THE ART OF PIANO ROLLS

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Wednesday, July 8, 2026

EDWIN FISCHER WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS VOL. 1 CDR

EDWIN FISCHER (BASEL, OCTOBER 6, 1886 – ZÜRICH, JANUARY 24, 1960)

Fischer was born in Basel and studied music first there, and later in Berlin at the Stern conservatory under Martin Krause. He first came to prominence as a pianist following World War I. In 1926, he became conductor of the Lübeck Musikverein and later conducted in Munich. In 1932, he formed his own chamber orchestra, and was one of the first to be interested in presenting music of the Baroque and Classical periods in a historically accurate way. Although his performances were not historically accurate by present-day standards, they were for his time; e.g., he did conduct Bach and Mozart concertos from the keyboard, an unusual practice at that time. In 1932, he returned once again to Berlin, succeeding his great contemporary Artur Schnabel in a teaching role at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik after Schnabel’s exile (he was Jewish, and Fischer was not) from Nazi Germany. In 1942, he moved back to Switzerland, temporarily putting his career on hold through World War II. After the war he began to perform again, and gave master classes in Lucerne for a number of later prominent pianists such as Alfred Brendel, Helena Sá e Costa, Mario Feninger, Reine Gianoli, Paul Badura-Skoda and Daniel Barenboim. As well as solo recitals, concerto performances and conducting, Fischer performed much chamber music. Particularly highly regarded was the piano trio he formed with the cellist Enrico Mainardi and the violinist Georg Kulenkampff (who was replaced by Wolfgang Schneiderhan after Kulenkampff’s death). Fischer published a number of books on teaching, and one on the piano sonatas of Beethoven. Fischer also accompanied Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in a renowned 1950s EMI LP of Schubert Lieder. His last musical collaboration was with the violinist Gioconda de Vito. During their recording sessions for the Brahms first and third violin sonatas, he had to go to London for medical treatment, where he was told he was seriously ill. He died shortly afterwards in Zurich.

TRACKLIST

1834 BACH – Prelude and Fugue, c# (WTC – Book 1, No. 4, S. 849)

1836 BACH – Prelude and Fugue, D (WTC – Book 1, No. 5, S. 850)

1837 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 13, c “Pathétique” 1st mvt.

1838 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 13, c “Pathétique” 2nd mvt.

1838 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 13, c “Pathétique” 3rd mvt.

1839 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 10, No. 3, D 1st mvt.

1839 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 10, No. 3, D2nd mvt.

1840 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 10, No. 3, D 3rd mvt.

1840 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 10, No. 3, D 4th mvt.

EDWIN FISCHER WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS VOL. 2 CDR

EDWIN FISCHER (BASEL, OCTOBER 6, 1886 – ZÜRICH, JANUARY 24, 1960)

TRACKLIST

1841 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 110, Ab 1st mvt.

1841 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 110, Ab 2nd mvt.

1842 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 110, Ab 3rd mvt.

1842 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 110, Ab 4th mvt.

1843 WELTE-MIGNON MOZART – Fantasia, K. 396, c

1846 WELTE-MIGNON MOZART – 2-Piano Concerto, K. 365 (Trans. solo piano) 2nd mvt.

E. ROBERT SCHMITZ AMPICO PAINO ROLLS CDR

E. ROBERT SCHMITZ (PARIS, FRANCE, FEBRUARY 8, 1889 – SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, SEPTEMBER 5, 1949)

He studied with Louis-Joseph Diémer at the Conservatoire de Paris where he won First Prize in Piano. He caught the attention of Camille Saint-Saëns and Vincent D’Indy while directing the Association Musicale Moderne et Artistique (later renamed L’Association de Concerts Schmitz), which gave the world premiere of Debussy’s Première rhapsodie, Roussel’s Evocations, Le Flem’s Crépuscules d’amour, and Milhaud’s Suite Symphonique. Schmitz lead the Association from 1912 until 1914. Schmitz toured the United States in 1919, and the following year, founded the Franco-American Music Society in New York. The Society incorporated as Pro Musica in 1923. Schmitz published a system of piano study, The Capture of Inspiration, in 1935. His book, The Piano works of Claude Debussy, a technical analysis with commentary, was published after his death, in 1950. Among his notable pupils was the composer Samuel Dolin.

