Hey Bill, There are only two Welte-Philharmonic ("Welte-Philharmonie"
auf Deutsch) CD's of which I am aware. I believe both are now out of
print. Organ Historical Society of Richmond, VA stocks a broad
selection of CD's related to organs. I obtained my copies from them.
Often you can find copies of long out of print CD's from them.
A book you should look for is the "Encyclopedia of Automatic Musical
Instruments", by Q. David Bowers", which includes information about
Welte organs, orchestrions and pianos. Also the Organ Literature
Foundation, 45 Norfolk Rd., Braintree, MA 02184, tel. (781) 848-1388,
sold me a reprint of a Welte catalog circa 1910 which listed Welte
Orchestrions. They may have more copies. The organ Literature
Foundation does list a CD of Welte orchestrion music listed under
Miscellaneous Recordings.
There are a good number of Welte-Mignon CD's on the market. The
Welte-Mignon is a self playing piano which controls dynamics and pedal
to produce remarkably lifelike performances which were recorded on
paper rolls. I like the Intercord label CD's with which Hans Schmitz
was involved. There are 3 Welte-Mignon CD's listed in the Organ
Literature Foundation catalog under the heading of Player Piano
Recordings.
Your surname is certainly well known in the field of automatic music.
The Welte empire was centered in Freiburg Germany with manufacturing
as well in New York. The book by Charles Davis Smith and Richard Howe
contains much historical information.
Mark Reinhart
West Virginia
weltemgnon@aol.com
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