Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
Chicago Advocates a National
Piano-Playing Contest
Committee in Charge of Piano-Playing Tournament There Issues
Challenge to Winners in Other Cities With National
and International Event Ahead
HICAGO, ILL., June 25.—As a result of the great success of the Second Annual Chicago
Pk-.no-Playing Tournament just brought to a close a new and definite movement to bring
about the establishment of a national piano-playing tournament with piano-playing con-
test winners from other cities competing with the Chicago champion each year has been devel-
oped. The plan is even broader, for it calls for holding national piano-playing tournaments
each year until 1933, and then featuring an international piano-playing tournament with the
school children of all nations invited to participate.
The new movement, which is of great interest
to the music trade and profession throughout the next two years to the end that when 1933
the country, was launched at a meeting held comes an international meet will be properly
last Thursday at the Great Northern Hotel and in order. It has already come to light that Lon-
attended by members of the Chicago Piano- don is interested in the piano-playing contest
PlayLng Tournament Committee. At this meet- idea, and that one will shortly be held in that
ing a resolution was adopted in which the Chi- city. Music lovers in other foreign cities have
cago piano men issued a challenge to the win- likewise shown interest in the contests in this
ners of other cities to compete for national country and may be expected to lend* their
support to the international contest idea.
honors, reading as follows:
The two tournaments held in Chicago have
"Whereas, the second annual Chicago Piano-
Playing Tournament has ended with a record brought to light an enormous amount of talent
of success and unprecedented interest in piano which otherwise might have remained hidden.
playing pn the part of the people of Chicago The playing in the finals on June 18 was even
more impressive than in the contest a year
and,
"Whereas, this city feels that it has in it a ago, several of the children ranging in age from
child champion, one who can successfully com- eight to fifteen or sixteen years showing a sur-
pete against the champion pianists of similar prising amount of artistic ability. The winner,
Johanna Siragusa, a fifteen-year-old high school
age picked in other cities of the United States
student, who was awarded $1,000 as prize,
and,
played in a manner that competent judges de-
"Whereas, the piano men of Chicago feel that
clared compared most favorably with a major-
national piano-playing competition will serve
ity of professional performances on the concert
as further inspiration to the child pianists of
stage. Through the medium of the contest 'she
Chicago and will be of benefit to the piano in-
won a reputation that she might have been
dustry of the United States.
years in obtaining through ordinary methods.
"Therefore be it resolved, that the Chicago
Much of the success of the Chicago tourna-
Piano-Playing Tournament Committee issues a
ment
both last year and this has been due to
challenge, on behalf of its winner of the present
year, to the winners chosen in piano-playing the support of the Chicago Herald-Examiner,
contests conducted in other cities under similar which ran articles almost daily from the time
rules and conditions, to meet in Chicago at a the contest was launched, and kept the public
convenient date in open competition, for the fully informed as to the purposes of the move-
purpose of choosing the champion child pianist ment and of its progress. It is believed that
of the United States, and a further invitation with influential newspapers in other sections of
to the cities of all nations in which piano-play- the country supporting the national movement
ing tournaments are conducted, to meet in in- the interest of the public in all sections can be
ternational competition during the Chicago similarly aroused.
World's Fair in 1933,
"And be it further resolved, that this commit-
tee favors the broadcasting of this challenge in
every reasonable manner and pledges its in-
terest and co-operation in making a national
piano tournament in Chicago possible if the Believes That Men Who Served So Well With
Him Last Year Are Best Fitted to Carry on
plan meets with the response of other cities."
the Program for the Coming Twelve Months
The Chicago piano men are enthusiastic over
the possibilities of national piano-playing tour-
Having established a new precedent for the
naments as a means for showing a wider recog-
nition for music as well as inspiring the youth National Association of Music Merchants by
of the nation to learn to perform on the piano. being re-elected as president of that Associa-
It is believed that the intense interest shown tion at the annual convention which was held
in the local tournament can be developed on a in New York early this month, C. J. Roberts
countrywide basis under proper management, has set another new precedent by reappointing
particularly if piano merchants in the various all standing committees, in the belief that those
cities of the country support the general move- who worked so well with him during the first
ment and organize tournaments in their respec- year of office are best qualified to carry on for
tive cities. The National Piano-Playing Tourna- another year. The committees, therefore, are
ment will co-ordinate the work of these various as follows:
Membership committee, H. H. Fleer, Lyon &
local contests with a view to building up a
Healy, Chicago, chairman ex-officio; Milton
nation-wide organization.