TRACKLIST

“Ibéria”(Spain) Book I, No. 2 El Puerto (The Harbor), Db (Albeniz) Ampico 64703

“Suite Bergamasque” – No. 2 Menuet, a (Debussy) Ampico 66003

“Suite Bergamasque” – No. l Prélude, F (Debussy) Ampico 65991

Arabesque No. 2, G (Debussy) Ampico 63503

Jeux d’eau (Playing Fountain) (Ravel) Ampico 69383

La Vie Brève (De Falla) Danse Espagnole No. 1 Ampico 67441

Prelude & Fugue Am BWV543 S.462 (Bach-Liszt) Ampico 65043

Préludes, Book I, No. 10 La cathédrale engloutie (Debussy) Ampico 68293

Suite – Pour le piano, No. 3 Toccata, c# (Debussy) Ampico 68661

Suite “Pour le piano”, No. 1 Prelude (Debussy) Ampico 63843

CARL FRIEDBERG WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS CDR

CARL RUDOLF HERMANN FRIEDBERG (BINGEN, GERMANY, SEPTEMBER, 18, 1872 – MERAN, ITALY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1955)

He was son of Eduard Friedberg (?–1937) and Elisa Landau (1844–1926) from Bingen. The Friedberg were wine merchants in Bingen since 1700. Friedberg studied piano with James Kwast and with Clara Schumann at the Hoch Conservatory, Frankfurt. He became a teacher there (1893–1904) and later at the Cologne Conservatory (1904–1914). From 1923 until his retirement in 1946, Carl Friedberg was principal piano teacher at the New York Institute of Musical Art (the institution which become the Juilliard School of Music from 1926). His pupils include Gertrude Lightstone Mittelmann, William Browning, Malcolm Frager, Edith Weiss-Mann, Bruce Hungerford, Reginald Bedford, Nina Simone, William Masselos, Frances Ziffer, and Elly Ney. Friedberg’s career as a performer spanned over 60 years in both Europe and America. He made his official debut in 1892 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under Mahler. This performance received a positive review from Edward Hanslick. In 1893 he had given an all-Brahms recital in the presence of the composer, who highly admired his playing and who later coached him in private on the performance of the majority of his piano works. As a chamber musician he replaced Artur Schnabel in the Schnabel-Flesch-Becker Trio in 1920 and played in that ensemble until 1932. Friedberg gave many recitals with Fritz Kreisler throughout America and in 1937 formed his own trio with Daniel Karpilowsky and Felix Salmond. In 1955, at age 82, he planned a concert tour in Europe. He took an ocean liner to Italy, but contracted pneumonia on board. He went to Meran (Merano) for a cure, but died and is buried there.

TRACKLIST

1092 BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 81, “Les adieux” – lst mvt.

1094 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT – Moment Musical, Op. 94, No. 3, f

1095 WELTE-MIGNON BRAHMS – Rhapsody, Op. 79, 2, g

1096 WELTE-MIGNON BRAHMS – Hungarian Dance No. 2, d

1097, 1098 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT – Piano Sonata, Bb (Posthumous) D. 960 2nd mvt.

1100 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUETT – Scènes du bal – Valse lente, Op. 17, No. 2, Ab

1101 WELTE-MIGNON KOSTLAR Monte Christo, Valse

1103 FRIEDBERG – Gavotte, G

AURELIO GIORNI DUO-ART PIANO ROLLS CDR

AURELIO GIORNI (PERUGIA, SEPT. 15, 1895 – (SUICIDE) PITTSFIELD, MASS., SEPT. 23, 1938)

He studied piano with Sgambati at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome (1909-11) and composition with Humperdinck in Berlin (1911-13). He emigrated to the U.S. in 1914 and was active mainly as a teacher; he was on the faculty at Smith Coll., the Philadelphia Cons, of Music, and the Hartford School of Music. He was also a fairly prolific composer; his Sym. in D minor was performed in N.Y. on April 25, 1937, but had such exceedingly bad reviews that he sank into a profound state of depression; several months later, he threw himself into the Housatonic River. Among his other works were Orlando furioso, symphonic poem (1926), Sinfonia concertante (1931), 3 trios, 2 string quartets, Cello Sonata, Violin Sonata, Piano Quartet, Piano Quintet, Flute Sonata, Clarinet Sonata, 24 concert études for Piano, and songs.

