Arrangers Make The Rolls
By Douglas Henderson
What so many MMD and collectors don't realize is that (a) companies did "whatever works" and on a production line (stores had new rolls/78's a certain times every month, and customers who visited to hear the new releases in those days of The City), and (b) pianists got money and publicity from the player people, and never considered rolls were an art-form or a method of recording their performances.
By contrast, many pianists in the pedal Pianola days believed in composing for and/or interpreting rolls on players. This was creative and educational, also helping one understand Chopin and Chaminade scores, popular in those days. Many, like Bauer, were not happy with the "reproducing" rolls made from their prior editing of 88-Note and/or 65-Note rolls bearing the same logotypes. But, radio was coming out, Steinway was not paying for many artist's travels (beyond Paderewski and several others), so the "event" of a concert pianist in town was in rapid decline *as an industry*. Paderewski usually turned off the reproducing action and used the hand controls, including at the A. B. Chase Welte-Licensee grand in the White House.
When the focus was on the Player-Piano and the human manipulation of it, artists were attracted. When it shifted to a "record/playback" medium, only the *money* (backed by advertising hoopla) remained among the musicians formerly attracted to it.
I'm amazed that people can't look at a roll and "hear it" in their minds, recognizing what is "arranged" and what is based upon some (gone) 'hand-played' source material. QRS's Tiger Rag "played by Ferrante & Ticher" was being arranged by Rudy Martin when Ed Openshaw, whom you know, was visiting the company in Buffalo. The duo-pianists were long-gone and the work was being done from old 'marked' rolls. Ed tells the story that Rudy says, "No player can handle that chord, so I'm going to take out some notes here" - and so forth.
I used to play this QRS Celebrity Series roll at the museum when it was a new release, and could easily tell which parts were 100% arranged by Rudy Martin and which were the jerky cadenzas "based"(?) upon the marked rolls. Remember, there was only 1 piano at QRS, so Rudy was working from two different rolls beyond adding his own material. Each pianist played his part of the arrangement for duo-pianos, using a headphones with a recording.
Knowing the above, how can one say "Marguerite Volavy did this"? You need first-hand information for the whole story, and only the formula arrangements exist.
I cut, at the Ohio Chapter's request, an improvised classical roll for the '90 Cleveland AMICA Convention. There was no sheet music, which is why the project was given over to me, involving Chopin, Grieg and Tchaikowsky. You could see the [recording machine] markings being artificially sustained by the equipment (just like Lee S. Roberts' "Strains From" medley series), and other notes were missing. Most keys were +/- a 32nd note off throughout the roll. I could have made an arranged roll (like Woods or Erlebach) based on this, but there wasn't time, so the jerky rhythm was retained. Robin Pratt, who thought up the project, added some extra bass notes later on.
Chronology: artist recorded in New York, music roll cut in Maine, final editing in Ohio. The roll sounded nothing like the precise and delicate pianist, who truly believed the roll was "her playing". Well, only up to a point, as you can see! She was happy and so was the audience. The roll had her picture and signature on a pseudo-Duo-Art leader. My name didn't appear, as happened with Lutter, Milne, Erlebach and other editors in the past.
Moral: *Arrangers* make rolls. Pianists do not.
Not many people have worked with 'hand-played' rolls (or made mathe- matical arrangements from them) as have I -- among the living, today.
Again, the collectors need to shift away from the pianist and back on to the roll (and one's monitoring or interpretation of it). My article for the PQ entitled "Jelly Roll Morton was a White Woman?" came out when Wodehouse had just discovered? Morton rolls. I met the niece of the woman who recognized my Leabarjan, who came to the museum in the early '60s. The Morton baloney runs on, in spite of what I say, since people want to hawk rolls, records and player restorations on false premises.
Audio is essential for players. You need to "learn music" in order to operate or repair these instruments. Also, you need to discover what the artist sounded like, especially to modify or judge a music roll allegedly based on a certain pianist. I couldn't see having a mechanical musical instrument without audio. Maybe the MMD and collecting problems is that people don't attend enough live recitals and concerts or listen to good audio that relates to the music the mechanical instrument is supposed to be playing.
As I said in my letter of today, Internet audio, with all its faults, still doesn't disguise what is an "inaccurate" recording. And, the promotion untruths are also there for all to read. (A reference to "DR" pianos in the text I sent you earlier today.)
Pardon the disjointed and hastily-written nature of this letter. I'm very tired and figured it was better to get this 'out' rather than be neat and better-written.
Regards, Douglas Henderson
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(Message sent Tue 1 Apr 1997, 03:18:29 GMT, from time zone GMT.) |
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