2. W
HEN the Ampico is your orchestra your
guests make constant demand for "encore."
The Ampico reproduces all the verve. all
the syncopated abandon of the piaonist
who played the roll. It is as if you had
engaged a famous master of dance music
to play for your entertainment.
THE AMP/CO /N THE KNABE
Uprights $1200 and $1300 Grands $1950 .
Convenient Terms Arranged. Pianos Taken in Exchange
Daily demollstrati.ons in the Ampico 8/ ndio .
IlnabtWareroomlJ·FifthllUlt tl13qtb..at
4. AMICA INTERNATIONAL
INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS CHAPTER OFFICERS
TECHNICAL
PRESIDENT Mel Septon
9045 North Karlov
Skokie, Illinois 6OCJ76
708-679-3455
PAST PRESIDENT Ron Connor
Route 4, Rogers, Arkansas 72':756
501-636-1749
VICE PRESIDENT Maurice Willyard
1988 NW Palmer Lane
Bremerton, WA 98310
SECRETARY Sally Lawrence
837 Coventry Road
Kensington, California 947ff7
415-526-8438
TREASURER Janet Tonnesen
903 Sandalwood
Richardson, Texas 75080
214-235-4497
PUBLISHER Robin Pratt
515 Scott Street
Sandusky, Ohio 44870-3736
419-626-1903
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Mike Barnhart
919 Lantern Glow Trail
Dayton, Ohio 45431
513-254-5580
COMMITTEES
Harold Malakinian
2345 Forest Trail Dr., Troy, MI 48098
ARCHIVES Bob Rosencrans
109 Cumberland Place, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
PUBLICATIONS Robin Pratt
515 Scott St., Sandusky, OH 44870
AUDIO-VISUAL Harold Malakinian
2345 Forest Trail Drive, Troy, MI 48098
CONVENTION COORDINAlOR Liz Barnhart
919 Lantern Glow Trail, Dayton, OH 45431
HONORARY MEMBERS Dorothy Bromage
157 School Street, Gorham, ME 04038
BOSTON AREA
Pres. Bill Koenigsberg
Vice Pres: Tony Misianos
Sec: Charlie Randazzo &
Barbara McFall
Treas: Alan Jayne
Reporter: Don Brown
Bd. Rep: Sandy Libman
CHICAGO AREA
Pres: Marty Persky
Vice Pres: Dee Kavouras
Sec: James Doheny
Treas: Elsa Pekarek
Reporter: Margaret Bisberg
Bd. Rep: Mike Schwimmer
FOUNDING CHAPTER
Pres: Bill Wherry
Vice Pres: Roy Powlan
Sec: Jack and Dianne Edwards
Treas: Lou Klein
Reporter: (Temporary) Bill Wherry
Bd. Rep: Bob Wilcox
GATEWAY CHAPTER
Pres: Cynthia Craig
Vice Pres: Joe Lorberg
Sec:
Treas: Dorothy Ruprecht
Historian: Larry Hollenberg
Board Rep: Cynthia Craig
HEART OF AMERICA
Pres: Bill Pohl
Vice Pres: John Washburn
Sec/Treas: Sandy Schoeppner
Reporter: Robbie Tubbs
Board Rep: Ron Bopp
LADY LIBERTY
Pres: Bill Albrecht
Vice Pres: Joe Conklin
Sec: Richard Carlson
Treas: John Ellems
Reporter: Randy Herr
Board Rep: Diane Polan
MIDWEST
Pres: Bob Porter
Vice Pres: Harold Malakinian
Sec: Judy Barnick
Treas: Alvin Wulfekuhl
Reporter: Henry Trittipo
Board Rep: Liz Barnhart
NORTHERN LIGHTS
Pres: Craig Remmon
Vice Pres: Donald Jones
Sec: Jason Beyer
Treas: Robert & Katheryn Dumas
Reporter: Kay Dumas
Ruth Anderson
Board Rep: Craig Remmon
PHILADELPHIA AREA
Pres: Brian Helfrich
Vice Pres: David Charrier
Sec:
Treas: Robert Taylor
Reporter: Lynn Wigglesworth
Board Rep: Robert Rosencrans
SIERRA-NEVADA
Pres: Bob Patton
Vice Pres: Kathy Cochran
Sec: Tom Hawthorn
Treas: Virginia Clark
Reporter: Ed Baehr
Board Rep: Ray Bauer
SOWNY (Southern Ontario,
Western NY)
Pres: John Cairns
Vice Pres: Randy Sockovie
Sec.lMem. Secretary: Anne Lemon
Treas: Holly Walter
Photographer: Mike Walter
Reporter: Mike Walter
Board Rep: Wayne Sockovie
SOUTHEAST AREA
Pres: David Oppenheim
Vice Pres: John Daly
Sec: Wayne Fisher
Treas: Don Winter
Reporter: Wayne Fisher
Board Rep: John O'Laughlin
SOUTHERN CHAPTER
Pres: Shirley Nix
Vice Pres: Herb Mercer
Sec: Frank Nix
Treas: Ken Hodge
Reporter: Ken Hodge
Board Rep: Mary Lilien
TEXAS
Pres: Sal Mele
Vice Pres: Joe Morris
Secretary: Janet Tonnesen
Treasurer: Ken Long
Reporter: Bryan Cather
Board Rep: Richard Tonnesen
/~
,,-~
AFFILIATED SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS _
AUSTRALIAN COLLECTORS
OF MECHANICAL MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS
clo 4 Lobellia Street
Chatswood, N.SW. 2067,
Australia
DUTCH PIANOLA ASSOC.
Nederlandse Pianola Vereniging
Kortedijk 10
2871 CB Schoonhouen,
Netherlands
144
INTERNATIONAL PIANO
ARCHIVES AT MARYLAND
Neil Ratliff, Music Library
Hornbake 3210
College Park, Maryland 20742
MUSIC BOX SOCIETY
INTERNATIONAL
Corresp. Sec'y.: Marguerite Fabel
RI. 3, Box 205
Morgantown, IN 46160
NETHERLANDS MECHANICAL
ORGAN SOCIETY - KDV
J.L.M. Van Dinteren
Postbus 147
6160 A C Geleen, Netherlands
NORTHWEST PLAYER PIANO
ASSOCIATION
Raymond and Dorothy Ince
4 Barrowby Lane
Leeds LS15 8PT, England
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
Division of Musical History
Washingtom, D.C. 20560
PLAYER PIANO GROUP
(England)
Tony Austin
93 Evelyn Ave.
Ruislip,
Middlesex HA4 SAH, England
SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF
MECHANICAL MUSICAL
INSTRUMENTS
Jurgen Hocker ..vI'
Eichenweg 6, D-5060 Gergisch, Gladbach,
Germany
5. Mel Septon
AMICA President
President's Message
Hello,
Last month I told you that there was still an amazing
amount of items still out there for the pickin' if you recall.
Well, while attending the city-wide yard sale at Avon, Ohio, I
~came across a series of wonderful magazines. The Music
Trade Review. There was a' large stack of them and they were
for the years 1912-1914. This was an incredible time in
mechanical music. We seem to equate the 1920's as the high
, point and in many ways it was (result of design progress in the
As I reflect on the first year of my AMICA Presidency, I am
pleased to say that it has been an overwhelmingly pleasurable experi-
ence for me. The few complaints that I have received have been vastly
overshadowed by a much greater number of compliments. The area of
greatest concern to members was the AMICA Bulletin which is now
being mailed on schedule thanks to our new publisher Robin Pratt. I am
pleased to note that most of the complaints were of a constructive
nature which encouraged me to deal with them as quickly as I could.
The antagonistic letters that I received were filed in the waste basket as
I promised in one of my previous President's messages.
With the Bulletin now on track, I will be turning my attention to
some of the projects that have been proposed by you, the members.
The most significant project will be for AMICA to assist in the pub-
lishing of a true landmark publication in the field of automatic musical
instruments, the 1,000 plus page Welte book by member Charles Davis
Smith. In addition to the roll catalog sections, this monumental work
contains vast information on the Welte Company as well as on record-
ing artists, composers, arrangers, etc. It will be a "must have" book
both for Welte and non-Welte owners.
At last year's AMICA Convention, many of you met Kathy Stone,
my "significant other." I was so pleased at the many expressions of
friendship that you extended to her and the many suggestions made to
me that I make the relationship permanent. You will be pleased to
know that we were married on July II, 1993. When I offered to move a
customer's restored Seeburg G Nickelodeon out of our living room and
she said it looked good where it was, I knew I'd better not let her get
away. She will be with me at the joint convention in Los Angeles. We
both look forward to seeing you there.
/Ad
engineering area for example). The actual peak was in the
teens as far as introducing amazing new "stuff'! Anyway in
these trade magazines are outstanding articles and photos.
There is the announcement of a new expression controlling
device invented by Lewis Doman and assigned to the
Amphion Co ... there is the announcement of a new automat-
ic piano that has"motors" in it and levers and it will "sweep"
the country the introduction of the new Midget
Orchestrion the success of the Seeburg H installed in a
Chicago department store's dining room as a promo for
"Made in Chicago" week ... photos of coin-operated instru-
ments with the address of the location and it goes on and on!
The areas covered by the magazines are: Pianos, Player
Pianos, Phonographs, Coin-operated Machines as well as
Piano Actions. What an exciting evening they gave me. I will
be using much of the material in the bulletin in the future. The
Seeburg, Coinola and Peerless photos are simply staggering.
You will be thrilled with them as many have never been
reprinted.
Hope you have a great summer and you can look forward
to the November-December 1992 issue arriving in between
this and the next issue.
Robin
145
6. Player Piano firoup
',eli~e",t •
May 26,1993
29 Charnwood Drive
South Woodford, London EI8 IPF, England
..;,F
~>
--;; ~-
; '-'j(L,,-~' ~",~-=--c
I ffl----i~
I J'-~_I l- .
"$:1~11~1";Q" (
~ r! ••
. '- .,'<'
'd" K..ti",
..Letter to the Editor.
Dear Mr. Pratt,
In my capacity as editor of the Player Piano Group's Bulletin, I have just obtained the last two or three years' AMICA Bulletins from
our archivist and had a grand session reading them all! I noticed a couple of points which need mentioning. First, please could you
change the Player Piano Group's contact address given in your Bulletin. The person to contact now is our new Secretary:
Tony Austin,
93 Evelyn Avenue, Ruislip, Middlesex, HA4 8AH, England.
Second, at our recent committee meeting, we were discussing ways in which we could improve contacts with other societies. One of
the ideas we had was to provide an "overseas contacts" organizer, so that anyone visiting the UK can meet some like-minded pianola
enthusiasts. Many people have friends and contacts they can call on when over here, but there must be many more visitors who don't
know anyone. It is always nice to meet fellow enthusiasts and know what others get up to - mechanical music collecting can be a
rather solitary hobby, and societies like ours provide just about the only meeting place. So, if any AMICAns are visiting the UK and
would like to meet a few UK enthusiasts, write with their itinerary to our Social Secretary at the address below, or phone when they
are in the UK. We obviously can't guarantee to satisfy everyone, but with a bit of luck things should work out OK!
/.,.-
Peter David,
10 Hilltop, Loughton, Essex, IG I0, IPX, England,
Phone 081 508 3583.
I must congratulate you on the Bulletins you have produced (I know how hard it is), especially on the decision to spend some time
concentrating on the 88-note pedal (to use the UK term) pianola. This area is very special to the Player Piano Group, and it is the aim
of the group to promote the idea that it is possible to play proper music on the pianola.
It is quite intriguing how the UK pianola companies promoted foot played pianolas for so long - this could quite possibly be the work
of one man, Reginald Reynolds, who spent most of his life promoting the pianola. He was the man who designed the red metrostyle
lines for the UK branch of the Aeolian Company, and then became the Duo-Art roll editor who put all the dynamic markings on the
rolls. When Aeolian folded in the depression, he moved to Harrods Department Store (they had always been heavily involved in the
pianola). If you purchased a pianola you were liable to get a letter from Reginald Reynolds offering to come round to your house one
evening and give you a lesson in how to use it. It was actually quite hard to keep him away! We still have one or two members in the
group who were taught to "pedal" by him. There is also his booklet and practice roll, of course.
Because of this approach, most pedallers in this country seem to be fitted with Themodist actions. Themed rolls were being made
(arranged from sheet music or Duo-Art originals) right up to 1940, and themed classical rolls of popular composers such as Chopin
are extremely common. These virtually force the pianolist to make some attempt at pedalling them properly, in a way that (say) J.
Lawrence Cook QRS rolls don't - he designed them to sound reasonably good without too much user input. I wonder if having lots of
easy-to-play rolls stopped people trying to play "musically," or whether they never expected to do so and demanded easy rolls?
The PPG has been promoting pianola concerts (as well as Duo-Art and Ampico ones) for some 20 years now, often in prestige venues
such as the South Bank Centre in central London. These have often been sold out, so there must be a fair, demand for this sort of
event. As well as ordinary classics, a lot of attention has been focused on music especially composed for the pianola. Rex Lawson,
who has played at a few AMICA Conventions, premiered several works of Igor Stravinsky that the composer had arranged for the
pianola, and the Etude for pianola which was composed specially for pianola. Aeolian commissioned a series of a couple of dozen
pianola compositions from various composers in the 1920s, although these are extremely rare (most of the music is rather hard ,,J"'-
going!), and these have attracted the music professionals and given the chance to get the pianola a wider audience.
I have seen the first two of Douglas Henderson's articles, and applaud you for commissioning them. Of course, they only represent
146
7. Mr. Henderson's famously individualistic view and some of the things dismissed as not being worth considering have been rather
hard done by! Saying that the term "Pianola" was coined by Kobbe goes against what the man himself said, which was that he used
the term "Pianolist" as the most natural description, as the term "Pianola" had already become the generic name for any roll-playing
piano. He was very probably the first to use the term "Pianolist" in print, as Aeolian certainly don't seem to use it in any of their
adverts. The claim that Themodist devices are of little use is too dismissive - the device gives any performance an edge which mere
-'c,
foot control can never achieve. With a system which is capable of applying the accompaniment muting gradually via sliders, very
subtle control of accompaniment can be obtained. Actions with pneumatically applied on/off fixed-level accompaniment are probably
reduced to being only marginally useful.
Probably the most important thing to say about pedalling the pianola musically is that the only real limit on the performance is the
pianolist's musical taste and ability. The UK's leading public performers have formal musical qualifications. If you don't know what
the music should sound like, you'll never get it "right," no matter how much you practice. But always remember, you are playing for
your own satisfaction, not against some academic's judgment. That is the real beauty of the pianola - you can play pieces exactly as
you want them to be played, given the limits of the roll you are playing.
An area I find very interesting is the subject of what sort of performance a roll represents. The statements about hand-played (real or
simulated) and arranged (interpretive type or not) rolls barely scratch the surface of the subject. In what way does a simulated hand-
played roll of J. Lawrence Cook (imitating Art Tatum, say) differ from an interpretive arrangement? A perfectly genuine hand-played
dance performance on Duo-Art or Ampico which has been pulled back to fixed tempo still contains most of the artist's performance,
yet is easier to phrase because the beats are regular. You can instantly recognize rolls by artists such as George Gershwin (e.g. "That
Certain Feeling"), yet their rolls don't sound like their 78s. In the UK there is a brand called Meloto, some of which are from
Melodee/Duo-Art American masters, some hand-played in the UK and some arranged. No artist credits are given, and it is great fun
trying to decide which are which.
Enough for now! I hope you find some of the above of interest, and look forward to seeing lots of visitors.
Best wishes,
Julian Dyer
A Personal Word FroID "The Man Behind The NaIDe"
"We are building for the future.. By concentrating every effort to secure the
highest efficiency throughout our organization, by constantly studying the best meth-
ods of piano-building and by using that knowledge, we give to the making of each
St2qrf *:$olIJ Piano and the Steger Natural Player-Piano the greatest care in workmanship,
years of experience and the finest materials the world can supply, realizing that our
,I . future growth and progress depend upon the artistic worth and durability of every in-
.:':" II strument sent forth from our factories." John V. Steger.
~:i:ii!::iji~ ~t'tqer' ~'~onsPtIIII.,Of trfl
~::::I!l" :1.l~
{::::::::: ~U!!
"111'''''11 O[,~
1:::;::::: Uti; P·ano d N t al PI p.,~~bi).~B.:~.i!!J...•~.. I s an a ur ayer- lanos.~"Il~ " When you buy a jt2qfrti.i01lll Piano you pay for no
. commission or allowances or extras. You pay only the
t.lii;;::=::c.i!J.' factory cost, plus a small profit, and you get an instrument
sl~i~:oB1dg.of excellent qualities, which will provide the highest
type of pleasure for your home-Circle.
$ltqrr l:$cms Pianos easlly take rank with the finest pro-
ducts of Europe and America. They are made In the great Steger plano-
factories at Steger, Illinois, the town founded by Mr. J. V. Steger.
PLANS FOR PAYMENT THAT MAKE BUYING CONVENIENT
The StegeT Idea Approval Plan.' Q ....~~... 6, .Qo-.d
Send for our catalog and other ~~~~'" ~""~n.Zll
inte:es.ting UteTature, which e.,.. PIANO MANUFACTURING COMPANY,
Jllam .t. Sent fTee on request. Steger Building, Chicago. WinOu.
When you write, please mention the Cosmopolitan 131
April I9I3 Cosmopolitan Magazine
147
8. Letter to the Editor . ..
TEMPO NORMAL
By Mark Reinhart
.~
Tempo or roJ] speed greatly affects the performance of a
reproducing piano. This is of even greater importance to the
Welte-Mignon where the expression devices are regulated
according to the rate at which the music roll travels. The
Welte-Mignon depends on a specific roll speed for proper
reproduction of the musical autograph.