TRACKLIST

5900 DUO-ART SCHUBERT-LISZT – Frühlingsglaube (Faith in Spring)

5938 DUO-ART CHOPIN – Nocturne, Op. 32, No. 2, Ab

6026 DUO-ART GIORNI – Pastorale

6125 DUO-ART RACHMANINOFF – Prelude, Op. 23, No. 5, g

6176 SCHUBERT-HELLER – Die Forelle (The Trout) Op. 32

6189 DUO-ART SCHUBERT – Impromptu, Op. 90, No. 3, Gb

6353 DUO-ART HENSELT – Etude, Op. 5, No. 2 (Pensez un peu à moi)

ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN DUO-ART PIANO ROLLS VOL. 1 CDR

ARTUR RUBINSTEIN, ARTUR ALSO SPELLED ARTHUR (JANUARY 28, 1887, ŁÓDŹ, POLAND, RUSSIAN EMPIRE — DECEMBER 20, 1982, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND)

Rubinstein began study at the age of three and at the age of eight studied at the Warsaw Conservatory. The following year he became a pupil of Heinrich Barth in Berlin. Rubinstein was seven when he made his first public appearance, and he made his European debut in Berlin at 13. In 1906 he made his American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall but received a cool reception because of his youth. During World War I Rubinstein, who was fluent in eight languages, served as a military interpreter in London and performed there with the violinist Eugène Ysa e. From 1916 to 1918 he visited Spain and South America and created a sensation by introducing works by Manuel de Falla, Isaac Albéniz, and Enrique Granados. Another trip to the United States in 1919 proved to be lacklustre, however. During the 1920s Rubinstein developed a reputation as a cosmopolitan socialite, but in 1932 he married Aniela Młynarski and began to seriously analyze his artistry. He renewed his dedication to music, practiced 12 to 16 hours a day, and brought a new discipline to his already brilliant technique. When he returned once again to the United States in 1937 and performed at Carnegie Hall, he was hailed as a genius.

TRACKLIST

6162 CHOPIN – Nocturne, Op. 15, No. 2, F#

6182 DEBUSSY – Valse… la plus que lente (Slower-than-Slow Waltz)

6204 ALBENIZ – “Ibéria” (Spain) – Book 3, No. l El Albaicin (Gyupsy Quarter)

6252 CHOPIN – Ballade No. 3, Op. 47 Ab

6354 DEBUSSY – Danse, E

6378 ALBENIZ – “Ibéria” (Spain) – Book I, No. l Evocation

6505 CHOPIN – Polonaise, Op. 44, f#

6542 CHOPIN – Barcarolle, Op. 60, F#

ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN DUO-ART PIANO ROLLS VOL. 2 CDR

ARTUR RUBINSTEIN, ARTUR ALSO SPELLED ARTHUR (JANUARY 28, 1887, ŁÓDŹ, POLAND, RUSSIAN EMPIRE — DECEMBER 20, 1982, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND)

TRACKLIST

6560 SCHUMANN – Papillons (Butterflies), Op. 2

6596 BRAHMS – Capriccio, Op. 76, No. 2, b

6744 BRAHMS – Rhapsody, Op. 79, No. l, b

6755 FALLA-RUBINSTEIN – Ritual Fire Dance from ballet “El Amor Brujo”

6811 CHOPIN – Preludes, Op. 28, Nos. l, C; 4, e; 10, c#; 21, Bb and 24, d

6834 DEBUSSY – L’Isle Joyeuse (The Joyous Isle)

6857 RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF – Selections from the Opera “Le coq d’or”

6922 PROKOFIEFF – Suggestion diàbolique, Op. 4, No. 4

ARTHUR FRIEDHEIM DUO-ART PIANO ROLLS CDR

ARTHUR FRIEDHEIM (SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA 26 OCTOBER 1859 – NEW YORK CITY 19 OCTOBER 1932)

