Hello MMD readers,  There's another point to remember, when discussing
what titles were offered in the past by the player roll industry,
especially the 'reproducing' piano arrangements.  Piano sales were the
goals here, not "recording" and preserving pianists, though that was
the thrust of the advertising puffery.

Much time was spent on rolls which sold pianos on retail store floors,
hence, the attention to "Liebestraum", Liszt's "Second Hungarian
Rhapsody" and other classical warhorses.  These rolls were usually
better arranged, featured more variety in the expression score's
playing levels, while designed to show off the player in short order.
Paderewski's "Minuet" was made in great quantities for the Duo-Art and
is still an exciting arrangement to experience in our time.

The Ampico 'Favorite Fifty' is a good example of this instant library
approach, and most of the titles were better-than-average when it came
to the perforated performance results.  A salesman could size up a
potential customer and play something that could generate rapid
interest, hopefully selling the piano with this "Reader's Digest"
library of titles for one's entertaining, viz., a little something for
all guests' tastes.  (Note the key word "little", here!)

The rest of the catalogues were just routine, and they sound like it
in their old age.  Thank goodness for the hand controls, especially the
Pianola levers on the better expression players, which allow a critical
listener to participate in the musical performance.

In the heyday of the player they had a large array of titles to offer,
but only a few rolls really attempted to get the most out of the
instrument.  Many 'reproducing' roll libraries lost money in the retail
stores but were covered by piano sales.  New selections were needed to
keep the instruments up-to-date; customers, by and large, bought rolls
by composer and title, not by the names of an artist, stamped on the
box (a pseudonym much of the time).

Regards,
Douglas Henderson - Artcraft Music Rolls
Wiscasset, Maine, USA
http://wiscasset.nnei.net/artcraft/