A recent article authored by Douglas Henderson contained
several errors of fact which, if used to regulate a piano as sug-
gested, would render disastrous results. It is with this concern,
that this article is submitted.
The Welte-Mignon as originally conceived was a completely
automated device with no user input required beyond loading
the music roll, placing the transmission in "play" and activat-
ing the power. There was no volume control or manual
"expression levers." While the early T-100 (red paper) Welte-
Mignon did have. a speed control, the lever has only a single
calibration, that of "NormaL" The original test roll I received
with my T Steinway-Welte T-100 (red paper) Welte-Mignon
demands the roll travel 4 feet, 9 inches within 30 seconds.
This translates to American numerical standards of tempo 9S.
Of course, the T-100 (red) Welte-Mignon has no numerical
designation, simply "NormaL" It is this regulation of "tempo
9S" which controls all subsequent expression regulation.
The T-98 (green paper) Welte-Mignon does operate at a nor-
mal speed which is somewhat slower than the T-100 (red)
instrument. I am unable to state a numerical value absent a
test roll. The T-98 (green paper) speed is greater than 70,7S.
The music rolls produced by M. Welte & Sons, Inc. in
Poughkeepsie, New York, for use on the Auto Pneumatic
Action Company's Welte-Mignon (Licensee) used a common
speed of Tempo 80-90. This was the first numerical designa-
tion assigned to Welte-Mignon rolls. After the Deluxe
Reproducing Roll Corporation began their own manufacture
of Welte-Mignon rolls, the tempo designation changed to suit
their own needs. This is especially confusing when earlier
produced rolls were remastered and marked with a tempo dif-
ferent from the earlier cuttings from M. Welte & Sons, Inc.
The particulars surrounding the terms which authorized the
Deluxe Reproducing Roll Corporation production of rolls for
the Welte-Mignon (Licensee) are addressed in the forthcom-
ing book by Charles D. Smith. The Smith book explains the
corporate wrangling which enabled so many different entities
to be involved with the Welte-Mignon.
As for the T-100 "Normal" speed of tempo 80 (sic), I can only ~
imagine that Mr. Henderson did find his T-100 experience ..
unlistenable with a tempo error of almost 19%. (lS/80 =
18.7S% error)
Welte-Mignon Sustaining Pedal
By Mark Reinhart
The Welte-Mignon utilized an ingenious sustaining pedal sys-
tem. As originally conceived in the T-100 (red paper) format,
the sustaining pedal was activated by a lock and cancel sys-
tem. This lock and cancel technology required one perforation
to activate the pedal, and another perforation to deactivate the
pedal. In the vernacular of the period, this was "pedal forte"
for on and "pedal piano" for off.
The lock and cancel concept was retained into the develop-
ment and production of the Welte-Mignon (Licensee) by the
Auto Pneumatic Action Company, a division of Kohler
Industries. The only departure was with the 1920's develop-
ment of the T-98 (green paper) Welte-Mignon by M. Welte
und Soehne, Freiburg i. B. which used a single channel activa-
tion. The T-98 functioned much like the Ampico and Duo-Art
systems.
148
Recent published information suggests that the lock and tan-
cel devices were inadequate and slo-wo-o-ow (sic). This is in
fact incorrect. The Welte-Mignon test roll tests both the "on"
function as well as the "off' function for rate of attack. This
most crucial test requires that the dampers are raised with the
note in the test roll and released before the note ends. The sec-
ond test lifts the dampers to sustain several short notes. These
important tests are used to evaluate the rate of action and not
simply on and off. It is for this reason that the manner in
which the dampers are raised is of no consequence. Whether
the pneumatic is attached to the pedal lyre or some other part
of the system is a moot point. The Welte-Mignon test roll
demands that the rate meet the requirements of these precis~
tests.
The sustaining pedal valves and pneumatic hardware varies
greatly in all of the various Welte-Mignon formats. Even the
9. T-IOO (red paper) Welte-Mignon varies greatly in the pneu-
matic hardware as seen, in say, a 1907 Welte-Kabinett versus
a 19277" Steinway-Welte. The only relevant factor is that the
Welte-Mignon perform as required by the test roll.
~ One interesting point is that there seems to be no similar test
"J for other reproducing or 88-note systems. This begs the ques-
tion of others, how do you know the rate of activation is cor-
rect? I look forward to a published answer by an expert in the
field, since it certainly affects the performance of all other
instruments.
The appropriate passages from the test roll instructions are
included herein. The T-IOO (red paper) directions are found in
test number 9. The Welte-Mignon (Licensee) pedal direction
is outlined in test number 15: The Welte-Mignon Corporation
test roll is numbered as test number 13.
DESCRIPTION
OF THE VARIOUS FUNCTIONS
OF THE
WELTE-MIGNON
TEST ROLL
100
'""".) 1. Tempo regulating.
The test roll is to be played with the tempo
lever on "Normal." Same should move
within half a minute from the first bass note
in the scale to the high note cut and marked
in the scale. Should this not be the case,
then tum the tempo lever till the roll moves
in the right speed, unscrew cautiously the
screw with which the tempo lever is fas-
tened upon the axe. Place the lever on
"Normal" and screw it on again carefully
without turning the axe.
8. Adjusting the movement of
the soft pedal.
Beginning and ending of each movement is
marked by the stroke of notes cut in the
roll. (This soft pedal in Grands is produced
by shifting the whole keyboard sidewards;
ascertain that there is no dirt underneath the
keyboard which causes too much friction
and prevents the movement.)
9. Testing the loud pedal.
The first movements cut into the roll shows
to the listener, whether the dampers are
damping quick enough, the second move-
ments shows whether the dampers are lift-
ing quick enough.
In the first instance, the dampers are lifted
with the note in the roll, drop shortly before
the ending of the note, and are lifted again
shortly after the note has past. The sound of
the note must be damped promptly, and no
more sound heard although the dampers are
lifted again. If it does not cut off quick
enough, then shorten the movements of the
dampers, that means do not have them lift-
ed so far off from the strings, they will be
back quicker then.
In the second instance, if the dampers are
lifted too slow, it misses the short notes. In
this case, avoid any dead way between the
pedal bellows and dampers, so to procure a
proper attack.
10. Repetition of the notes.
To try the repetition, push the expression
bellows half way to mezwforte (in pianissi-
mo it would miss the notes). If you notice
that a hammer makes the tremolo close to
the string, the bleed hole of its valve is too
small. If it makes the tremolo distant from
the strings not reaching same, the bleed
hole of its valve is too large.
149
10. UI
o
T-IOO Welte-Mignon
Test Roll
I ON
I OFF
: i
!
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~ I
I
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iii I
, "
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I OFF
• OFF
I OFF
I OFF
IloFF
I ON
• {'!'T
I ON
: ON
• ON
• ON
• ON
I
!
, I
I
, i
, I
I
,
-
which the dampers return to rest.
!;:! :
•
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I OFF
• OFF
I OFF
I OFF
ION
I ON
I ON
I ON
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• ON
Test No.9 Sustaining Pedal
I I I ~~,l.Ll I:' . I ,.
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This series of tests evaluates the speed at
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I Test No. 13. This will prove whether the dampers are being
correctly lifted from the strings. As expression perforation
No. "8" in the treble end passes over the tracker bar, the
dampers should be lifted from the strings until expression per-
foration No. "7" releases them. This test is repeated several
times to prove its correctness. You will notice that when the
note is struck, No. "8" perforation lifts the dampers; therefore,
the note struck should be sustained until released by perfora-
tion No. "7."
At the very end of this test roll comes the re-roll perforation
which operates on hole No. "10" in the treble end of the track-
er bar. As this perforation appears and passes over the hole in
the tracker bar, the re-rolliever should immediately be thrown
over and the music re-rolled. Should there be any trouble in
this test, it may be that the tube from the tracker bar to the re-
roll pneumatic valve is clogged or it may be that the valve
itself &ticks. This can be tested by taking off the tube on the
transmission valve block (Fig. 4) and testing it by blowing
through the tube to the tracker bar. Also test the valve in the
block and see that it has the proper motion and that there is no
dirt on it.
Test No. IS.
At the beginning of this test, expression perforation No.8
should lift the dampers from the strings and No. 7 release
them. This is immediately followed by a repetition of this test
to give further proof of its correctness. The next expression
perforation to appear is No.8 and as it lifts the dampers, note
"a" is struck, which should continue to sound until the
dampers are released by No.7. This last test is repeated four
times.
If there is any trouble in this test, it will be found in the valve
unit, which subject has been covered under the heading of
"Valves."
Test No. 16.
This test is to prove whether the dampers are lifting away
from the strings when playing an 88-note roll.
..... EDITORS NOTE:
~ Mr. Henderson's comment as to the Pedal being "Slo-wo-o-ow" refers to the geometry of the location of the pneumatic far away
from the damper tray, on grands not the valves. Also the entire time for the cycle of the pedal requires 5-6 perforations. L.D.H.
151
13. among several worthy institutions as to which will eventually
get the collection, an activity I'm squarely in the middle of.)