He began serious study of music at age eight. He later studied for a year with noted pianist Anton Rubinstein but disapproved of Rubinstein’s disorganized teaching methods and went instead to Liszt. At first Liszt did not like Friedheim’s playing, though he admitted the individuality of Friedheim’s style. Harold C. Schonberg asserts in his book The Great Pianists that another reason Liszt may have been hesitant was that Friedheim had studied with Rubinstein, of whom Liszt may not have been terribly fond. Friedheim had to play before Liszt several times before becoming accepted as a pupil in 1880. Liszt eventually became fond enough of Friedheim to make him his secretary. Friedheim became fond enough of Liszt to copy many of his mannerisms, many of which were noted by pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni after hearing him play in 1883. Friedheim also gained orchestral experience conducting in theaters and opera houses in Germany. Ferruccio Busoni, hearing Friedheim play in Vienna in 1883, was not impressed: “There is a pianist here … with long hair and a face that looks half severe, half bored. When he plays he comes forward and bows in such a way that his hair covers all his face; then he throws his head back to tidy his mane. Then he sits down with a great deal of fuss, and looks round waiting till the audience is quiet….But the loveliest thing of all is to see him during the tuttis of the orchestra. There he has room to show off all his tricks. He examines his nails, considers the audience, thrusts his hands into the air, and does other silly things.”

Between 1891 and 1895 Friedheim taught and played in the United States. After that he spent some time in London and until 1904 taught at the Manchester College of Music. He conducted in Munich from 1908 to 1911, settled in the United States in 1915 before going to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1921 to become a professor at the Canadian Academy of Music. Before then, he was offered the conductorship of the New York Philharmonic in 1898 and 1911. He was a good conductor but turned down the offer both times, preferring to concentrate on the piano. He died in New York City in 1932.

TRACKLIST

5701 DUO-ART ROSENTHAL – Papillons (Butterflies)

5705 DUO-ART HENSELT – Etude, Op. 2, No. 6 Si oiseau j’étais (Were I a Bird)

5724 DUO-ART LISZT – Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este (Années de Pèlerinage – 2nd Yr.)

5745 DUO-ART GOTTSCHALK – The Banjo (Fantaisie Grotesque) Op. 15

5784 DUO-ART CHOPIN – Preludes, Op. 28, Nos. 8, f#; 3, G

5816 DUO-ART LISZT- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9, Eb “Carnaval de Pesth”

5861 DUO-ART LISZT – Transcendental Etude – No. 11, Db Harmonies du soir

5898 DUO-ART LISZT – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10, E

6151 DUO-ART LISZT – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, c#

6197 DUO-ART LISZT – “Paganini” – Etude No. 3, g# La Campanella

6207 DUO-ART LISZT – Légende No. 2 St. Francis of Paul Walking on the Water

6763 DUO-ART LISZT – Au lac de Wallenstadt (Années de Pèlerinage – 1st Yr. – Suisse)

A-77 DUO-ART LISZT – Légende No. l St. Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds

ARTHUR FRIEDHEIM WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS CDR

ARTHUR FRIEDHEIM (SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA 26 OCTOBER 1859 – NEW YORK CITY, 19 OCTOBER 1932)

TRACKLIST

Arthur Friedheim made 5 Welte-Mignon piano rolls

186 WELTE-MIGNON LISZT – “Paganini” Etude No. 2, Eb Octave Study

198 WELTE-MIGNON LISZT- Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12, c#

214 WELTE-MIGNON LISZT – Ballade No. 2, b

228 WELTE-MIGNON MENDELSSOHN – Sadness of Soul, Op. 53, No. 4, F (Songs Without Words)

ARTHUR FRIEDHEIM TRIPHONOLA PIANO ROLLS CDR

ARTHUR FRIEDHEIM (SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA 26 OCTOBER 1859 – NEW YORK CITY, 19 OCTOBER 1932)

TRACKLIST

50259 LISZT – Ungarische Rhapsodie Nr. 2

50606 LISZT – Rhapsodie espagnole

53596 Polonaise Op. 53 (Chopin)

51890, 51891 LISZT – Sonata B Minor Andante sostenuto – Quasi Adagio – Grandiose – Allegro energico – Presto – Andante sostenuto Quasi Adagio

53778A, 53778B LISZT – Années de Pélerinage No. 7. Apres une lecture du Dante. Fantasia quasi Sonata

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

ARTHUR DE GREEF WELTE-MIGNON, DUO-ART AND PHONOLA PIANO ROLLS CDR

ARTHUR DE GREEF (LOUVAIN, BELGIUM 10 OCTOBER 1862 – BRUSSELS, BELGIUM 29 AUGUST 1940)

