I received an e-mail from the Netherlands, as follows:

> Dear Mister Petrak,  I was searching the web for a good friend of
> my grandfather, Nicolai Orloff, a great pianist and a beloved house
> friend.  Recordings of his are rare and, although my family has some
> private recordings, we are always on the lookout for more.
>
> On the web I came across your name and a catalog which you wrote.
> In this catalog there seemed to be existing quite a few piano rolls
> with Nicolai Orloff.  My question is as follows, do you know if
> these rolls still exist somewhere and, if so, would it be possible
> to listen to them?
>
> I truly hope you could answer my questions,
> Yours sincerely, Jeroen Woudstra

Dear Jeroen: Do the rolls exist?  Yes, of course they do.  In fact,
Ampico (the company which produced them) is one of the three
most-available roll recordings catalogs which are in good circulation
in this country and abroad.  As it turns out I am aware of electronic
scans which can be produced as regular recordings  using a "simulator"
of a concert grand piano, all of this produced without the use of
either a keyboard or a piano itself.

The rolls marked '#' exist in a collection scanned in Sydney and made
available for auditing throughout the world, but not as single items.
Peter Phillips has put together a group of scans totaling 1400 items,
which include those I've marked.  One of my associates has the entire
grouping and so could be employed to make a recording of them.  The
others are probably in collections in this country, and would need to
be scanned in order for you to hear.

Nikolai Orloff - Ampico

 5727 SCRIABIN - Etude, Op. 8, No. 10, Db (Also: 10034)
#6775 CHOPIN - Etude, Op. 10, No. 8, F
 6886 BRAHMS - Rhapsody, Op. 79, No. 1, b (Also: 10034)
#6926 SCHUBERT-LISZT - Soirees de Viennes (Viennese Evenings) No.6, a
#6939 D. SCARLATTI-PAUR - Keyboard Sonata, b;
      D. SCARLATTI-TAUSIG - Capriccio,E
#7024 CHOPIN - Fantasie-Impromptu, Op. 66, c#
 7066 MACDOWELL - Two Fantastic Pieces, Op. 17, No. 2: Hexentanz
      (Witches' Dance)
 7076 RAFF - La fileuse (The Spinner) Op. 157, No. 2
 7157 CHOPIN - Waltz, Op. 70, No. 1, Gb
 7166 CHOPIN - Etude, Op. 10, No. 3, E "Tristesse"
10034 - a collection of the 6886, 6939 and 5727

# Already scanned as mentioned.

You will note that important recordings are missing, and so attempts
must be made to locate and transfer, and then I can arrange to have
a CD made of his total output.

Oddly, the #5727 is listed in my numerical (and elsewhere in other
listings) as Sergei Rachmaninoff's recording of his "Polka de W.R.",
but the alternate number, part of the so-called "Jumbo" rolls, is
correct.  These rolls were introduced shortly before the companies went
bankrupt as playable on the "Model B" instrument, a vastly-improved
reproducing piano mechanism which could reproduce roll recordings up
to 30 minutes in duration, unlike the traditional 2,3,4 or more minutes
for most rolls.  The Scriabin is listed as being part of this
collection (as above).

Let me work on this for you.  I'll try to locate the missing rolls,
and have them scanned and then we can proceed.  Keep in touch, and
I'll keep you advised of progress.

So, to recap, needed are rolls:

5727 SCRIABIN - Etude, Op. 8, No. 10, Db (Also: 10034)
6886 BRAHMS - Rhapsody, Op. 79, No. 1, b (Also: 10034)
7066 MACDOWELL - Two Fantastic Pieces, Op. 17, No. 2:
  Hexentanz (Witches' Dance)
7076 RAFF - La fileuse (The Spinner) Op. 157, No. 2
7157 CHOPIN - Waltz, Op. 70, No. 1, Gb
7166 CHOPIN - Etude, Op. 10, No. 3, E "Tristesse"
10034 - a collection of the 6886, 6939 and 5727)

We are hoping to be able to borrow these rolls.  They would then by
sent to Warren Trachtman, who has been working with Spencer Chase in
copying rolls of both Duo-Art, and soon (they state) Welte.  Peter
Phillips of Sydney has supplied 1400, as noted above, but these were
not available to him at copying time.

Please contact me personally, with any information you may have.  It
would be pleasant indeed to be able not only to gratify the relative,
but as well, furnish a CD of these fine performances.

Albert M. Petrak, Founder
The Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation