-- George Wright Auditions The Welte-Mignon --

Some decades ago now, George Wright, the then-living theater
organ virtuoso of legend, took some time to listen to Cyril Scott's
Welte-Mignon record-roll No. 1696 of his most famed composition,
"Lotus Land," and to critique it.  To set the stage --

This interesting little bit of Mignonesque history transpired back
in the late 'Sixties at the Abbott & Sieker Organ Builders' factory
at West Los Angeles, where this writer had already been employed for
about three years.

As I was to soon learn, George Wright would regularly visit there
for dinner out and conversation with one of our company's partner-owners,
Larry Abbott (Richard Laurence Abbott).  For these occasions Mr. Wright
would arrive usually just before closing, take a general look around
at our latest projects with boss Larry, and then off they would go.
(As I understand it, they had been friends from since as early as their
high-school or college days, perhaps even earlier.)

During this era of employment I'd been working on my own T-100
Welte-Mignon upright for some time right there on the premises, and
had finally finished it by the time of this recounting.  Larry Abbott,
being an enthusiastic supporter of this non-organic odd endeavor of
mine, suggested that I might demonstrate it's reproducing abilities
to George Wright himself, upon his next visit.

I thought it a splendid idea, and conceived that the just-right
selection might be one that George Wright himself had recorded
previously, this one then becoming his otherworldly and beautiful
rendition of Scott's "Lotus Land," at that time featuring on Dot
Records' Hamilton label.  It had been released only recently in 1964.

My Welte-Mignon Estey-built upright itself was appearing very snazzy
indeed, in it's brand-new polished ebony-black finish, and playing not
too terribly.  I'd equipped it with a Holzer-Cabot D.C. motor to kill
any intrusive hum factor and get-up the torque to just-right at slow
speeds.  Resultantly, the whole of it played whisper-quiet and like
a reproducing champ.  (Even though not yet then pianissimo-response-
perfected, a la an Ampico "B." That was to occur later only after I'd
learned about such finer, most essential matters.)

The great moment came finally with George Wright asking of me first
some astute questions as to this and that, which I struggled to answer
quasi-intelligently, being rather nervous as I was.

(Note: George Wright was the very first of a small number of admired-
by-myself music celebrities that I was to come into contact with as the
years were to progress.  One of the first small 45s I was to purchase
as a teenager, around 1959, had been one of George Wright's first
"Hi-Fi Records" releases.  Upon it's initial audition, immediately
I was hooked for life on "The Living Legend" and, of course, on the
Mighty Wurlitzer/Robert Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra, and what a mega-
scintilla of human creativity it was!

Well, I did the routined-usual, placing the roll into place, affixing
the tab above, adjusting the tempo lever, throwing the switch and
stepping back, hoping for the best against odds and, being prepared
to expire on-the-spot if matters were to 'go south.'

(Note: With reproducing pianos, as many MMD owners of these know
only too well, sometimes they will behave on one day like angels
as flown-down from heaven, shocking-to-frizz auditors with most
remarkable re-enactment powers but, on others, like pigs a'troughing!)

Having set the Tempo lever to test-roll speed, upon first playing,
immediately George Wright was requesting that I "Please lessen the
tempo some?"  This I did in around three or four like-readjustments,
each one as according with and to his urging.  Finally, when having
gotten down to around "80" from "98.5", he waived his hands and arms
up-and-down repeatedly, sort of bowing at the waist while so-doing,
and pronounced it in an emphatic way "Perfect!"  And, of course, his
sense itself for this was precisely the same, as it did work musically
far better, becoming then 'languorous' and 'perfumed,' rather than
perfunctory and not, as to impression.

Again, from the beginning, the mechanical reenactment like-life
was commanded to be encored by the maestro (at the corrected George
Wright tempo) with all seeming pleased at ending, with myself being
terrifically relieved.  After, he thanked me for the performance,
congratulated me on "a fine restoration," the two then exiting the
building, headed for their dining appointment.

(At this point in my young and more tender years, I'd not yet
developed much of a sense for the subtler nor needfully-dramatic in
Mignon reproduced music.  That fact notwithstanding, even though my
instrument did render some fine interpretations of it's tested record-
rolls -- one standout being as I recall Lhevinne's famous Octave Etude
of Chopin's; the instrument even reproducing it's famous Lhevinneian
pandemonium of which, apparently, only he was capable.  This _was_
conveyed, and was an astounding and truly thrilling thing to experience.
It's match to this supreme master's Victor recording of it, which only
later I was to first hear, proving nearly exact.)

Successfully and miraculously, the entire of a potential magnum disaster
was avoided and, contrarily, all ended well and as musically validated.
Of course, this demonstrating re-builder was well pleased, as I am sure
Cyril Scott himself would have been too -- the miraculous Welte-Mignon 
having acquitted itself most agreeably!

For reference purposes, here following is a YouTube link going to Cyril
Scott's very own H.M.V. plum-label solo recording of Lotus Land, the
side cut sometime in the early- to mid-Thirties I believe in England.
I am not aware that it ever appeared here in the U.S. as a Victor
pressing:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7dAhrr7Vlk 

This playing reveals Scott's tempo therein as one nearly identical to
that of the T-100 Welte-Mignon rendition (in test-roll-time; i.e. at
just under "100"), even though separated by some twenty or more years,
the two.

And, at this link following, might be found a recording of George
Wright's undoubted masterpiece-playing of "Lotus Land," as taken from
the Hamilton recording mentioned earlier.  It was included as part of
a 20th year remembrance of George Wright's passing (8/28/20 -- 5/10/98)
and is located at time 25:53.

https://www.hotpipes.eu/podcast-232-mp3/ 

I would recommend auditioning all of this program compliments of
"Hot Pipes!" broadcast out of England.  It is beautifully presented
and conceived, with the sound just past-splendid.

Jim Miller
Las Vegas, Nevada

 [ George Wright expertly employed tuned percussion such as the
 [ Wurlitzer "Chrysoglott" in his performances.  Compare his "Lotus Land"
 [ with this adaptation by harpist Jacqueline Pollauf for the actual
 [ plucked string instrument: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=063YF99Kfpg 
 [ -- Robbie

 [ Jim, for what it's worth, "George Wright Encores" was my favorite
 [ album in my father's record collection.  I'm sure I played it
 [ hundreds of times.  As an adult, I tracked down a used copy of the
 [ record.  Of course now you can listen to it on digital streaming
 [ services, but finding a copy to listen to in the late '80s was quite
 [ a treat.  I still am very fond of theater organs, especially in the
 [ hands of a creative organist.  -- Jody