Born in Louvain, he won first prize in a local music competition at the age of 11 and subsequently enrolled at the Brussels Conservatoire. His main teacher there was Louis Brassin, a former pupil of Ignaz Moscheles, although he also took lessons from other staffers at the institution, including Joseph Dupont, François-Auguste Gevaert and Fernand Kufferath. After graduating with high distinction from the Conservatoire at the age of 17, De Greef went to Weimar to complete his studies under Franz Liszt. He was a pupil of Liszt for two years. Following the Weimar sojourn, De Greef embarked on a career as a concert pianist, travelling widely. He was a friend of Edvard Grieg, whose Piano Concerto he had played publicly in 1898, and who called him “the best performer of my music I have met with”. In addition, he enjoyed the endorsement of Camille Saint-Saëns. British critic Jonathan Woolf has written: “De Greef was, in all respects, an intensely musical, non-sensationalist, eloquent and impressive musician and whilst not being averse to some of the interventionist tactics of his contemporaries (retouching of the score) remained sympathetically self-effacing”. De Greef composed a sizeable quantity of music, virtually all of which is now unknown. Among his works are two piano concertos. He was a devoted teacher, and taught piano at the Brussels Conservatoire for many years.

TRACKLIST

1168 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUMANN – Papillons, Op. 2

1180 WELTE-MIGNON WAGNER-BRASSIN – Siegmund’s Love Song from Opera “Die Walküre”

1181 WELTE-MIGNON WAGNER-BRASSIN – Entrance into Valhalla from Opera “Das Rheingold”

02 DUO-ART – AEOLIAN CO., LTD (ENGLAND) GRIEG – Puck, Op. 71, No. 3 “Lyric Pieces”

04 DUO-ART – AEOLIAN CO., LTD (ENGLAND) GRIEG – Album Leaf, Op. 28, No. 3 (4 Album Leaves)

0221 DUO-ART MOSZKOWSKI – Etude, Op. 18, No. 3

7222 DUO-ART GRIEG – Puck, Op. 71, No. 3 “Lyric Pieces”

PHONOLA GRIEG – Album Leaf, Op. 28 No. 1

PHONOLA GRIEG – Album Leaf, Op. 28 No. 2

PHONOLA GRIEG – Berceuse, Op. 38 No. 1

PHONOLA GRIEG – Papillon, Op. 43 No. 1

ALEXANDER SILOTI DUO-ART PIANO ROLLS CDR

ALEXANDER ILYICH SILOTI (NEAR KHARKOV, RUSSIA/UKRAINE, OCTOBER 9, 1863 – NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, USA, DECEMBER 8, 1945)

Alexander Siloti was born on his father’s estate near Kharkiv, Ukraine (then part of Imperial Russia). He studied piano at the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Zverev from 1871, then from 1875 under Nikolai Rubinstein, brother of the more famous Anton Rubinstein; from that year he also studied counterpoint under Sergei Taneyev, harmony under Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and theory under Nikolai Hubert. He graduated with the Gold Medal in Piano in 1881. He received some lessons from Anton Rubinstein after the death of Rubinstein’s brother, Nikolai. After Siloti’s graduation it was decided that he would be sent to Weimar, Germany on scholarship to further his studies with Franz Liszt, co-founding the Liszt-Verein in Leipzig, and making his professional debut on 19 November 1883. Returning to Russia in 1887, Siloti taught at the Moscow Conservatory, where his students included Alexander Goldenweiser, Konstantin Igumnov, Leonid Maximov, and his first cousin Sergei Rachmaninoff. During this period he also began work as editor for Tchaikovsky, particularly on the First and Second piano concertos. Siloti married Vera Tretyakova, herself a pianist and the daughter of the wealthy industrialist and art collector Pavel Tretyakov. He left his post at the Conservatory in May 1891, and from 1892-1900 lived and toured in Europe with his wife and young children. He also toured New York City, Boston, Cincinnati and Chicago in 1898. As a conductor Siloti gave the world premiere of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the composer as soloist in 1901. From 1901–1903, he led the Moscow Philharmonic; from 1903–1917, he organized, financed, and conducted the influential Siloti Concerts in St Petersburg, collaborating with the critic and musicologist Alexander Ossovsky. He presented Leopold Auer, Pablo Casals, Feodor Chaliapin, George Enescu, Josef Hofmann, Wanda Landowska, Willem Mengelberg, Felix Mottl, Arthur Nikisch, Arnold Schoenberg and Felix Weingartner, and local and world premieres by Debussy, Elgar, Glazunov, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov, Scriabin, Sibelius, Stravinsky and others. Ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev first heard Stravinsky’s music at one of the Siloti Concerts. In the generation prior to 1917, Siloti was one of Russia’s most important artists, with music by Arensky, Lyadov, Blumenfeld, Szymanowski, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Taneyev and Tchaikovsky dedicated to him. In 1918, Siloti was appointed Intendant of the Mariinsky Theatre, but late the following year fled what had become Soviet Russia for England, finally settling in New York City in December 1921. From 1925-1942 he taught at the Juilliard School, performing occasionally in recital, and in November 1930 gave a legendary all-Liszt concert with Arturo Toscanini. His many students included Ilmari Hannikainen, Bertha Melnik, Marc Blitzstein, Gladys Ewart, and Eugene Istomin. Siloti, who was one of the great practitioners of the art of transcription, wrote over 200 of these arrangements, as well as orchestral editions of the music of Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi. Possibly his most famous transcription is the Prelude in B minor, based on a keyboard prelude by J. S. Bach. His daughter, Kyriena Siloti, was a noted pianist and teacher in New York and Boston until her death in 1989, aged 94. Alexander Siloti is buried at the Russian Orthodox Convent Novo-Diveevo Cemetery, Nanuet, New York.

