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VOL. XL. No. 17.
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 1 Madison Ave., New York, April 29, 1905.
SIN
%1SOKVE°AR ENTS -
THE LAUTER PLAYER-PIANO
RUDOLF DOLOE VISITS MR TAFT.
BOHLMANN WITH KNEISEL QUARTET
Is Now on Exhibition at the i/Varerooms in
Newark—Highly Spoken of by Experts—
Will Be Ready for the Trade in September.
Our Consular Agent at Caracas Has a Long
Conference Relative to Affairs in Venezuela
—A Warm Friend of Castro.
Played the Smith & Nixon Piano With This
Noted Organization, and Both Score Sue-
cesses—Piano Highly Praised by Critics.
A despatch from Washington says that "Ru-
dolph Dolge, the United States Consular agent
at Caracas, who arrived in Washington from
Venezuela yesterday, had an extended conference
with Secretary Taft, Acting Secretary of State
Loomis and other Government officers to-day.
"Mr. Dolge has been this Government's consu-
lar agent in Caracas since January 8, 1904, and is
a warm friend of President Castro. He is inter-
ested extensively, it is said, in Venezuelan enter-
prises, especially in mining properties along the
Orinoco river. He owns a daily paper in Caracas
and also a steam laundry. The condition of af-
fairs in Venezuela was the subject of the talk be-
tween Secretary Taft and Mr. Dolge.
"Mr. Dolge said that President Castro is very
friendly toward this Government, and it is un-
derstood that he intimated, as President Castro
has done, that Minister Bowen stands in the way
of a speedy and amicable settlement of all the
questions pending between the two countries.
Mr. Dolge expressed the hope that the Govern-
ment would interfere in no way if the concern
he represents should become involved in a dis-
pute with President Castro. He also expressed
his admiration of President Castro."
The Kneisel Quartet, of Boston, is the acknowl-
edged leading organization of tiring players in
this country, and its performances are recorded
by critics and the musical public as the perfection
of musical art. The members of this famous
Quartet have so perfected their own ensemble
that it is a rare thing for them to depart from a
long-established custom of adhering strictly to
chamber music in the realm of their own or-
ganization, and especially to compositions which
do not require a piano, because of the difficulty
of meeting with pianists who have the same keen
sense of artistic ensemble work as against "solo"
playing; also of the difficulty of meeting with
that rare quality of piano-tone which they de-
mand in the painting of their admirable tone pic-
tures. An exception, however, must be noted in
both these particulars when the Kneisels gave a
recent concert in Cincinnati. Aside from their
string quartet numbers they were pleased to have
associated with them Mr. Theodore Bohlmann at
the piano, in the great quintet in F minor, by
Brahms. Mr. Bohlmann is an authority on en-
semble playing, and the Smith & Nixon Concert
Grand piano, used by him on this occasion, re-
sponded perfectly to the artistic demands re-
quired of it both in delicacy of tonal blending as
well as the forceful dynamics. The achievement
of the Smith & Nixon piano on this occasion was
the subject -of favorable comment by many of
those who comprised the largest and most dis-
criminating audience to which the Kneisels have
ever played.
(Special to The Ueview.)
Newark, N. J., April 27, 1905.
An important item of interest here is that
the first of the Lauter Co.'s self-playing pianos
has just been completed in the factory, and has
been placed on exhibition in the Lauter ware-
rooms. This instrument has been in preparation
for nearly two years, and the result warrants the
time and labor that have been spent upon it.
The tone is wonderfully powerful, and does not
seem to have been affected by the introduction of
the playing device, as is common enough in player
pianos. The Lauter player piano has all the ex-
cellencies of the regular style Lauters, and is
free of many of the defects that are prevalent in
many player pianos.
When seen at the factory, Charles E. Cameron,
president of the company, was asked as to when
player pianos would be ready for the wholesale
trade, and in response said: "I am sorry to say
that it may be August or September before we
will be able to take care of wholesale orders, of
which we already have more than a dozen, some
of which have been standing over for months,
dealers anticipating great things of our player
piano from their knowledge of the fine tonal quali-
ties of the regular Lauter styles."