Harry was a devoted Paderewski fan, and Mary carries on for
him.
I flew to Washington a couple of days early in order to... spend a day researching at the International Piano Archives at
,I the University of Maryland (Neil Ratliff, the Director, is
another much appreciated supporter of the writing projects)
and an especially fruitful day at the Library of Congress.
The services were scheduled for Saturday at 11:00, and I
picked Mary up at 10:00 so that we could take a taxi over to
, Ft. Myer which was not far from her hotel. She carefully
tucked a picture of Harry into her purse so that he would be
there in spirit. A considerable crowd had already gathered,
and I recognized a few people including Ambassador Rowny,
but there was no chance to meet him since he was obviously
in charge and working with the numerous dignitaries. We
made our way in (it was necessary to show the original invita-
tion to get past security) about 10:30 and found nice seats near
the center aisle and about half way back. There up front was
Paderewski in his closed cypress casket which was overlaid
with the splendid red and white flag of Poland.
Several weeks before the services, it had become known
that President Bush's daughter was getting married to a
Democrat the same day, that he could not get out of going to
the wedding and that he would attend the entombment ser-
vices in Warsaw on July 5 to do his Paderewski duty.
Therefore, Vice-President Quayle was the highest ranking
United States official to attend the Ft. Myer services. This
development had resulted in Paul Hume's huffy and well-
reported refusal to attend since he didn't think Mr. Quayle
" was of sufficient stature considering the immense historical
J importance of Paderewski. Mary had hoped to arrange a
meeting with Mr. Hume there (he had greatly admired Harry)
which would have been interesting since he had written a chil-
dren's biography, The Lion of Poland, of Paderewski in the
'60s and, for a long time after that, was rumored to be at work
on a full scale version. Mr. Hume, it will be recalled, is the
Washington Post critic (now retired) who once gave a bad
review of a Margaret Truman recital and was threatened with
a punch in the nose by You-Know-Who.
Vice-President and Mrs. Quayle arrived just before the
services began, but they still got very good seats up front. So
did several stern looking gentlemen seated nearby. The rest of
the congregation included about 100 Poles who had flown
over (including Mr. Ziolkowski, President Walesa's Chief of
Staff), Polish Ambassador Dziewanowski, Consul-General
Surdykowski and other Polish officials resident in the United
States. Several prominent United States officials in addition
to Ambassador Rowny, such as Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Edward Derwinski (the highest ranking Polish-American in
the Bush Administration), were present along with about 150
Polish-Americans including C. J. Paderewski and his family.
The remainder, like Mary and me, had somehow managed to
get in.
The religious services were conducted by Bishop Alfred
J. Markiewicz, Paderewski having been a devout Catholic and
friend of several Popes. However, the services were not at all
"" intimidating even to a poor Methodist boy and obviously had
J been arranged to appeal to all. The several hymns sung by the
congregation were led by a lady Catholic cantor who had a
beautiful voice and manner.
Bishop Markiewicz gave a brief, but moving, homily con-
cluding with the touching passage: "Listen again and we can
hear his response to Poland's call. Thank God! At last, I am
coming home."
The eulogy was delivered by Vice-President Quayle who,
incidentally, really is extraordinarily handsome. It was well
prepared and movingly delivered, and he received a sincere
and heartfelt ovation. A short speech acknowledging accep-
tance of Paderewski's remains on behalf of Poland was deliv-
ered by Mr. Ziolkowski in excellent English except that he
referred several times to Paderewski's "ashes" in the coffin.
After more prayers, more hymns and also "America, the
Beautiful", it was time to move Paderewski down the center
aisle toward the horse-drawn caisson waiting outside with the
drummers, band, color guard, limousines, cars, etc., which
would make up the formal procession back to Arlington.
When the casket was within a couple of feet of Mary and me,
the most stunningly dramatic thing happened: the congrega-
tion spontaneously broke into the Polish National Anthem. It
was absolutely awesome, one of those experiences that will
never be forgotten by anyone present.
The congregation left the Chapel row by row and dis-
persed to watch the procession form. Everybody was taking
pictures (in fact, discipline had broken down in the Chapel on
that aspect; I was among the less flagrant culprits), and the
procession finally moved off, the somber drums and bands
alternating in the accompaniment. It was grand!
Many of us lingered - reluctant to leave, and wholesale
picture taking continued. A Polish-American group close to
Mary and me were circulating camera duty, and I volunteered
to take a few shots so that they would all be in the pictures.
Somehow, my name got out, and it attracted surprised interest.
The little group turned out to be Colonel Podbielski, his son
(also Colonel Podbielski) and three close friends, and I was
soon included in the pictures with them.
The elder Colonel Podbielski is quite a fine gentleman.
He was among the first to enter Warsaw during the liberation
and is married to a Polish lady who is a survivor of the
Holocaust. He is, indeed, an authority on that awful era. I
asked him about Mr. Ziolkowski's use of "ashes", and he con-
firmed that Paderewski certainly had not been cremated since
the Church would not have allowed it at the time. The
English word "remains" does not translate well into Polish in
this sense, and further, the Polish term for "ashes" means
what's left and does not necessarily signify cremation.
Two days later, fifty-one years to the day after his death,
Paderewski did at last make his way home to Poland. After a
short tour of Poland, the Master was entombed for eternity in
S1. John's at a joyous ceremony attended by Presidents
Walesa and Bush. A number of the Polish-American atten-
dees at the Ft. Myer services, including C. J. Paderewski and
his wife, Secretary Derwinski, Ambassador Rowny, both Col.
Podbielskis and Mr. Archacki, followed Paderewski to Poland
for the entombment ceremonies. Another distinguished cou-
ple in attendance at the S1. Johns ceremony was Anne
Appleton of Rancho Murieta, California, and her husband,
Louis. Mrs. Appleton is the daughter of Sylwin Strakacz who
was Paderewski's most trusted aide from the time he formed
the first modern Polish government after World War I until
his death.
Every person has rare high points during his or her life.
This splendid event - as you, my friends, can imagine -
was certainly a majestic and exciting milestone in my own life
and that of all those privileged to attend.
153
15. hours a day. Later, as composing and especially politics
began to demand more of his time, his practice regimen was
cut back, and his technique settled down to a perfectly
respectable level which, however, was not comparable to, say,
that of his friend Hofmann. But, except for the wrenching last
tour of 1939 when the infirmities of old age had caught up
./ with him, Paderewski's pure digital technique was entirely
adequate and, when coupled with his monumental concep-
tions, beautiful big tone, skill at pedaling and other effect-pro-
ducing means, his judicious use of available technique result-
ed in performances which were the most spellbinding ever
heard in a concert hall.
Stevenson addresses in some detail and in a most
scholarly fashion certain characteristics of Paderewski's
playing which have been deemed by some latter day "experts"
as among his most notorious faults. These grievous sins
include breaking the hands, particularly leading with the left,
wholesale arpeggiation and the excessive use of tempo rubato.
He points out that: "For two generations after Paderewski,
pianists have been kidding themselves that they, and they
alone, have at last (aided by the musicologist) discovered
authenticity." ... "They fancy they are advocating
'historicity': they are not being historic enough." .
"The further back we go, the freer is the perfor-
mance: in rubato; in the liberal use of the arpeg-
gio; in the quasi-improvisational independence of
the two hands from a rigid synchronization.
Indeed, these historic interpretations [of
Paderewski and his closest peers] have a plasticity
which has all but disappeared from music-making
today."
Stevenson quotes the celebrated Egon Petri, Busoni's
../ finest pupil, as stating that Busoni was the only pianist in
Berlin around 1900 who avoided the gratuitous arpeggio and
bass anticipation of melody. Busoni took this approach be-
cause it was best for Busoni and his conception of Bach and
late-Beethoven. "But," Stevenson points out, "its now wide-
spread application to Romantic piano literature is a miscon-
ception of the Romantic style."
Of course, the casual application of tempo rubato, arpeg-
giation and bass anticipation does not result in a performance
of the sort that made Paderewski an immortal. Stevenson ana-
lyzes, as a composer-pianist, Paderewski's careful use of each
of these and other techniques and the sonic results he
obtained, results which are simply unavailable to those who
do not have these artifices in their pianistic arsenal. In short,
Stevenson makes a powerful case that it was Paderewski and
his peers, and not the less free school of piano playing which
has been the norm for nearly half a century, who played in the
authentic Romantic style - and Paderewski was the best at it.
This little book, which includes back-to-back English and
French texts and several interesting illustrations, may be
obtained for £4.95 (or the equivalent in Swiss Francs) directly
from either of the co-publishers:
The Klavar Music Foundation of Great Britain
171 Yarborough Road
Lincoln, LNI 3NQ
United Kingdom
La Societe Paderewski
Centre Culturel
Place du Casino I
CH - 1110 Morges
Switzerland
Paderewski fans should consider joining La Societe
Paderewski which issues beautiful Annales Paderewski (in
French) and sponsors and participates in other Paderewski-ori-
ented activities including developing and maintaining a sub-
stantial Paderewski Museum in Morges, the little Swiss vil-
lage near his vanished estate, Riond-Bosson. The annual dues
are 30 Swiss Francs.