TRACKLIST

Alexander Siloti made 7 Duo-Art piano rolls

6600 BACH-SILOTI – Prelude to Cantata No. 29 “Wir danken Dir, Gott”

6636 LISZT – Bénédiction de Dieu dans la Solitude (Abbrieviated by Siloti)

6657 RIABININ-SILOTI – Russian Folk Song

6875 LIADOV – Cradle Song

ALEXANDER RAAB DUO-ART PIANO ROLLS CDR

ALEXANDER RAAB (GYŐR, 14 MARCH, 1882 – ALAMEDA, CALIFORNIA, 2 OCTOBER, 1958)

Alexander Raab was born in Győr (also known as Raab), Hungary. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory under Hans Schmitt (1835–1907), Robert Fuchs and Theodor Leschetizky and became acquainted with Johannes Brahms. He presented recitals with the violinist Jan Kubelík in England, Russia, Germany and France. He immigrated to the US in 1915, and became Head of the Piano Department at Chicago Musical College, before moving to Berkeley, California, where he became esteemed as one of the best piano teachers on the West Coast. He performed concertos with the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Vienna, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and London Symphony Orchestra. Leopold Godowsky dedicated his 1931 transcription of Adolf von Henselt’s Etude in F-sharp major (Si oiseau j’etais), Op. 2, No. 6, to Raab. Alexander Raab’s piano students included Ernst Bacon, Vera Bradford, George J. Buelow, Muriel Kerr, Wanda Krasoff (who had been referred to Raab by Josef Hofmann), Mortimer Markoff, Sumner Marshall, Robert Owens, and Allan Willman. His pupils also studied under teachers such as Alfred Cortot, Nadia Boulanger, Rudolph Ganz, Percy Grainger, Ernest Hutcheson, and Paul Wells. He made a small number of early Duo-Art and Welte Mignon piano roll recordings, with music of Chopin (Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor Funeral March), Liszt (Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 in E minor), Mozart, Brahms, and some salon pieces by minor composers.

TRACKLIST

1. 12 Sonata In B Flat Minor Op. 35 3Rd Movement – Lento; Marche Funebre & 4Th Movement – Presto (Chopin) Duo-Art 5710

2. Fantasia In D Minor K. 397 (Mozart) Duo-Art 5677

3. Harlequin’s Serenade Op. 48 No. 2 (Schubert) Duo-Art 6127

4. Hungarian Rhapsodie No. 5 In E Minor Heroic Elegy (Liszt) Duo-Art 5640

5. Piano Sonata In B Flat Minor Op. 35 1St Movement – Grave Doppio Movimento (Chopin) Duo-Art 5692

6. Piano Sonata In B Flat Minor Op. 35 2Nd Movement – Scherzo (Chopin) Duo-Art 5702

7. Pierrot’s Dream Op. 48 No. 5 (Schuett) Duo-Art 5714

8. Reverie Op. 34 No. 5 (Schuett) Duo-Art 5672

9. Romance (Frommel) Duo-Art 5739

10. Serenade (Frommel) Duo-Art 5772

11. Soirees De Vienne No. 6 In A Major (Schubert-Liszt) Duo-Art 5651

12. Tender Aveu (Promise Op. 59 No. 2) (Schuett) Duo-Art 5631

13. Waltz In A Flat Major Op. 39 No. 15 (Brahms) Duo-Art 56428

IGNACY JAN PADEREWSKI WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS VOL. 2 CDR

