Last night I attended the Broadway show, "An American in Paris",
which is touring the country.  It reminded me of how much I love
Gershwin and of how excited I was when I was able to purchase Larry
Givens' transcription of Gershwin playing his "Rhapsody in Blue" for
the Ampico (it was recorded for Duo-Art but transcribed for Ampico).

In searching the net when I got home last night to learn more about
Gershwin, I found an article that said the following, and it gave me
an idea:

  "In September 2013, a partnership between the estates of Ira and
  George Gershwin and the University of Michigan was created and will
  provide the university's School of Music, Theatre, and Dance access
  to Gershwin's entire body of work, which includes all of Gershwin's
  papers, compositional drafts, and scores.  This direct access to
  all of his works will provide opportunities to musicians, composers,
  and scholars to analyze and reinterpret his work with the goal of
  accurately reflecting the composers' vision in order to preserve his
  legacy."

It made me wonder, in light of everyone's concern about the future of
mechanical music, if this might not present some sort of opportunity to
include his reproducing piano roll legacy in the work at University of
Michigan.  I read that Gershwin recorded about 100 rolls and that there
are far more roll recordings than audio recordings of Gershwin playing
Gershwin tunes.

I think if someone is looking for a place to donate part of a collection
or to visit and impart knowledge about mechanical music or to do a
series of taped lectures on what reproducers were, their significance
and relation to Gershwin, this would be a logical place to do so.

I also wanted to say that carrying forward this legacy is very import
to me, because my own dad -- a British historian by day and a respected
restorer by night of Duo-Arts and Ampicos in the 1970s and '80s -- died
this past July after beginning the restoration of a 1926 Chickering for
me (he finished the stack and most of the expression components before
he quit).

Someone graciously completed his work and now I have wonderful memories
of him whenever I play my Ampico.  I played the Ampico for my stepson
and his friends from grad school at Thanksgiving, and they were
absolutely fascinated.  Most of them had never seen something that is
purely mechanical.

I think we should expose reproducers and other mechanical instruments to
as many young musicians and engineers as possible.  There is interest
once they are experienced.

Deidre Dixon

 [ More about the U-M/Gershwin Initiative at
 [   https://leadersandbest.umich.edu/news/gifts/gershwin 
 [   http://www.music.umich.edu/ami/gershwin/?page_id=41 
 [ -- Robbie