Paderewski at Norwich
By Michael Magnus Osborn, 171 Yarborough Rd., Lincoln, England LNI 3NQ
Ignace Jan Paderewski was the most famous pianist to record for Duo-Art. Of his 30-odd rolls, Chopin's 3rd Scherzo (7160) and
Debussy's "Reflets dans l'eau' (7186) are probably the best! Chopin's Polonaise op. 40/1 (6140) is almost certainly the worst!
Paderewski's noble work for piano & orchestra, the Fantaisie Polonaise op. 19, was given its first performance at the Norfolk and
Norwich Festival in 1893, with Paderewski himself the soloist. 100 years later it will again be performed at the Norfolk & Norwich
Festival.
After Adrian Thomas had introduced the Pianola Institute's "Padere~ski's Poland' programme in the Purcell Room last year I had the
opportunity to seek his help in finding an affordable orchestra for a performance at the Centenary Festival. As a result the final con-
cert this year will be given by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. The Fantaisie Polonaise will be performed in the first half, with the
stunning young pianist (and Tchaikovsky competition winner) Boris Berezovsky as soloist. Elgar used one of its themes in the
.'Polonia' which he dedicated to Paderewski, and which will open the programme. Rachmaninov's glorious 2nd Symphony occupies
the second half.
The Festival runs from the 7th to the 17th of October. It has been most imaginatively planned and organized by the Festival Director,
.. Heather Newill, from whose office at I, Merchants Court, St. George Street, Nprwich NR3 lAB, England (Phone 0603 614921)
.,I copies of the full programme of events can be obtained. The Box Office number is 0603 764764. The concert begins at the very
civilized hours of 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, 17 October 93.
Norwich is a beautiful, clean city with a lovely cathedral made of Caen stone. It usually enjoys something of an Indian Summer:
AMICA members could enjoy one there, too, perhaps?
155
16. s. H. Galperin
IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
OF THE
Charleston Woman's Club
PRESENT
6l[JGNACE ~AN @ADEREVSKI
~
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AT THE
CHARLESTON HIGH SCHOOL
W(dne.fday, January 14th
8: 15 O' CLOCK
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VariatIons and Fugue on a theme by HaendeI . . BRAHMS
The word fugue is presumably derived from the Latin "fuga," a
flight, which aptly characterizes the eha:sing and changing of a
theme through the several parts.
Two Mazurkas • • • . • • • . . . • • . • . CHOPIN
Opus 59, A Flat
Opus 33, D Major
Though the least known of his compositions, the •.Mazurkas." are
highly characteristic of Chopin, the Pole.
BEETHOVEN
Etude A Minor, Opus 25, No. 11 • • • • . • • • CHOPIN
One of Chopin's most beautiful and difficult Concert-Etudes, ire-
quiri..ng unusual physical endurance.Sonata, Opus 27, No.2, C Sharp Minor
ADAGIO SOSTENUTO
ALLEGRETTO
PRESTO AGITATO
This opus, composed in 1802, wrongly called "Moonlight-Sonata,"
is presumably inspired by "Beethoven's love for the Countess Julie
Guiceiardi," to whom the work is dedicated.
The Dancing Virgins of Delphi
Veils
The Wind in the Plain
Minstrels
} •• DEBUSSY
Debussy, France's greatest composer of "Impressionistic" music.
11
Prelude C Sharp Minor l RACHMANINOFF
Prelude G Sharp Minor, Opus 32, No. 12 f
Originally the "Prelude" is a piece of an introductory nature.
Rachmaninoff's Preludes, however, like Chopin's Preludes, are
anomalous, not having been intended as introductory pieces.
. . . CHOPIN.......Sonata, B Minor, Opus 58
ALLEGRO ;MAESTOSO
ScHERZO MOLTO VIVACE
L.UGO ••
FINALE PRESTO NON TANTO
Among Chopin's more profound and elaborate com}Xl6itions, his
Sonatas take the first illace.
Tristan and Isolde, Prelude . • • • • WAGNER-SCHELLING
Prelude to Wagner's "drama" Tristan and Isolde; probably the
most moving love-music ever written.
Nocturne E Flat, Opus 9, No.2. . . . . . . . CHOPIN
"Nocturne," literally meaning "Night-Music," is a word introduced
by Field as a title for piano pieces of a dreamily, romantic
character. La CampanelIa • • • • • PAGANINI-LISZT
One of Liszt's best known though most di1Jicult piano-arrange-
ments of a violin~tudy by Paganini.
....Ul
-...J
PROGRAM CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 Program notes by HENRI SCHULTZE
18. "PIANO MASTERY"
1911-15
By Harriette Brower, Author of "The Art of the Pianist"
IGNACE JAN PADEREWSKI
,tJ'
One of the most consummate masters of the piano at the
present time is Ignace Jan Paderewski. Those who were privi-
leged to hear him during his first season in this country will
never forget the experience. The Polish artist conquered the
new world as he had conquered the old; his name became a
household word, known from coast to coast; he traveled over
our land, a Prince of Tones, everywhere welcomed and hon-
ored. Each succeeding visit deepened the admiration in which
his wonderful art was held.
The question has often been raised as to the reason of
Paderewski's remarkable hold on an audience; wherein lay his
power over the musical and unmusical alike. Whenever he
played, there was always the same intense hush over the lis-
teners, the same absorbed attention, the same spell. The super-
ficial attributed these largely to his appearance and manner;
the more thoughtful looked deeper. Here was a player who
was a thoroughly trained master in technic and interpretation;
one who knew his Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann and
Liszt. These things of themselves would not hold an audience
spellbound, for there were other artists equally well equipped.
In a final analysis it was doubtless Paderewski's wonderful
piano tone, so full of variety and color, so vital with number-
less gradation of light and shade, that charmed and enthralled
his listeners. It mattered to no one - save the critics - that he
frequently repeated the same works. What if we heard the
Chromatic Fantasie a score of times? In his hands it became a
veritable Soliloquy on Life and Destiny, which each repetition
invested with new meaning and beauty. What player has ever
surpassed his poetic conception of Schumann's Papillons, or
the Chopin Nocturnes, which he made veritable dream poems
of love and ecstasy. What listener has ever forgotten the
tremendous power and titanic effect of the Liszt Rhapsodies,
especially No.2? When Paderewski first came to us, in the
flush of his young manhood, he taught us what a noble instru-
ment the piano really is in the hands of a consummate master.
He showed us that he could make the piano speak with the
delicacy and power of a Rubinstein, but with more technical
correctness; he proved that he could pierce our very soul with
the intensity of his emotion, the poignant, heart-searching
quality of his tones, the poetry and beauty of his interpreta-
tion.
Paderewski is known as composer and pianist, only rarely
does he find time to give instruction on his instrument. Mme.
Antoinette Szumowska, the Polish pianist and lecturer was at
one time termed his "only pupil." Mr. Sigismond Stojowski,
the Polish composer, pianist and teacher has also studied with
him. Both can testify as to his value as an instructor. Mme.
Szumowska says:
"Paderewski lays great stress on legato playing, and
desires everything to be studied slowly, with deep touch and
with full, clear tone. For developing strength he uses an exer-
cise for which the hand is pressed against the keyboard while
the wrist remains very low and motionless and each finger
presses on a key, bringing, or drawing out as much tone as
possible.
158
"Paderewski advises studying scales and arpeggios with
accents, for instance, accenting every third note, thus enabling
each finger in tum to make the accent impulse: this will secure
evenness of touch. Double passages, such as double thirds and
sixths, should be divided and each half practiced separately,
with legato touch. Octaves should be practiced with loose
wrists and staccato touch. As a preparatory study practice with
thumb alone. The thumb must always be kept curved, with
joints well rounded out; it should touch the keys with its tip,
so as to keep it on a level with the other fingers. Paderewski is
very particular about this point.
"It is difficult to speak of Paderewski's manner of teach-
ing expression, for here the ideas differ with each composer
and with every composition. As to tonal color, he requires all
possible variety in tone production. He likes strong contrasts,
which are brought out, not only by variety of touch but by
skillful use of the pedals.
"My lessons with Paderewski were somewhat irregular.
We worked together whenever he came to Paris. Sometimes I
did not see him for several months, and then he would be in
Paris for a number of weeks; at such seasons we worked
together very often. Frequently these lessons, which were /I!J
given in my cousin's house, began very late in the evening -
around ten o'clock - and lasted till midnight, or even till one
in the morning.
"Paderewski the teacher is as remarkable as Paderewski
the pianist. He is very painstaking; his remarks are clear and
incisive; he often illustrates by playing the passage in ques-
tion, or the who composition. He takes infinite trouble to work
out each detail and bring it to perfection. He is very patient
and sweet tempered, though he can occasionally be a little sar-
castic. He often grows very enthusiastic over his teaching, and
quite forgets the lapse of time. In general, however, he does
not care to teach, and naturally has little time for it."
