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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
SAINT-SAENS PAYS GREAT TRIBUTE TO KNABE ART PIANOS
The Great French Operatic Composer, Pianist and Writer in a Communication to Wm. Knabe
Says That Wm. Knabe & Co. "Have Produced Marvels Thrat Have Excited My Admiration"
—Bears Out General Approval of Knabe Art Creations Held by Noted Musicians.
The art creations in piano form produced by measurably to the high reputation enjoyed by
William Knabe & Co., have long been the sub- the Knabe pianos. *
ject of the most flattering encomiums from con-
That these instruments should command the
unstinted admiration of a great master mind
like Camille Saint-Saens, was almost to be ex-
pected, for he is not only a great composer,
pianist, organist and writer, but an art critic
of celebrity, hence the letter which he recently
sent Mr. William Knabe, of William Knabe &
Co., Baltimore, Md., is a great tribute not only
to creations of this house, but a compliment to
the American piano. It emphasizes how this
country is blazing the way toward a greater
prestige in the domain of the polite arts. It is
by such a communication as this that we are
able to measure our progress, and William
Knabe & Co. have good reason to feel proud
of this generous recognition of their labors in
the art piano field. Here is Saint-Saens' letter:
"I have noticed with great pleasure that piano
manufacturers are returning to the path once so
brilliantly followed by makers of harpsichords,
and are producing instruments that are objects
of art not only for the ear, but also for the eye,
ornamented with exquisite marquetries or with
paintings and carvings. For a long time they
refused to do this, under the plea that the
beauty of an instrument lay solely in its qual-
ity. For years in Paris I made many efforts in
vain to induce them to change this point of
view. Now, in France, in England and in
America, pianos are manufactured that can rival
the most beautiful harpsichords of other days.
"In this direction, Messrs. Knabe have pro-
noisseurs in the art and musical worlds. The
correctness of the designs, which treat practical- duced marvels that have excited my admiration.
ly of every decorative school, and the fact that They have appropriated most happily widely dif-
these admirable creations embody a tone, and fering styles, and always with the best of taste
tone-producing medium, that is as beautiful and and a feeling for decorative art that I have
as satisfying as the exteriors, have added im- keenly appreciated."
tion of a better system, or a better control of
themselves or their business. The article runs
in this wise:
"It is quite the thing to refer to our modern
business life as becoming more strenuous and
more exacting, but is it true? It is true that
we move at a faster pace than formerly, but the
means at hand are much improved. The ma-
chinery of business moves more rapidly than of
yore, but it does not seem to me that it takes
any more effort on our part to look after it now
than it did before it moved so fast. As a matter
of fact, is it not true that the increased burden
on the shoulders of the business man of to-day
is more worry than work?
"It would be well if we could learn the differ-
ence between productive thought and mere use-
less, senseless worry. The first is a necessity.
The latter is a wasteful foolishness. Worry is
a habit, and "like, all habits it can be overcome.
We will not say that it is an easy task to over-
come it when it has become so deeply rooted as
to be second nature, but it can be done if a
strong enough effort is made. There used t© be
"don't worry" clubs in existence. We wish each
one of our readers would form a club of this sort
with just one member. To do so would cut down
the cases of nervous collapse about 90 per cent.
"The whole thing is a mental attitude. When
you get done planning for your business, cast
the whole subject out of your mind until it is
time to do some more planning or some more
real thinking. Cut out the worry. Cross your
bridges when you come to them. If you cannot
throw off your business when you are done with
it for the day, try cultivating a fad. The more
utterly different your fad is from your daily
business the better. It will serve the purpose
that "David Harum" assigned to fleas. Quit
worrying for a month and you will feel like a
new man. And your business will feel the influ-
ence and cause you less worry as well."
800 PIANOS MAKE FRISCO HAPPY.
A dispatch to the New York World from San
Francisco, dated January 26, says: "So many
ships are on the way here with building ma-
terial that there won't be wharves enough. The
arrival of 800 pianos has filled a want felt since
the earthquake of April 18."
to break out, according to the imagination of
those brown and yellow races. In consequence
of this inclination, the Japanese are enabled to
Cutting Quite a Figure in the Far Eastern
ask very high prices for their exported pianos,
Countries—A German Trade Paper Supple-
ments Some Timely Remarks by The Re- absolutely disproportionate to their deficiencies
and the carelessness of their construction. In
A new piano store has been opened in Brain-
view's Japanese Correspondent.
Korea, now absolutely under the control of erd, Minn., by P. E. Johnson.
In last week's Review there appeared an in- Japan, not only politically but also in commerce,
tensely interesting story from our correspondent the Japanese exporters dare to ask the same
DISTINCTIVELY HIGH GRADE"
in Yokahoma, Japan, in which he spoke of the prices for their pianos, often manufactured by
progress "of the Yankees of the East" as piano putting together old and worn-out materials and
and organ manufacturers, and the possibilities only fitted up by a splendid polish, as European
of competition from that country. . It is a coin- exporters get for their instruments, elaborated in
cidence that a well-known German publication, every detail.
"And even if the admiration for Japan may
"The Zeitschrift fur Instrumentenbau," recently
published an article somewhat on the same sub- perhaps by and by be diminished, the Japanese
piano manufacturers will be enabled to lower
ject, in which it says:
"One gets the impression that the Japanese their prices two-thirds or more and still pocket
are seriously preparing to establish a large and enough profits to prosper. Our correspondent
comprehensive manufacturing industry, com- is told by French and German captains of steam-
bined with far-reaching export, and the piano ers that frequently very old instruments are im-
manufacturers in Europe should direct their at- ported to Japan—instruments which are of no
tention to this new and dangerous competitor in value, and it has been incomprehensible to them
the Far East! Of course, the Japanese instru- what the Japanese were going to do with such
ments are at present of the lowest grade only, old boxes. The captains certainly did not know
as is nearly everything manufactured in differ- that these boxes were imported either for pat-
ent branches of trade in Japan for the purpose terns or to be remodeled into entirely new Japan-
of expert to China, Korea, and Manchuria. But ese pianos—a process now comprehensible to
still this competition of Japan in the piano trade every one familiar with the circumstances ex-
is of peculiar significance—because Japanese plained above.
pianos are in question. As Japanese pianos have
is the greatest success of the day.
already gone as far as Penang, the supposition
WHY DO PIANO MEN WORRY?
It possesses a scale of rare even-
is justified that they soon will find their way to
ness, atone of remarkable sonority
India. Add to this the very fortunate circum- Is the Life More Strenuous and Exacting Than
and richness, with a quality that
stance for Japan that there now exists among
in the Past?—Is Not the Increased Burden
is highly orchestral. Our latest
the exotic and yellow races, and even among the
More Worry Than Work?
styles of Grands and Uprights
indifferent and indolent Hindoos, a very strong
mark a decided advance in the art
inclination to Japan—an inclination which seems
In a recent issue of the Business Men's Maga-
of piano-making. "We court inves-
to grow in the same degree as the hatred of zine there is an excellent talk upon the subject
tigation. Some territory still open.
Europe and the Europeans increases; for since of "Worry" which is not amiss to quote by rea-
CHRISTMAN SONS, Manufacturer.
the Japanese-Russian war, Japan is looked upon son of the fact that some of our piano men un-
FACTORY AND OFFICE:
WAUEROOMS:
by those races as leader and champion in the necessarily load themselves with worries and
869-873 East 137th St.
35 West I4th St.
coming mighty conflict against Europe some day troubles which might be avoided by the utiliza-
NEW YORK
JAPANESE AS PIANO MAKERS.
Gf>e CHRISTMAN
STUDIO GRAND