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THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
PIANO CASE ARCHITECTURE.
style of the "ancient regime" are always rather
stupid looking in a modern twentieth century home,
Simplicity and Dignity Replacing the Mon- for the environment they provide is so utterly out
strosities of Years Agone—Keener Appre-
of place with modern ideas of dress and conduct.
ciation of Art Craftsmanship—Piano Case a
A. modern girl in short skirt and shirtwaist does
Difficult Problem to Handle Satisfactorily—
not fit well on a spindly Marie Antoinette chair.
Some Plain Words on the Situation.
One misses the paniers, the patches and the wig.
And because we ourselves are more sensible, more
The continual progress of public taste in this
simple and more sincere in our ways of living, so
country towards greater simplicity, genuineness,
our furniture, our decorations and our well-loved
•and sincerity may well be measured by comparison
pianos must be made in accordance with our own
of piano case architecture of the present time with
true ideas of living. So the simple lines, the dull
that which was prevalent even so lately as fifteen
years ago. One has but to glance over files of The finish and the somber beauty of splendid woods will
Review published during the last decade of the let us hope, forever continue to guide us to the
nineteenth century to see at once what changes for ideals of true beauty and genuine art.
the better have arisen in public appreciation of art
craftsmanship. For public demand measures the
progress of any art, to a very large extent, and
in the piano business at least it cannot be said that
manufacturers have very generally set out to be
missionaries. Rather have they been content to
follow the general stream of popular desire. So
that, when we consider the monstrosities of piano
case architecture and decoration that were the
pride of their owners only a few years ago, we
cannot but be thankful that so many agencies have
conspired to improve public taste.
As things stand to-day, we have everywhere an
apparent yearning after plain, simple forms, en-
riched rather by the beauty of their material than
by any elaborate striving after rococo effect. The
beauty of the straight line has been discovered
afresh, as in chys agone when the Greeks and
mediaeval Christians saw it. The bilious atrocities
of the middle Victorian era have disappeared, thank
kind Heaven, forever. In the world of piano mak-
ing we see what is elsewhere apparent in the mak-
ing of houses and furnishings. We now want the
unadorned loveliness of a rare wood and the sturdy
workmanship of an artist-artisan rather than a
profusion of highly varnished machine-made curvi-
linear design, eloquent of trivial taste and barren
ideas. We are living, say what you will, in a seri-
ous age, nor is this more strongly indicted any-
where than in our refined notions of what con-
stitutes decorative beauty.
The piano case, at its best, is not a lovely thing
in essentials. The grand is always more or less
of a coffin on legs and the upright a packing-box,
ll was doubtless a realization of these facts that
prompted earlier designers to overload the cases
of pianos with meretricious ornamentation. Yet
even a packing-box may be built with well pro-
portioned dimensions and fine lines, while the most
elaborate rococo decoration will only serve to ac-
centuate the bare form underneath and cxhib't
with cold-blooded accuracy the barrenness of the
naked form. And these truths are now so well
recognized that to state them is to make clear their
entire appropriateness.
And so we may thank our destiny that piano
case architecture is well settled along lines of sim-
plicity and dignity. Fine mahogany wood is per-
haps the best that has ever been found for showing
off in the simplest setting the real beauty of tim-
ber grain. Ebonizinji, glaring golden oak finish,
and other unbeautiful attempts at decoration have
gone the way of the bear's-claw legs arid ridiculous
mouldings that once were rife. And better still,
there appears to be a distinct reaction against high
varnish finish and towards simple showing off of
the natural beauty inherent-in fine veneers. These
are interesting and hopeful facts.
The so-called "art" or "period" cases, of which
so much was heard a few years ago, do not seem
to be as prominent just now. This is doubtless
owing to the fact that they are very expensive and
of slight value unless designed very carefully with
reference to particular styles of furnishing and
decoration. In fact, either the "period" piano
must be built for the specific room into which it is
to stand or the room must be built around the
piano. Another reason is that our wealthy classes
are getting somewhat tired of the various French
styles—Rococo, Louis Quatorze, Quinze and Seize,
Directroire and Empire—and are inclining more to
the subdued glories of American Colonial and the
excellent designs of modern masters who have
followed the classic rules of Sheraton, Heppel-
white and Chippendale. Eighteenth century French
NEW QUARTERS^OR A. J. SPEICH CO.
Have Leased Jones Property at 600 South
Salina Street, Syracuse, N. Y., to Which
They Will Remove on September 1st.
(Special to The Review.)
Syracuse, N. Y., July 11, 1910.
The Andrew J. Speich Co. have leased for a
term of years the Jones property, at No.600 South
Salina street, corner of West Adams, into which
the piano company will move Sept. 1.
The store now occupied by the Speich Co. at
Nos. 410 and 412 South Salina street, was purchased
several months ago by the Keith Amusement Co., of
New York, as a site for a new vaudeville theater.
The Keiths have served notice on the tenants that
they must vacate by September 1, at which time
the work of tearing down the old building, pre-
paratory to erect'ng the theater, will begin.
The lease of the Jones property dates from July
1, and the time between now and September 1 will
be utilized in preparing the place for a piano store
and warehouse.
It is proposed to make the Jones house one of
the most attractive business places in the city, and
the plans now under consideration provide for
showrooms quite out of the ordinary.
The windows facing Salina street will be en-
larged and plate glass will be put in, but an effort
will be made to do away with the usual store ef-
fect. The rooms will be furnished and so ar-
ranged that the pianos will be displayed very much
as they will appear in the music room of a high-
class residence. The spacious grounds will be
parked and flowers and shrubbery will be set out.
More money
for piano dealers
Piano dealers
can make as much
money in selling
the Victor as they
do on pianos.
The nice thing
about it, too, is
that the Victor line
doesn't interfere
PIANOS OF GREAT COMPOSERS.
Only
in
Few Instances Have
Preserved.
They Been
Musical instruments which belonged to great
composers have in a few instances been preserved,
as, for instance, the Beethoven pianofortes—the
one presented to him by Thomas Broadwood, the
other, now in the Beethovenhaus at Bonn, made
for him by Graf. There are even older relics. In
the Mozart Museum at Salzburg are the spinet and
piano which belonged to that composer. About
another instrument of his Mr. Edward Speyer has
recently written in "Le Guide Musical." This is
the viola on which Mozart loved to play. After
his death it passed into the hands of Dr. Zizius, a
professor at the Vienna University and an accom-
plished amateur, at whose musical parties Bee-
thoven was occasionally a guest. The next owner
was the distinguished violinist Leopold Jansa,
from whose widow it was acquired only last year
by Mr. Speyer.
THE MILTON IN LOS ANGELES.
The Wiley B. Allen Co. have secured the repre-
sentation of the Milton piano for their store in
Los Angeles, Cal. This well-known New York
instrument is bound to win quite a following in
Southern California.
R. M. Taylor has been made manager of the
new branch established in Port Arthur, Tex., by
the H. Mosteller Co., of Beaumont, in the depart-
ment house known as the Boston Store. The
branch will be operated as a piano department of
the Boston Store.
with the piano end
of the business.
It's all extra
money.
And it can easily
be yours.
Why not write
us about it to-day ?
Victor Talking Machine Co.
Camden, N . J., U. S. A.
Berliner Gramophone Co., Montreal,
Canadian Distributors.
To get best results, use only Victor Needles
on Victor Records.