Mr. Stojowski, when questioned in regard to his work
with the Polish pianist, said:
"Paderewski is a very remarkable teacher. There are
teachers who attempt to instruct pupils about what they do not
understand, or cannot do themselves; there are others who are
able to do the thing, but are not able to explain how they do it.
Paderewski can both do it and explain how it is done. He
knows perfectly what effects he wishes to produce, how they
are to be produced, the causes which underlie and bring them
about; he can explain and demonstrate these to the pupil with
the greatest exactness and detail.
"As you justly remark the quality of tone and the variety
of tonal gradations are special qualities of Paderewski's play- -
ing. These must be acquired by aid of the ear, which tests and
judges each shade and quality of tone. He counsels the student
to listen to each tone he produces, for quality and variety.
19. CLEARNESS A FIRST PRINCIPLE
''The player, as he sits at the piano, his mind and heart
filled with the beauty of the music his fingers are striving to
produce, vainly imagines he is making the necessary effects.
'" Paderewski will say to him" 'No doubt you feel the beauty of
I this composition, but I hear none of the effects you fancy you
are making; you must deliver everything much more clearly:
distinctness of utterance is of prime importance.' Then he
shows how clearness and distinctness may be acquired. The
fingers must be rendered firm, with no giving in at the nail
joint. A technical exercise which he gives, and which I also
use in my teaching, trains the fingers in up and down move-
•ments, while the wrist is he'ld very low and pressed against the
keyboard. At first simple five-finger forms are used; when the
hand has become accustomed to this tonic, some of the
Czemy Op. 740 can be played, with the hand in this position.
Great care should be taken when using this principle, or lame-
ness will result. A low seat at the piano is a necessity for this
practice; sitting low is an aid to weight playing: we all know
how low Paderewski himself sits at the instrument.
"You ask what technical material is employed. Czerny,
Op. 740; not necessarily the entire opus; three books are con-
sidered sufficient. Also Clementi's Gradus. Of course scales
must be carefully studied, with various accents, rhythms and
tonal dynamics; arpeggios also. Many arpeggio forms of value
may be culled from compositions.
''There are, as we all know, certain fundamental princi-
ples that underlie all correct piano study, though various mas-
ters may employ different ways and means to exemplify these
j fundamentals. Paderewski studied with Leschetizky and incul-
cates the principles taught by that master, with this difference,
that he adapts his instruction to the physique and mentality of
the student; whereas the Vorbereiters of Leschetizky prepare
all pupils along the same lines, making them go through a
similar routine, which may not in every instance be necessary.
FINGERING
"One point Paderewski is very particular about, and that
is fingering. He often carefully marks the fingering for a
whole piece; once this is decided upon it must be kept to. He
believes in employing a fingering which is most comfortable
to the hand, as well as one which, in the long run, will render
the passage most effective. He is most sensitive to the choice
of fingering the player makes, and believes that each finger
can produce a different quality of tone. Once, when I was
playing a Nocturne, he called to me from the other end of the
room: 'Why do you always play that note with the fourth fin-
ger? i can hear you do it; the effect is bad.' He has a keen
power of observation; he notices little details which pass
unheeded by most people; nothing escapes him. This power,
directed to music, makes him the most careful and painstaking
of teachers. At the same time, in the matter of fingering, he
endeavors to choose the one which can be most easily accom-
' plished by the player. The Von Bulow editions, while very
, erudite, are apt to be laborious and pedantic; they show the
German tendency to over-elaboration, which, when carried
too far becomes a positive fault.
CORRECT MOTION
"Another principle Paderewski considers very important
is that of appropriate motion. He believes,in the elimination of
every unnecessary movement, yet he wishes the whole body
free and supple. Motions should be as carefully studied as
other technical points. It is true he often makes large move-
ments of arm. but they are all thought out and have a dramatic
significance. He may lift the finger off a vehement staccato
note by quick up-arm motion, in a flash of vigorous enthusi-
asm; but the next instant his hand is in quiet position for the
following phrase.
STUDYING EFFECTS
"The intent listening I spoke of just now must be of vital
assistance to the player in his search for tonal variety and
effect. Tone production naturally varies according to the space
which is to be filled. Greater effort must be put forth in a large
hall, to make the tone carryover the footlights, to render the
touch clear, the accents decisive and contrasts pronounced. In
order to become accustomed to these conditions, the studio
piano can be kept closed, and touch must necessarily be made
stronger to produce the desired power.
INTERPRETATION
"A great artist's performance of a noble work ought to
sound like a spontaneous improvisation; the greater the artist
the more completely will this result be attained. In order to
arrive at this result, however, the composition must be dissect-
ed in minutest detail. Inspiration comes with the first concep-
tion of the interpretation of the piece. Afterward all details are
painstakingly worked out, until the ideal blossoms into the
perfectly executed performance. Paderewski endeavors uni-
formly to render a piece in the manner and spirit in which he
has conceived it. He relates that after one of his recitals, a lady
said to him:
"'Why, Mr. Paderewski, you did not play this piece the
same as you did when I heard you before.'
'''I assure you I intended to,' was the reply.
'''Oh, it isn't necessary to play it always the same way;
you are not a machine,' said the lady.
This reply aroused his artist-nature.
'''It is just because I am an artist that I ought at all times
to play in the same way. I have thought out the conception of
that piece, and am in duty bound to express my ideal as nearly
as possible each time I perform it.'
"Paderewski instructs, as he does everything else, with
magnificent generosity. He takes no account of time. I would
come to him for a stipulated half-hour, but the lesson would
continue indefinitely, until we were both forced to stop from
sheer exhaustion. I have studied with him at various times.
One summer especially stands out in my memory, when I had
a lesson almost every day."
Speaking of the rarely beautiful character ofPaderewski's
piano compositions, Mr. Stojowski said:
"I feel that the ignorance of this music among piano
teachers and students is a crying shame. What modem piano
sonata have we today, to compare with his? I know of none.
And the songs - are they not wonderful! I love the man and his
music so much that I am doing what lies in my power to make
these compositions better known. There is need of pioneer
work in this matter, and I am glad to do some of it."
159
20. The following articles are from the Emmett M. Ford Collection
ll2eflectivn~ f.-VOl a Mu§ical Life
13~ lunace Jan Vade..-ewskl
THE ETUDE has the honor ofpresenting a series of "Reflections" by the greatest pianist ofour age, which have beew culled
from unusual sources in Europe. The first is part ofa statement; given to Richard Capell, Editor of The London Daily Mail, the most
widely circulated paper in the world. Mr. Paderewski, with his accustomed generosity and nobility ofpurpose, had just given his only
concert for the season in London, all the proceeds of which went to the Musicians' Beneficent Fund More than this, he shared the
expense ofsecuring the great Albert Hall (seating twelve thousand), where the concert was given.
Immediately after the concert, Mr. Paderewski gave Mr. Capell the following statement about his career of sixty years, includ-
ing in it certain requested observations upon contemporary musical, conditions.
l'
The Miracle ofChopin's Art"
"IS THAT to disparage Chopin? No, and again, no. Let me dwell a
moment on the miracle (it is nothing less) of Chopin's art. That frail
man, of genius. that fastidious and shrinking soul, has, been a world
conqueror.
"A century ago Chopin - already the marked victim of the disease
that was to be his doom was pouring forth masterpieces. He has been
dead for more than eighty years. In that time how many once great
reputations have waned and vanished? No belittlement by supercil-
ious critics has made the slightest effect upon his fame. The aesthet-
ic fashions have veered and shifted, like any weathercock, but
Chopin is enshrined in the hearts of men.
A Heroic Soul
HE NEEDS not my or any defense; "But a protest,may be made
against the legend of a spineless, effeminate and self-pitying Chopin,
How could the author of the Ballade in F minor - the Fantaisie in F
minor; the great, proud polonaises; the spirited mazurkas; the tragic
scherzos and heroic studies (Chopin's Studies' I hold to be almost
the most characteristic and original of his works)-how, good people,
can he have been that? The frail body contained a truly heroic soul.
"The legend, too, of a Chopin who was a mere melodist, with not
real technical resources, may be corrected. Truly it is absurd. If one
work were to be selected to refute it I would name the Ballade in F
minor, with its subtle contrapuntal texture.
First Training
"CASTING MY MIND back to far off Podolia, in the 1860's, for
memories of my first musical experiences, I perceive a small boy
who tried to pick out on a beloved old Viennese pianoforte, the folk-
songs of the Ruthenian peasantry who were our tenants and servants.
"Truth to tell, the Ruthenian folk music lacks the vividness of that 0
the true Polish peasantry, and the fascinating Polish 'dances, the
kuiazviak, the krakowiak, the mazurka, , and the rest, were not known
at my Podolian home.
"My first music master was no pianist at all but a violinist. My
father-who suffered for his patriotism, under the Czarist tyranny, and
whose Siberian exile cast a gloom over my young years-was an ama-
teur of all the arts; he played the violin, he painted, and practiced
sculpture.
"What music reached us in that countryside (we were two hundred
miles from a railway) so far from civilization? Little more, than fan-
tasias on operas-and not operas by Verdi or -Wagner, but Bellini,
Auber and Donizetti.
160
Beethoven, the Soul ofMusic
THE FULL FORCE of music - the sublimity and passion of that
art which the longest lifetime is all to ephemeral adequately to serve-
was not revealed to me until, when I was twelve, I heard in Warsaw a
performance of Beethoven's 'Fifth Symphony.'
"Some sixty years have passed, and the composer whom, of all, I still
play with unmitigated satisfaction is Beethoven. Beethoven is
universal. He is consistently lofty. Playing Beethoven, I feel that he
is the soul of music and that he contains the germs of all later
musicians. I hear Schumann, Mendelssohn and even Chopin lying
implicit in Beethoven. If challenged to mention a Chopinesque work
of Beethoven, I would name the Sonata, Op. - 109, in E major, and
many details in the later sonatas.
Women and the Keyboard
THE THOUGHT of Chopin's physical frailty, brings to mind the
demands (little realized by the lay public) which the musical career
makes upon the strength of the body. How many women executants,
have had the keenest musical intuitions without the bodily strength to
render them actual! A woman is, of course, an excellent chamber
music pianist; but I call to mind only two of my time who had the
strength adequate to the largest occasions - I mean Sophie Menter
and Teresa Carreno - and, rather strangely, those so to say virile
women lacked tenderness.
The Mystery ofMemorizing
THE MEMORIZING of music - a mystery to the layman - is a sub-
ject about which questions are often asked of the artist. The musical
executant has three memories. There is the visual memory. One
learns by heart a piece of music by remembering the look of the
printed page. There is the memory of the run of the music: one
remembers 'how the music goes.
"The third is the digital memory. The fingers remember
- seemingly independent of the will - the task they have to execute.
This is the most important of all. It is notably essential to the playing
of poly-phonic music. One's playing by heart of certain fugues
depends upon this digital or physical memory.
Memory Lapses
SINCE ANECDOTES concerning the memorizing of music seem
never un-welcome, let the confession be made that twice in my
career memory has played me false.
Once it was in a Bach fugue. Again it was in a performance in Paris
of a Rubinstein concerto (Lamoureux was conducting). In one of my
entries I was late. I think - I hope - no one in the audience knew. I
only know that such an experience seems to an artist like the blackest
catastrophe.
If
.7
22. ,..~-
Ignace Paderewski Premier of the Polish Republic, and General Pilsudski, Its President
ANOTHER attempt has been made on the life of Ignance one was hurt, and the thousands who had gathered to receive the
Paderewski, according to a recent newspaper report. Returning to Premier overcame the would-be assassin, it is stated. A moment after
Warsaw after his visit to the Peace Conference, the former pianist, the affair, the report states Paderewski was smiling and bowing his
now Premier of Poland, was shot at on the railroad station, as he and acknowledgements to the welcoming crowds.
Mme. Paderewski were alighting from their train, it is reported. No
~
As is well known, Paderewski and Ernest
Schelling, the American pianist, are wann
friends. In the earlier years of his career
Schelling had the advantage of enjoying the
great Pole's active interest in his artistic
development. Paderewski is to make a tour
here next season in behalf of his suffering
Polish compatriots and Mr. Schelling has
already been giving his services to help
swell the relief fund for them. .,r
Ignance Jan Paderewski and Ernest Schelling in Poland
23. I
Speak Gently: The SOFT Pedal
By L. Douglas Henderson
No.4
ofSix
Articles
FOREWORD
Before discussing the capabilities and limitations of The
SOFT Pedal for the Pianola, we think you should read these
liges by the novelist Dick Francis and automotive designer Dr.
Porsche:
"Entrenched belief is never altered by the facts." I
"Committees are, by nature, timid. They are based on
the premise of safety in numbers, content to survive incon-
spicuously rather than take risks and move independently
ahead. Without independence, without the freedom for
new ideas to be tried, to fail, and to ultimately succeed, the
World will not move ahead, but live in fear of its own
potential."2
This six-part series of articles is being written so that
YOU - the player-piano owner - can understand the palette of
musical opportunities open to your imagination, which - in
turn - will give you a better understanding of the Total
Instrument. 3 There are musical principles involved in the
artistic presentation of an 88-Note music rolLand the equal-
ly-necessary monitoring and personal involvement with
expression players, the so-called "reproducing" pianos. Both
the pedal and electrically-pumped instruments are really the
same, and rolls are rolls. Does a person describe a straight-
eight 1951 Pontiac Catalina as "a Hydra-Matic automobile"
versus 'just another 'stick-shift' car" for the manual transmis-
sion six-cylinder model of the time? Well, yes! Detroit did
exactly that in those recent years of the naive automobile cus-
tomer, just as Aeolian and The American Piano Company
sought to separate a "silent piano" (Le. non-player) from your
'trade-in' "player-piano," and these instruments were suppos-
edly apart from the "reproducing" models. All pneumatic
stacks perform with musical characteristics uniQue to the
'. field; they cannot duplicate human keyboard playing.
I Similarly, paper music rolls as a product belong to a closely-
related group; original rolls for the Welte-Mignon, Ampico,
Duo-Art and other expression systems often shared the same
Master Roll arrangements that produced the 88-Note roll alter-
natives. (Today, ARTCRAFT offers many of its Interpretive
Arrangements in the 88-Note ~ expression arrangement for-
mats, using identical label designs and the same boxes. No
special leaders, boxes or "reproducing" roll mystique is
required. The customer selects the appropriate style for his
particular player action.)"Reproducing" pianos with highly-
developed manual controls (such as "The Duo-Art as a
Pianola" by Aeolian) allowed the musician to equal - and
often surpass - the automatic expression scores; the human
interaction with the pneumatic player always adds the last
measure of performance refinement. Back to the Hydra-Matic,
Merc-a-Matic, Ultra-Matic 4 and Dynaflow automobiles of the
'Fifties: why did the driver - when ostensibly purchasing a
self-acting transmission - have multiple drive ranges or an
array of choices such as Low-l and Low-2 with an "automat-
ic" system? Answer that question and you will understand the
need for adjustment controls on an "automatic tuning" televi-
sion set or the ubiquitous "light/darken" knob on the Polaroid
camera. As explained in the previous three articles in this
series, human participation is just as necessary when playing
Ampico or Duo-Art rolls as when one pedals the ordinary 88-
Note upright player.
The Past left us with some great pianos plus some MAG-
NIFICENT examples such as the Mason & Hamlin or Aeolian
Weber, instruments which will probably NEVER be built
again with such memorable tone quality. Our for~fathers
responded to imaginative advertising campaigns (much of it
artistically presented yet loaded with false claims!) and this
gave us a heritage of existing player actions; some are ade-
quate and, again, some have limitless potential for musical
performance, especially the "theme-accompaniment" systems
like the (Aeolian) Duo-Art, (Hupfeld) Triphonola and (Wilcox
& White/Simplex) Artrio-Angelus. Even the faster-acting
divided stack expression players offer both Pianolist and lis-
tener a wealth of performance opportunity. Three expression
systems which have the ability to amaze the listener are the
Welte-Mignon Licensee line by the Standard Pneumatic
Action Co., fast-acting versions of the "Recordo" which is
divided by BASS and TREBLE hammer rail designs,S and the
underrated and overlooked Celco/Apollo/Artecho by the
Amphion Co.; even though lacking the versatility of "theme-
accompaniment" design, these mechanisms can slide from
P.P. (pianissimo) to F.F. (fortissimo) quickly, and return to
soft-playing once more. Unfortunately, the group-effort or
"committee approach" to roll arranging in the past often cre-
ates an artistic letdown for the musically sensitive listener of
today. The 88-Note and expression instruments sounded noth-
ing like the real (and fictitious) artists whose names were
stamped on the labels. With the exception of a few imagina-
163
24. ,r
tive arrangers such as Howard Lutter,6 most original rolls
barely scratched the surface in the possibilities of keyboard
striking, pedal shadings and (for "reproducing" mechanisms)
dynamic effects. Roll travel speeds were homogenized and
rarely MATCHED to the spirit of the performance, as they are
today with Interpretive Arrangements. Clearly, the Pianola is
a half-fulfilled premise in its natural form, viz. old piano, old
player action and old, original rolls. Aside from certain
demonstration rolls which were never sold to the public in the
'Teens and 'Twenties, the old rolls are the weak points in
these wonderful instruments. The Pianola suffers from
INFERIOR SOFTWARE! Fortunately, the various controls on
the players allow you to override, modify and often totally
control the musical performance, thereby injecting vitality
into the formula-ridden rolls of the past. Interpretive rolls of
THEDA BARA: "KISS ME, MY FOOL!"
today, of course, always invite the customer to get involved
with the musical arrangements. The audio-visual nature of the
perforated paper roll medium combined with YOUR partici-
pation is what sustains one's interest in this unusual method of
playing the pianoforte!