When asked as to the condition of general
wholesale and retail business, Mr. Cameron re-
ported that in both lines trade was exceptionally
good, and that so far as the Lauter piano was
concerned, the difficulty would be for a few
moi'ths how to meet the pressing demand; this
would continue to be a problem, said he, until the
new Lauter factory is providing a greatly in-
creased output.
ELECTED DIRECTOR CHASE-HACKLEY CO.
(Special tu T1H> Itevlcw.)
Muskegon, Mich., April 24, 1905.
George Hefferan, secretary of the Michigan
Trust Co., which company, with the firm of Hack-
ley & Hume, of Muskegon, are joint executors for
the estate of Charles H. Hackley, has been chosen
a member of the boards of directors of the Chase-
Hackley Piano Co., the H. C. Ackeley Lumber
Co., of Minneapolis, and the Hackley & Hume Co.,
Ltd., of Muskegon.
THE PIANO LONG AGO AND NOW.
"In the dear old days,' says the Tattler, "many
of the pianos of our English homes were quite
harmless. They served as an ugly stand for uglier
photographs and for plants in pots, but their
lamentable voice was never heard except on the
day when the tivner came. They were a kind
of guarantee of gentility, and they were nothing
more. That's all over now. You don't play a
piano with your hands any longer; you ride it
with your feet like a bicycle."
M. L. Kelly, of Parsons, has decided to open a
store &t U2 Jackson street, Iola, Kansas.
C. H. LOOMIS RETURNS
From a Southern Trip to the Principal West
Indian Islands.
Chas H. Loomis, of the Loomis Temple of
Music, New Haven, Conn., has just returned from
an extended Southern trip. He went as far South
as Demerara and British Guiana, and took in the
Barbadoes, St. Lucia, Dominique, Trinidad, St.
Croix, Santiago and Havana, in Cuba, the Isle of
Bermuda and Porto Rico. In all, Mr. Loomis
traveled 7,254 miles and was five weeks on the
water without a single unpleasant day. It is
needless to say that he enjoyed every minute of
his vacation, and that he is row m splendid trim
for the development of his business.
ADMITS SON TO PARTNERSHIP.
Wm. H. Keller, of Keller's Temple of Music,
who has conducted a very successful piano busi-
ness in Easton, Pa., for the past thirty years, has
just admitted his son Geo. T. Keller as a part-
ner. Mr. Keller has magnificent quarters in his
building, seven floors in all, wherein he displays
a fine line of Steinway, Kranich & Bach, Estey,
Jacob Bros., Sterling, Huntington pianos, Estey
and Weaver organs, and a full line of small goods
and sheet music.
Chas. H. Steinway, of Steinway & Sons, will
leave on his annual European trip on May 25.
He will be gone until September.
Chas. M. Stieff., of Baltimore, is the latest to
place a player-piano on the market, It will be,
known as the Stieff auto-piano.
SMITH & HIVELY OPEN IN ALLIANCE.
(Special to Tin- Kovii'w.)
Alliance, Ohio, April 24, 1905.
A. B. Smith, the well-known dealer of Akron,
and G. W. Hively, of this city, have formed a
partnership under the name of Smith & Hively,
and have just opened a store for the sale of
pianos, small musical instruments and music at
222 E. Main street. The opening day, which
occurred last Monday, was largely attended.
Both members of the firm are well and favorably
known.
Wm. R. Reynolds, the enterprising dealer of
Canonsburg, Pa., has built up a very excellent
business with the Strich & Zeidler pianos in his
territory. He has very artistic warerooms at 43
Pike street.
Louis Gray, who has long been engaged in tun-
ing and repairing pianos, has opened piano ware-
rooms in the Beck building, Park avenue, East
Rutherford, N. J.
Gimbel Brothers, of Milwaukee, have secured
the representation of the Henry & S. G. Linde-
man pianos.
Robt L. Loud, of Buffalo, N. Y., is advertising
an alteration sale,