Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
The First Piano.
the reign of Louis XVI., the Duke of
Lauzun was a great favorite with the King.
Handsome, rich and witty, he availed himself
of his qualities and position to revive the man-
ners of Louis XV. and of the regent, often going
to extremes, not always pleasing to Marie An-
toinette ; but so great a favorite was he with
the King that she never ventured to avow her
dislike to him openly.
What principally displeased Her Majesty was
the courtship which he was pa> ing too openly
to the Marchioness of Milleroy, governess to the
royal children. As thtre was nothing absolute-
ly improper in Lauzun and her forming a mutual
regard, the little remonstrance of the Queen dis-
pleased them, and soon an occasion occurred
which enabled them to retaliate upon her by a
public affront.
Marie Antoinette, though surrounded by all
the luxury imaginable, could not forget the land
of her birth. The " Austrian, " as she was cur-
rently called, would often retire to the solitude
of her '' boudoir '' to dream of the scenes of her
childhood. She gathered about her everything
which served to remind her of Austria, books,
pictures and sculptures. But one article was
wanting to make the collection complete. The
young Queen was very fond of music, and prin-
cipally of German melodies, but the spinet she
had was execrable; she resolved, therefore, to
have a harpsichord from Vienna, and soon a
magnificent instrument was sent to her well
worthy to ornament a royal palace. Much
pleased with her new acquisition,'Marie Antoin-
ette gave a concert, which Gluck, the celebrated
composer, directed.
The new harpsichord by Silbermann won the
admiration of all present. Among the guests
were the Duke of Lauzun and the Marchioness
of Milleroy ; this lady, listening to feminine
jealousy, demanded of the Duke of Lauzun a
harpsichord of equal excellence to that of the
Queen. The age of chivalry had not then yet
passed away ; the Duke was bound to obey ;
but in doing this perhaps another motive prompt-
ed him, seeing a means of lessening Her Majes-
ty 's popularity. He took every opportunity to
point out the partiality of the "Austrian " for
everything that was German, and by producing
an instrument equal, if not superior, to the harp-
sichord of the Quetn, the occasion was too good
to be lost. The following day the Duke found a
journeyman enthusiast who knew Silbermann's
invention, and could produce a very far superior
instrument.
The Duke took him to his residence, and a
shop was fitted up with the best tools and all
desirable materials.
The Duke's artisan was at work early and late.
His perseverance was at last crowned with full
success. The result of all his efforts and of his
industry was an instrument far superior to any-
thing previously made, in fact, it was " the first
piano."
The Duke of Lauzun, immensely delighted,
made his mind up that nothing should be want-
ing to make a real and complete success of it.
He had it encased in magnificent Japan gilt
wood ; the pedals were ornamented with mytho-
logical groups, according to the great sculptor
Houdon's drawings ; gold lavishly used, helped
to show to their best advantage the paintings of
Boucher, Greuze and Vanloo.
At last the magnificent instrument was placed
in the Marchioness of Milleroy's apartments,
who gave a concert, at which Her Majesty con-
descended to assist.
The admiration caused by this " first piano "
soon caused the effect produced by Marie An-
toinette's harpsichord to be forgotten. And
when Piccini, the celebrated Italian composer,
accompanied the Princess of Polignac on that
instrument the enthusiasm was without a pre-
cedent ; the Queen herself gave the signal for
applause.
Novel flusical
Instruments.
inventors have been fruitful of
®^2 queer ideas in musical instruments. Pat-
ents have been sought for violins made of metal,
of earthenware, of glass, of leather and even of
glue. Plain wood, however, maintains its place
as the accepted material for this purpose. How
many people have ever heard of the " dooro-
phone? " It consists of a frame and sounding
board, with tuned wires and little metal balls
suspended. The contrivance is hung upon a
door. When the latter is opened the balls swing
back and forth and strike harmonious chords.
There is a patented device for playing the banjo
by electricity. It requires no skill, the instru-
ment being operated by a sheet of paper with
perforations which control the making and
breaking of a circuit. Mechanical fingers thus
actuated pick the strings and depress them at
the frets. Another instrument is so arranged
that one may play the banjo by manipulating
the keys of a keyboard like that of a piano on a
small scale. The same idea is varied by a com-
bination of piano and violin, the strings of the
latter being fingered by the use of a piano like
keyboard. Of course that is the difficult part of
violin playing, the handling of the bow being
simple enough. The bow is held in the right
hand, while the fingers of the left hand strike
the keys.
