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Denise Von Glahn and I are writing a biography of Leo Ornstein for
Indiana University Press.  We have so far put together a good bit
of information on his Ampico experience, taken mostly from public
records such as newspapers and magazines.  We have a list of his Ampico
recordings, which was done by Jim Edwards I believe, and which we have
obtained through his son Severo.  (Jim, if you are around we would like
to contact you directly, and at least credit your work in the
biography).

We have information about his Ampico contracts in the 1920s, but know
little about his arrangements before that, although we do know that he
began recording for Ampico in February 1916, and gave what seems to
have been the first Ampico/live demonstration recital on May 25, 1916,
at the Biltmore Hotel in New York.  This is several months before
Godowsky's similar recital on October 8, which newspapers picked up
as being something entirely new and unprecedented.

If anyone has any information about Ornstein's contracts before 1920
we would appreciate hearing about them.  We are also interested in
the Ampico film "Immortalized," which appeared in 1922.  It included
a huge list of well-known musicians, but Ornstein seems to have had 
a particularly prominent role.  Beyond the ads that appeared in the
newspapers, which listed the people involved and music that they played
we have been able to find out little about it.  When we interviewed
Ornstein we asked him about it, but he didn't remember it.  Of course
a man of 105 I suppose can be forgiven for memory lapses.

If anyone has any other information about his Ampico years we would
appreciate hearing about it.  Also if anyone has any biographical
questions about Ornstein we would be glad to answer them.  One minor
point, we have determined that he was born in December, 1993 (exact
day uncertain), not 1992.  So he was *only* 108 years old when he died.

Thanks for you help.
Michael Broyles
Pennsylvania State University