Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE
REV^DV
flUSIC TI(ADE
V O L . x x x v n . No. 18. pnuMei E»ery Sat. by Edward Lyman BUI at I Madison Ave, NewYort, Oct. 31,1903.
DR. MANNS AND THE CECIL1AN.
An Interesting Volume is the Correspondence
Anent the Cecilian Which Appeared in the
London Daily Mail—Dr. Manns Criticises the
Critics.
Reference was made in The Review last
June to some extended correspondence on
"Music by Machinery" which appeared in
The Daily Mail of London, Eng. It started
with an editorial in that paper based upon
the opening of the International Music
Trades Exhibition at the Crystal Palace on
June 16, when Dr. August Manns made
some very complimentary allusions to the
Cecilian piano player whose musical merits
were demonstrated at the exhibition by
Reginald Reynolds.
Letters commenting favorably and un-
favorably on the editorial were numerous
and continued to appear daily from June
17th to June 26th. The writers included
many of the leading musicians of London.
The correspondence has just been com-
piled by the manager of the Farrand Organ
Co.'s establishment in London, and makes
very valuable reading. It affords an im-
pressive idea of the interest excited by this
controversy.
The. following letter from Dr. Manns,
who, by the way, has been the musical di-
rector of the Crystal Palace since October,
1855, closed the discussion and is the high-
est kind of a tribute to the Cecilian:
"Dear Sir:—Having now read all the
letters which have appeared in the Daily
Mail concerning the remarks on the Ce-
cilian Piano Player, reported to have been
made by myself and the young artist who
guided the mechanical player, on the 16th
of June, at the opening of the Musical In-
strument Exhibition at the Crystal Palace,
I must, in self-defense, point out that, al-
though I did say a good deal more in praise
of your wonderful invention than contained
in that report, I did not say: 'No pianist
could produce a greater effect upon my
feelings than that machine did.' Nor did
I say: 'Amateur playing will be entirely
done away with.
Students of the future
will study through the medium of mechani-
cal instruments, and the result will be a
higher standard of artistic excellence.'
"What I did say was this: 'I. have
never heard a machine produce music like
that. It expressed all the delicate nuances
of the skilled musician, and the quality of
tone was beautiful. Its marvelously per-
fect technique and great rythmical ac-
curacy were astounding.
A dozen Pade-
rewskis in one could not play more perfect
scale—'and bravura—passages. There is
no reason why any amateur or musician
with the heavenly spark of music in his
soul should not be able to produce
thoroughly enjoyable music from it; by the
help of its wonderful mechanism, indeed,
any musician, even if not a pianist, will be
able to produce performances of consider-
able artistic interest, after having learned
to manage the pedaling for tone production,
and acquired the necessary knowledge for
utilizing the simple mechanism for time,
dynamics and expression.'
"With regard to the "Detracting letters"
by 'Musicus,' 'Dr. W. H. Cummings,' and
'Dr. Percy Rideout,' I cannot help thinking
that 'Musicus' would have refrained from
posing as a violent detractor of an inven-
tion which cannot fail to exercise a very
beneficial influence upon musical art, had
he heard 'The Cecilian Player,' as I did, on
the opening of the exhibition ; and I also be-
lieve that Drs. W. H. Cummings and Percy
Rideout would not have denied the artistic
possibilities of the Mechanical Piano
player, had they heard the Cecilian on that
occasion. Their well intentioned argu-
ments seem to be based on their knowl-
edge of the mechanical piano players of
two or three years ago, when the scope for
expression, feeling and skill was very lim-
ited, and provisions for the control over
time, and general dynamics were almost
non-existent.
"However, further argument on these
points would only prompt further dispute.
Moreover, the artistic possibilities of the
mechanical piano players are very fully de-
fined by C. Ashton Jones in his letters to
the Daily Mail of June 22nd and 26th, and
their general utility and benefit to both
musical amateurs and teachers of the piano
are very clearly explained in the letters of
Ernest Newlandsmith, W. A. Morgan,
Arthur Doggett and Edward Herbert, pub-
lished in the same journal on June 23rd,
24th, 25th and 26th.
"Finally, I will only add that, should my
still unsatisfactory state of health prevent
me lastingly from resuming my former
musical activity as a conductor, I (not be-
ing a pianist) shall purchase a Cecilian
Piano Player, and by its help provide my-
self with the musical treat of hearing the
various classical compositions for the
pianoforte performed under my personal
guidance, in my own house, and thus
supply a musical want which I have ser-
iously felt during my long musical life."
"August Manns."
SINGLE ContiS
tiM
i* CUNT*.
PILA YEAR.
AFrER APPRENTICES AND TUNERS
The Canadian Association Make Several Important
Suggestions Relating to the Above.
The Canadian Piano & Organ Manufac-
turers' Association at its recent meeting
appointed a committee to draw up a form
of contract whereby apprentices will be re-
quired to serve their full term before being
^entitled to employment as journeymen
when they will receive a certificate from the
Manufacturers' Association. This action is
due to the fact that apprentices are in the
habit of working for a year at the piano
business, and then, leaving and going to
other factories and demanding employment
as experienced men.
From the viewpoint of the United States
this action seems peculiar, inasmuch as on
this side of the border, apprenticeship is
usually regulated by the unions and the
manufacturers or their superintendents
have the privilege of discharging a man
if he is incompetent. It does not require
much supervision to discern whether a man
is experienced or "fit."
Another matter taken up by the meet-
ing was that of incompetent tuners who
make a practice of going around the
country, spoiling pianos and generally dam-
aging the reputation of those fitted by
ability and experience to take charge of re-
pairing and tuning.
It was proposed that the association
should conduct examinations and issue
certificates to tuners. Dealers, moreover,
would be recommended to advise their
customers that no one should be allowed
to tune their piano unless a man holding a
certificate, and thereby qualified for this
purpose.
This move is an admirable one, and
might with advantage be copied by the Na-
tional Piano Manufacturers* Association of
America.
PIANO PROSPECTS IN KANSAS.
The best indication of prosperous con-
ditions in the piano field in the West is to
be found in the fact that piano dealers
THE HARDMAN PIANO PLAYER.
throughout Kansas and adjoining states re-
The Allen & Gilbert-Ramaker Co., of
port a scarcity of stock.
Many dealers
Portland, Ore., have secured the agency for
placed orders early, but factories were un-
the new Hardman piano player made by
able to supply demands as quickly as de-
Hardman, Peck & Co., of New York.
sired owing to the shortage of freight cars.
The Carl Hoffman Music Co., of Kansas Other dealers have delayed in placing their
City, Mo., are having a big call for Chick- orders with the result that now when the
ering quarter grands. Last week they sold call comes they cannot get their instru-
four, and they have been compelled to ments as quickly as they desire. General
business throughout the West is good.
telegraph to Boston for additional stock.