I asked on the MMD many weeks ago if someone knew about mechanical
music instruments in Vienna where I was going for a long week-end, and
I got a tip from Joyce Brite that I could ask Claus Kucher to see some
private collections when I was there.

Unfortunately there was too little time to plan arrangements in Wien,
so I followed a tip, from someone at home here, to visit the technical
museum there.

And yes, they had _plenty_ of instruments, seemingly in good order,
both reproducing pianos (one Welte grand piano), and combined
violin/piano, both the Hupfeld type with three violins at the top of
the piano, and the keyboardless 'cabinet' type, and many other ones,
including different types of organs, both self-playing and
conventional.

I asked a friendly young guard, who advised me to go to the reception
where they said that they demonstrated their Steinway Welte or one of
the violin players extra if someone asked, but this time the "right"
persons weren't there "just now".  (I was there on a Friday.)  I was
advised to wait for about half an hour in the room with the mechanical
music, then perhaps a person could give me an extra demonstration.

I went back and waited hopefully, then a group of people with a guide
came by, and the guide told about the instruments and demonstrated one
item, a _very_ loud and noisy (but otherwise well-functioning) Tivoli
organ which played folded books with music.  He played about 30 seconds
of a march, then shut it off again.

The organ should have been rolled outside in the summer, of course, if
any demonstration should be successful.  So now the impression everyone
got of mechanical music was that it is noisy and awful.

Imagine -- playing a huge Tivoli organ _indoors!_  One of the elderly men
listening to it put his fingers in his ears.

Instead, they should have demonstrated some of the pianos or organs,
or even one of the violins, if in good order (as I was told at the
reception desk).  Seems like they haven't learned yet that these
instruments deteriorate about the same rate whether you play a couple
of rolls each day or not.

When I stood in the room with all the mechanical instruments, just
after or before the demonstration of the LOUD (but fine) Tivoli organ,
an elderly man asked the guide if I belonged to the group.  The young
guide (also being somewhat helpful) somehow managed in a friendly
manner to shut up this old person (probably an old Nazi: "Ordnung
muss sein." ["There should be order."]).

 [ Gee, Thomas, did he think that you were asking too many questions?
 [ ;-)  -- Robbie

Other than that, the people here seemed to be very friendly and
helpful, although I mostly had contact only with younger persons
not from the time when Hitler was welcomed to the country.

(I know -- I must have met a group who paid a expensive fee to be
guided around, which I could not have guessed, because I thought
that what the guide said and demonstrated wasn't very good -- nothing
worth any money.  In fact, I could have made a better tour through
that room for those people.)

One younger person in the group also was curious about hearing the
Hupfeld violin and piano (the rubber tubes looked new!), but of course
the answer was "No."

So, my recommendation now would probably be to contact the technical
museum of Vienna before travelling there, and ask if an extra
demonstration of those instruments can be arranged for your visit.

I also very much recommend a trip to the city of Vienna, where they
have a large tramway museum which is worth a visit, and also other fine
(non-technical) historical things which weren't high on my priority
list the week-end I was there.  Just walking though the streets in the
centre is historical, though.

And you don't need to rent a car: there is public transport on rails
everywhere, and tramways, subways, trains (also buses), probably of
better quality of service than nearly any other place in the world.
For example, the tram line which I took to the museum ran at what might
be two-minute intervals.

One last warning:  You should set aside 'at least' three to four hours
to visit the mechanical museum in Vienna, and not far away there also
is an IMAX cinema.

If someone with contact with that museum will forward this message to
them, it's okay for me.  There's little meaning with instruments that
never can be heard.  At least they should have some written information
about when those instruments could be demonstrated for visitors.

Thomas Henden