Lest the reader forget just how distant, uninformed, naive
and gullible the customers of Player and "Reproducing"
pianos were, consider this formerly-erotic pose by film star
Theda Bara, in her 1915 success A FOOL THERE WAS
based on a poem by Rudyard Kipling entitled:
"KISS ME, MY FOOL!"
164
That title card from Miss Bara's film said it all. ..and
became a catch-phrase during the zenith of the era of Pianola
development, just as ''Twenty-Three Skidoo," "Brother, Can
You Spare A Dime?", "Kilroy Was Here" and "Don't Dream
It, Be It" 7 were in later decades. You owe it to yourself to .
learn more about Theda Bara, the screen's silent siren, for by J
doing so you will understand more about the marketing of
Pianolas and their music rolls. 8 Born Theodosia Goodman in
Cincinnati, Ohio, the film studio christened her with a name
which was an anagram for ARAB DEATH! Meanwhile, in the
musical field, one Miss Lucie Hickenlooper from Texas
became Olga SamarofLand Ethel Liggins from England got
transformed into Mme. Leginska, both producing many rolls
associated with these artificial names. At one time, "every-
thing" Rudyard Kipling wrote was considered to be LITER-
ARY ART in the English language. Today, his GUNGA DIN,
THE JUNGLE BOOK, WEE WILLIE WINKlE, ON THE
ROAD TO MANDALAY and male bonding poem IF (You
Are A Man, My Son) all hold up, in varying degrees. Some of
Kipling's writings have been judged, after World War II, to be
jingoistic and racist. THE VAMPIRE - which inspired Harry
Hilliard's stage play A FOOL THERE WAS and the Theda
Bara film under the same title - is by any standards OUT-
RIGHT JUNK! If you question this statement, play the
acoustic Victor Record of the time by Mr. Hilliard, who also
co-starred in Theda Bara movies. The "tragic scene" from the
stage play was recorded from A FOOL THERE WAS and the
reader is advised not to listen to this terminal case of hammy
acting after consuming a heavy meal! "Meanwhile, back at the
Ranch" - or music rolls in this treatise - examine your collec-
tion to see how many Oriental Fox Trot selections you pos-
sess...or how many rolls feature "The Vamp" either in the
titles or the song lyrics. Theda Bara stands for everything that
was meteoric in the rise and fall of the Pianolas! After her
brief and prolific film career, motion pictures progressed and
became more sophisticated, both in the photographic tech-
nologies and the acting processes that accompanied them.
Music rolls, on the other hand, got frozen in development and
sank to becoming background music, while the general public
gravi tated to electric phonographs, radios and the talking
motion pictures. Improvements in music rolls did not resume
until long after the player-piano era, when Interpretive
Arrangements challenged the Pianolists and attracted many
performing musicians outside the perforated roll field.
YOU and your selection of music rolls are the most
important parts of the Pianola performance. The piano and
design of the player action are secondary' considerations. The
"pedigree," i.e. an artist's name stamped on old roll labels,
means nothing. YOU are in-control of an ARTISTIC
MACHINE: the Player-Piano. The final musical performance
is what counts, and YOU will have participated in the presen-
tation!
"Cr~i?~
25. Derming The Pianola son Pedal
While the three prior articles dealt with the variables in
the TEMPO Lever and the SUSTAINING Pedal features, the
SOFT Pedal (or its pneumatic equivalent on certain models) is
an artistic device which yields a wider array of performance
,/ effects due to design differences and the placement of the con-
trols: buttons, levers and/or traditional foot pedals. "How" the
SOFT Pedal should be used depends upon the pneumatic con-
cept of each particular instrument. "When" it should be super-
imposed upon the continuing performance is completely up to
your artistic discretion. (The author has seen the Model B
Ampico grand suddenly "come alive" with the owner's partic-
ipation. Here is a player which never encouraged a Pianolist,
yet with a little imagination a routine, ponderous performance
was transformed by the judicious use of the foot-operated soft
pedal in tandem with switching ON/OFF the "subdue" control
for blocks of the musical arrangement; beyond the tempo cor-
rections and minimal foot-operated sustaining pedal, a creative
Ampico owner is kept "busy" running a player which was sup-
posed to "do everything" while one listened. qf course, a
more-endowed electric player, such as the versatile Duo-Art,
offers the Pianolist and critical listener ALL interpretive ele-
ments, as will be detailed in the final article of this six-part
series.)
The BEST and most common arrangement for the divided
hammer rail life (SOFT Bass/SOFT Treble) is the one that fea-
tures two graduation levers. Sometimes, as on Standard
"'" Pneumatic Co. actions or those by Story & Clark, these would
I be two opposing levers, which - when brought together -
raised the entire hammer rail, as does the foot pedal for the
keyboard pianist. Aeolian often featured side-by-side levers,
which allowed for creative graduation by using one's thumb
and fingers at angles, since ideally only one side of the key-
board will be softened most of the time, giving a "solo" effect
not unlike the Themodist-style systems of the more complicat-
ed instruments (to be covered in the next article). Some exotic
players (the A. B. Chase Artistano comes to mind) were
equipped with dual levers for the soft function, but both travel-
ling in the same direction as the Sustaining Pedal lever; this
requires a bit of practice for a tricky "solo" situation...but then
the player action is so sensitive that it might not require that
many "quick-insert" pedal effects. Simplex referred to their
ALL LEVER installations as Style B, and B Special for the
additional pneumatic control for the tracker bar operation of
the SUSTAINING Pedal. (Style F had pneumatic hammer rail
control buttons with a lever for Sustaining and F Special was a
three-button installation with pneumatics controlling every-
thing. Simplex said in print that the B or B Special was the
most efficient and trouble-free. 9 Always select LEVERS over
buttons when given a choice in purchasing a player, after con-
sidering the quality of the piano and the rest of the pneumatic
'.... action design!) Electric "reproducing" pianos usually have a
J single hammer rail lift, operating manually by a foot pedal, via
a keyslip lever or button...and by the music roll itself. The
exceptions were the "Recordo," the Celco/Apollo/Artecho (all
the same Amphion expression player) 10 and the Art Apollo
(a.k.a. Apollo X and QRS-Automatic, etc.), which - like the
traditional 88-Note pedal instrument - had the advantage of
divided hammer-rail lifts, i.e. SOFT Bass/SOFT Treble.
(Sadly, the Apollo X player never had the ~pportunity to show
off its potential since the library of QRS-Autograph rolls -
with which it was saddled - was a rhythmic and musical disas-
ter, just like their "hand-played" 88-Note counterparts.
Following Melville Clark's death, Wurlitzer - which pur-
chased the piano division - wisely phased-out the "Apollo X"
line and shifted the "Apollo" label to the superior Artecho
instruments...and in the late 'Twenties used the "Apollo" decal
on their "Recordo" players as well!) The QRS name, inciden-
tally, was most-closely associated with these 3 divided ham-
mer rail music roll systems; someone in charge of product
development obviously anticipated the need to EXPAND the
expression roll performance potential, but the full use of the
double hammer-rails was rarely exploited. 11 Buttons for
BASS and TREBLE elevate the halves on many 88-Note
pedal players, but this is a considerably slower operation. With
pneumatic control buttons the Pianolist must play for the
"phrase" or the "musical measure" in most cases and give up
the possibility of achieving "solo effects" with the quick grad-
uation-and-release activities which are the realm of lever
designs. It is not the place of this article to deal with all the
variables in Soft Pedal design, but mention should be made of
the Stieff uprights that featured the strange arrangement of
three pedals (BASSIMIDDLE/TREBLE)...and the multiple
divisions used on the short-lived F1exotone-Electrelle by The
American Piano Co. (using APC Rolls)...and the Solo-Carolla
by Cable which required special rolls that could de-activate
individual hammer rail lifts for EACH NOTE! The divisions
for BASS and TREBLE present problems for arrangers, past
and present, since standardization was not evident here either:
Aeolian split their scales at D# and E...Simplex chose E and
F...Ampico selected F and F# as their division points. Music
which crosses over the divisions (Rubinstein's MELODY IN
F, Nevin's NARCISSUS and Rimsky-Korsakov's FLIGHT
OF THE BUMBLE BEE) can present major problems for both
arranger and Pianolist! Fortunately, some brands notched the
tracker bar or added appendages to the spoolbox (e.g. the
Gulbransen Registering Piano) to indicate where the break
would take place.
When using the term "Soft Pedal" for the Pianola, the
reader should be aware that this also covers action chokes on
many instruments - both instantaneous and sliding, graduated
controls. A typical Weber or Steinway pedal grand features
two soft levers which graduate the dynamics downward (often
to the point where the notes skip!) by restricting the air-flow
from the pedals to the pneumatic stack. Other players feature
buttons or levers (as in the H.F. Miller and earlier Aeolian
uprights) which operate instantaneously...but the "soft" effect
must be PRESET by a regulation activity. Rarely do these
instant action chokes work well for 4-Hand and orchestral
arrangements fl.JlS. wispy, light piano solos...at the same set-
ting. If you possess one of these players which do not allow
for graduation of the action choke, simply determine the type
165
