................................ 21 Welte and the 1920s ............................................................................................................. 21 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 22 Roll numbering .................................................................................................................... 22 Welte-Mignon recordings to April 1906 ......................................................................... 24 Statistics to April 1906 ........................................................................................................