The committee sponsoring the movement will Weil, Krakauer Bros., New York; John J.
make a strong plea to the piano manufacturers J. Glynn, James & Holstrom Piano Co., New
and merchants, the music profession, the news- York.
Press Committee, H. H. Fleer, Lyon & Healy,
papers and other agencies to support the plan
of the national piano-playing tournament for Chicago, chairman; Charles H. Yahrling, Yahr-
C
Pres. Roberts Reappoints
Merchants' Committees
ling-Rayner Music Co., Youngstown; E. Paul
Hamilton, Bloomingdale Bros., New York;
W. Otto Miessner, Miessner Institute of Music,
Milwaukee.
Resolutions committee, Robert N. Watkin,
Will A. Watkin Co., Dallas, Texas, chairman;
A. D. La Motte, Thearle Music Co., San Diego;
A. L. Maresh, Maresh Piano Co., Cleveland.
Legislative committee, Frederick P. Stieff,
Chas. M. Stieff, Inc., Baltimore, chairman; W.
S. Bond, Weaver Piano Co., York, Pa.; C. S.
Andrews, Andrews Music Store, Charlotte, N.
C.; Joel B. Ryde, Fuller-Ryde Music Co., In-
dianapolis.
National Piano-Playing Contest Committee,
Frank J. Bayley, Bayley Music House, Detroit,
chairman; W. Otto Miessner, Miessner Institute
of Music, Milwaukee; C. R. Moores, Packard
Music House, Fort Wayne, Indiana; Miss Helen
Curtis, Chicago, honorary member.
Fred Colber Featuring the
Duo-Art in Pittsburgh
Popular Musician and Lecturer Gives Numer-
ous Lecture Recitals in Co-operation With
the C. C. Mellor Co., Local Representatives
PITTSBURGH, PA., June 26.—Fred Colber, of the
Aeolian Co., is spending some time here with
the C. C. Mellor Co., Duo-Art and Steinway
dealers, giving demonstrations of the Duo-Art,
supplemented by very interesting and practical
talks on music and its influence in the home,
business life and society in general. Mr. Colber
is widely known to the trade for his illumin-
ating talks on music as well as his ability as a
demonstrator of the Duo-Art.
Last week George Gray, sales manager of the
C. C. Mellor Co., arranged for Mr. Colber to
appear before the Rotary Club of Pittsburgh,
when over 300 persons were present. During
the past week a number of private recitals were
given at the Mellor store. Mr. Gray stated that
in one day two Duo-Art reproducing pianos
were sold. One, a Steck Duo-Art, was sold to
the new Moore's restaurant, which has just
opened in the Keenan Building, and is consid-
ered to be one of the finest Spanish type res-
taurants in the country. The management
wished to install an instrument to furnish music
in keeping with the surroundings, so a Steck
Duo-Art was decided on, after careful delibera-
tion. On Monday night Mr. Colber was the
speaker before an audience that filled the spaci-
ous auditorium of the First Presbyterian Church
of Wilkinsburg, a suburb of the Steel City. He
also appeared "on the air" from radio station
WJAS and gave a series of recitals that were
heard far and wide, judging from the many
letters that came in from all sections of the
country praising them, and asking for more.
New Balkite Distributor
MILWAUKEE, WIS., June 25.—The Morley-Mur-
phy Co., 454 Milwaukee street, has been named
distributor for the Balkite and Eveready radio
receivers for the Milwaukee and Wisconsin ter-
ritory.
Waltamath With Frederick
STEUBENVILLE, O., June 25.—Al Waltamath, for
several years with the Alford & Fryar Piano
Co., of Canton, has joined the sales forces of
the W. F. Frederick Piano Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.