IGNACY JAN PADEREWSKI (KURILIVKA, UKRAINE 6 NOVEMBER 1860 – NEW YORK CITY, U.S. 29 JUNE 1941)

Paderewski was the son of a steward of a Polish landowner. He studied music from 1872 at the Warsaw Conservatory and from 1878 taught piano there, and in 1880 he married one of his pupils, Antonina Korsak, who died in childbirth the following year. Encouraged and financed by the actress Helena Modrzejewska (Modjeska), he studied in Vienna from 1884 to 1887 under Theodor Leschetizky, who did much to improve a limited technique. During this period he also taught at the Strasbourg Conservatory. Between 1887 and 1891 he made his first public appearances as a pianist, in Vienna, Paris, London, and New York City. His success with the public was overwhelming; his personality on the concert platform, like that of Liszt, his predecessor among piano virtuosos, generated a mystical devotion. Among his colleagues, however, he was more envied than respected. Chopin (whose works he edited), Bach, Beethoven, and Schumann were the chief composers of his repertory. In 1898 he settled at Riond Bosson near Morges in Switzerland, and the following year he married Helena Gorska, Baroness von Rosen. In 1901 his opera Manru, dealing with life in the Tatra Mountains, was given at Dresden. In 1909 his Symphony in B Minor was given at Boston, and in that same year he became director of the Warsaw Conservatory. Throughout his life Paderewski was a staunch patriot. In 1910 he presented to the city of Kraków a monument commemorating the 500th anniversary of the victory of the Poles over the Teutonic Order. During World War I he became a member of the Polish National Committee and was appointed its representative to the United States, where he urged Pres. Woodrow Wilson to support the cause of Polish independence. Wilson included Poland’s cause as the 13th of his Fourteen Points of Jan. 8, 1918. After the war the provisional head of state, Józef Piłsudski, asked Paderewski to form in Warsaw a government of experts free from party tendencies. This was formed on Jan. 17, 1919. Paderewski reserved the portfolio of foreign affairs for himself, but his premiership was not a success. As a virtuoso, Paderewski was accustomed to flattery, and he resented sharp criticism. On Nov. 27, 1919, he resigned the premiership and returned to Riond Bosson; his ambitions to become the president of the revived Poland had been shattered. He never revisited the country. In 1921 he resumed his musical career, giving concerts in Europe and the United States, mainly for war victims. At the beginning of World War II, in October 1939, a Polish government-in-exile, formed in Paris with Gen. Władysław Sikorski as prime minister, offered Paderewski the chairmanship of the Polish National Council. After the French capitulation in 1940, he went to the United States. He died soon after and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

TRACKLIST

1255 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Nocturne, Op. 37, No. 2, G

1256 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Polonaise, Op. 53, Ab “Heroic”

1257 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Waltz, Op. 64, No. 2, c#

1259 WELTE-MIGNON LISZT – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 10, E “Preludio”

1260 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT-LISZT – Die Erlkönig (The Erl-King) Op. 1

1261 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT-LISZT – Hark, Hark! the Lark!

1262 PADEREWSKI – Nocturne, Op. 16, No. 4, Bb

1263 PADEREWSKI – Menuet, Op. 14, No. 1, G

IGNACY JAN PADEREWSKI WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS VOL. 1 CDR

IGNACY JAN PADEREWSKI (KURILIVKA, UKRAINE 6 NOVEMBER 1860 – NEW YORK CITY, U.S. 29 JUNE 1941)

TRACKLIST

1. 1246 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, c#”Moonlight” 1 mvt.

2. 1246 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, c#”Moonlight” 2 mvt.

3. 1247 WELTE-MIGNON BEETHOVEN – Piano Sonata, Op. 27, No. 2, c# “Moonlight” 3rd mvt.