Music boxes nowadays are made in all sorts
of queer shapes. The glass water bottle on the
dinner table plays a tune while the guest fills
his tumbler. The cigar holder becomes tuneful
when a match is struck upon it. Fruit plates
on being placed upon the festive board start up
with jigs and waltzes. Photograph albums be-
come harmonious when opened. Clocks, instead
of striking, emit operatic fragments every hour.
Artificial singing birds, run by clockwork, with
bellows and whistle, carol melodiously. One
may buy an imitation canary, robin or nightin-
gale in a cage. Music boxes run all the way
from 40 cents up to $1,000 for a complete or-
chestra in a box, with reeds, bells and rolling
drums.
Musical Pitch.
•/SOWING to the tendency of the manufacturers
Q3 of instruments to raise the tone, in order
to increase the sonority, the pitch in France
from the time of Louis XVI. to 1859 had been
raised over a major tone. That ascensional
movement had to be stopped. From 896 vibra-
tions, which the diapason of the Grand Opera
had at that epoch, it was officially reduced on
the 16th of February, 1859, to 870 vibrations,
and called the "normal diapason." M. Camille
Saint-Saens has called the attention of the
French Academy to a questiou no less impor-
tant, i. the metronome now u^ed by musicians, and the
necessity of deciding on a "normal metronome ''
mathematically and unifurinally constructed.
The demand of the great artist has been referred
to the united sections of physical aud mechani-
cal sciences. Before long we may have a stand-
ard metrono ne as France has a standard dia-
pason.
Piano Renting,
Some Features of the Business Peculiar to
the Summer Season.
JjJK FEATURE of the piano-renting business
®^> of this season is the renting of instru-
ments to be sent to country or seaside cottages
for the summer. There are some dealers who
send out of town every year many instruments,
and who have regular customers who come to
them year after year. These are usually people
who own cottages and don't want to move their
own pianos. They select a piano, and the
dealer delivers it on board boat or cars. At the
other end it is taken in charge by local cartmen,
who deliver it at the cottage and who take it
away again and load it on boat or cars in the
fall, when the cottager returns to the city
There are some transient customers in this busi-
ness, but the majority are regular customers.
The cost of hiring a piano in this way is the
same as it would be in the city, the hirer paying
the freight and the additional cartage. Dealers
frequently send pianos fifty to one hundred
miles, sometimes to greater distances ; to nearer
points many pianos are sent, and the business
is steadily increasing.
Another summer feature is the _ renting of
pianos at reduced rates, largely to students.
Many musical students come to New York from
all parts of the country, and their number is
constantly increasing. Many of them, to save
expenses or to save time, stay the year round,
taking no vacation. There are many teachers
who stay in town through the summer, and give
lessons at reduced rates. A great number of the
local students are gone, but many out-of-town
students remain; they get the benefit of the
teacher's special rates, and to them also are
rented a great many pianos at reduced rates for
the summer season rather than have them re-
main idle.—Sun, N. Y.
A Sound Proof Room.
WJJ CORRESPONDENT of Engineering, Lon-
®^> don, January 26th, in answer to an in-
quiry regarding the best method of making a
perfectly sound-proof music room, says that it
is not difficult to make such a room if proper
provision is made in the course of building, but
to make a room sound-proof in a house that is
already built is an expensive matter. The floor
must be lifted and filled in with silicate cotton,
while on top of each joist a strip of hair felt
must be laid before nailing down the floor. The
walls must be studded with vertical studs, either
lathed or covered with wire netting, and the
space between the lathing aud the original
plaster filled with silicate cotton before replas-
tering. The ceiling must be treated in like
manner. If there is a fireplace it must be filled
with shavings or cut paper.
MR.
HERMON DAY, formerly of H. Day &
Co., Baltimore, is now connected as salesman
with the house of Chas. Strathy, Buffalo, N. Y.
COMMANDER B. M. SCHAFFNER of the Illinois
Naval Militia has secured the services of fifty
trained musicians, chosen from a list of nearly
1,000 applicants from all parts of the country,
and has organized a body to be knovn in the
future as the Chicago Marine Band. The band
will be quartered on the battleship Illinois, the
idea being to give Chicago a musical organiza-
tion as famous as the Marine Band of Washing-
ton. T. B Brooke, a composer of note, has
been chosen to direct the band.