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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
ilany Merchants Coming.
A GREAT
MOVEMENT DESTINED TO
LATE NEW YORK TRADE.
STIMU-
New York is going to be host to many-
merchants this fall. They will come as
the second of the semi-annual business
men's excursions to New York arranged
for by the Merchants' Association, which
was organized just before Grant Day.
The association hopes to bring 100,000
persons here twice every year—in the fall
and in the spring.
The Merchants' Association is organized
fully, and just now its members are exert-
ing themselves to increase the membership.
The Advisory Committee held a meeting
Wednesday in the rooms of the association,
Leonard street and Broadway. Each of the
committeemen made the most encouraging
reports of applications for membership.
William F. King, the president, was de-
lighted with the outlook. The organization
is bound to be a live, energetic one, which
will bring millions of dollars to New York
every year.
The membership is divided into two
classes. Class A is made up of business
men of the Greater New York. The dues
are $25 a year. Class B is made up of
merchants from an} 7 part of the country
outside of the Greater New York. Their
status will be somewhat like the status of
the non-resident members of New York
clubs.
The fine rooms at Leonard street and
Broadway really are to be clubrooms.
Members will meet there socially every
day, and when members of Class B come to
town they will be permitted to make the
rooms their headquarters.
The exact date for the fall excursion of
the business men to New York has not been
fixed. The Joint Traffic and the Trunk
Line associations, whose railroads cover
the country east of the Mississippi River,
have offered a rate of one and a third fare
for the round trip. The tickets will be sold
for seven days, and will be good for return-
ing at any time within thirty days, count-
ing from the first of the seven days of sale.
Each merchant may bring his family and
his employees at the reduced rate.
Thirty of the leading hotels, as well as
every leading mercantile house in the city,
are members of the association, and will
co-operate in offering inducements to the
merchants of the country.
More than 1,000 letters of the most en-
couragingcharacterhave been received from
out-of-town merchants already. All say
they either have to come to New York
themselves or send at least twice a year.
They express themselves as glad to accept
the hospitality the association will offer
them, and say the reduced rates and the
benefit of coming into touch with the
brightest business minds of the country
which will be gathered here is fully appre-
ciated.
C. Arnold & Co. have opened a piano
warerooms at 421 Broadway, Milwaukee,
with the Weber as their leader.
Adam Nickel's New Piano Action.
Band Programs in the Park.
Adam Nickel, of Wessell, Nickel & Gross,
secured a patent on Tuesday last for
an improved piano action in which the
reach of the action is increased when
the soft pedal is depressed, so as to pre-
vent any dead motion between key and
hammer, while at the same time the full
stroke of the key is maintained.
When the hammer is in its half-stroke
position, the leverage of actions of this
class is insufficient to properly return the
key to its normal position. In order to
insure this prompt return, Mr. Nickel has
devised a spring attachment which will
come into play automatically by the de-
pression of the soft pedal and will assist
the action to properly return the key as
long as such soft pedal remains depressed.
In this way the touch of the action remains
practically uniform whether the soft pedal
is used or not.
The following letter reaches us from an
esteemed correspondent who is too modest
to attach his signature. It treats of a
topic which seems to come to the surface
every summer to be debated pro and con
in the public press and elsewhere:
New York, July 6, 1897.
Dear Sir:—From the commendatory way
in which you refer to the good taste dis-
played by Mr. Mygrant in the making up
of programs for Sunday band concerts in
Prospect Park, I infer that you are not one
of those whose creed is that a program
should be made up to "please the people,"
utterly regardless of the fact that the taste
of the majority generally runs to clap trap
and unmusical rubbish. You have the
sincere thanks of at least one reader of your
valued paper, for the words of approval
you have to bestow on one bandmaster
whose aim it is to "elevate the tastes of
the masses to a superior class of music."
Surely a musician with such a noble aim
is deserving of kind words and best wishes
for his success. It may be conceded to
start with that the task seems like under-
taking to make a silk purse cut of a sow's
ear, for the great unmusical public has but
slight ambition in the direction of an ele-
vated taste, but nevertheless, all honor to
the man who undertakes such a seemingly
impossible task, for he is an ornament to
his profession by comparison with the
majority of our New York bandmasters,
whose sole aim seems to be to tickle the
ears of the unthinking, and start their
hands in enthusiastic but injudicious ap-
plause. Mr. Editor, here is a splendid
field for missionary work, to wit and name-
ly, the education of bandmasters and con-
cert promoters. Will you not fight this
monstrous theory that a musician must
lower his standard to the level of an audi-
ence for the most part lacking in the
ability to distinguish perfect harmony
from a vile discord? Why is itthat trained
musicians who know what is best in music
will go on week after week performing
programs of so-called popular music simply
because it meets with the approval of an
undiscriminating public. Let us have a
change, and let it be in the nature of an
improvement. Please start a crusade for
better music in the parks.
Respectfully yours, "Idealist."
While we are in hearty sympathy with
the bandmaster who aims to elevate and
educate with the best of music without
being ultra-classical, yet there is unques-
tionably a popular demand that the tastes
of the "masses," or as our correspondent
entitles them, " the undiscriminating pub-
lic," should be catered to in the public
parks—particularly as they " pay the bills."
In private concerts the musician or band-
master has the option of pleasing himself,
but unfortunately "demand" is always an
important consideration in the make up of
a program when he is to appear in public
—at least in the service of the city.
Certainly reformation is badly needed in
the make up of the programs interpreted by
some of the bands in our parks; reformation,
however, lies almost entirely in the hands-
of the bandmasters. They can if they will r
as in the case instanced, effect an improve-
ment which cannot fail to be productive of
beneficial results. In the meantime we shall
have something further to say on this inter-
esting subject in our next musical number.
Gildemeester & Kroeger Piano.
Dealers should observe carefully the ad-
vertisement or trade mark of the Gilde-
meester & Kroeger piano which appears
elsewhere in this issue. This on a piano
means a high grade instrument with a re-
putation which is of great worth and of
great renown. This reputation is not only
maintained by the present manufacturers
but,if anything,advanced by the production
of first-class instruments. Dealers wishing a
leader and a meritorious piano should give
the Gildemeester & Kroeger their immedi-
ate consideration.
Generous in Endorsements.
Stultz & Bauer are making active pre-
parations for a big fall trade. Mr. Golden
told The Review recently that he has never
met with such exceptionally favorable ex-
periences as during his last trip. Wher-
ever he found Stultz & Bauer pianos—and
they are not by any means scarce—he
found well-pleased customers, free in
their expressions of satisfaction and gener-
ous in their endorsements. Special orders
for the Stultz & Bauer styles 5^4 and 7 in
Circassian walnut have been plentiful, and
the force is now busy on a number to be
sent to distant points as soon as ready.
Numerous letters have just been received
expressing warm appreciation of both
styles.
Morris Steinert, of New Haven, was
granted two patents on July 6th for an im-
provement on upright and grand piano
actions, whereby the performer is enabled
to produce crescendo, diminuendo and all
color and tone effects. This is on the lines
of the device described in full in The Re-
view some time ago.
Blasius & Sons, of Philadelphia, sole fac-
tors for the Albrecht piano, have issued a
catalogue containing illustrations of the
latest designs of these instruments. All
the styles are especially handsome, and
worthy of commendation. The catalogue
is neatly printed and carefully compiled.
The Cluetts, Fred, and Ed., of Troy, are
in town.