4. 1248 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT – Impromptu, Op. 142, No. 3, Bb “Rosamunde”

5. 1249 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Ballade No. 3, Ab, Op. 47

6. 1251 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Mazurka, Op. 24, No. 4, b-b

7. 1253 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Etude, Op. 25, No. 9, Gb “Butterfly”

8. 1254 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Etude, Op. 10, No. 3, E “Tristesse”

JOSÉ VIANNA DA MOTTA WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS CDR

JOSÉ VIANNA DA MOTTA (SÃO TOMÉ ISLAND, 22 APRIL, 1868 – LISBON, 1 JUNE, 1948)

José Vianna da Motta was born on São Tomé Island, a Portuguese territory at the time where his father, also a great amateur musician, had opened a pharmacy. Moving with his family to Continental Portugal, he settled in Colares, near Sintra, where he soon showed his unusual skills in music, and in playing and composing works for the piano. In Berlin he had lessons from Xaver Scharwenka and Philipp Scharwenka before studying with Franz Liszt at Weimar in 1885 and with Hans von Bülow two years later. In the following years he undertook many concert tours all round the world. Although he was renowned for his virtuosity he was also dedicated to the music of J. S. Bach and Beethoven – playing all of the latter’s 32 piano sonatas in a series of concerts in Lisbon in 1927. He also included lesser known composers in his recitals, playing, for example, works by Charles-Valentin Alkan at the Wigmore Hall in London in 1903. He also made a number of transcriptions of Alkan’s pedalier pieces into two hand versions. Vianna da Motta was also close to his fellow virtuoso Ferruccio Busoni, and wrote the programme notes for Busoni’s major series of piano concerto concerts in Berlin. Vianna da Motta was also a composer in his own right, including orchestral works (one of them a symphony) as well as piano pieces. On 25 October 1906, Motta recorded ten piano rolls for Welte-Mignon including three of his own compositions. He was Director of the Lisbon Conservatory from 1919 to 1938. Amongst his pupils there was the pianist Sequeira Costa. He died in Lisbon in 1948, aged 80.

TRACKLIST

715 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT-LISZT – March, b

716 WELTE-MIGNON SCHUBERT-LISZT – Hark, Hark! the Lark!

717 WELTE-MIGNON WEBER – Polacca Brillante, Op. 72, E

718 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN – Tarantella, Op. 43, Ab

719 WELTE-MIGNON CHOPIN Scherzo E-Dur, op. 54 (Chopin)

721 WELTE-MIGNON St. Francis Legend Nr. 1

JOSEF PEMBAUR WELTE-MIGNON PIANO ROLLS CDR

JOSEF PEMBAUR (INNSBRUCK, 20 APRIL 1875 – MUNICH, 12 OCTOBER 1950)

Born in Innsbruck, Pembaur was the son of the composer and music director Josef Pembaur the Elder (1848–1923). He got his first musical education by his father. From 1893 until 1896, he studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München with Ludwig Thuille, conducting with Ludwig Abel and composition and organ with Josef Gabriel Rheinberger. He was awarded a gold medal at the final examination in 1896. From 1896 to 1901, he worked as a piano teacher at the same school. In 1901/02, he continued his studies with Alfred Reisenauer at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, where he was employed as a teacher for higher piano playing. In 1912, he was appointed professor of music in Saxony. In 1921, he was appointed professor in Bavaria, but he returned to the Academy of Music in Munich and taught a master class for piano. His students included Anna Renfer. Pembaur also completed numerous concert tours. In Berlin he was one of the judges in the competition for the Ibach Prize. In Spring 1919, Pembaur took eight piano pieces for the Reproduktionsklavier Welte-Mignon, including two compositions by his father, probably his earliest recordings. On 29 October 1918, Thomas Mann heard him in an event with Joachim von Delbrück, who was reading from his novel Der sterbende Chopin that evening. In 1906, he married the pianist Maria Elterich, and the two of them also performed together on two pianos. Pembaur’s brother Karl was a composer and choirmaster in Dresden. Pembaur died in Munich at the age of 75.

TRACKLIST

3264 WELTE-MIGNON BRAHMS – Ballade, Op. 10, No. 1, d

3265 WELTE-MIGNON BRAHMS – Ballade, Op. 10, No. 2, D

3266 WELTE-MIGNON BRAHMS – Ballade, Op. 10, No. 3, b

3267 WELTE-MIGNON BRAHMS – Ballade, Op. 10, No. 4, B

3272 WELTE-MIGNON PEMBAUR – Scherzo energico (Ade Bagage) Op. 37, 2.