MUSICAL
TIMES
PRESTO
Established
1881
Established
1884
THE AMERICAN MUSIC TRADE WEEKLY
10 Cents a Copy
CHICAGO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1928
A RECEPTION FOR
VLADIMIR HOROWITZ
ing about a closer relationship between the musi-
cians of Chicago and the music trade. It is with in-
Vladimir Horowitz, the pianistic sensation of our
time, who plays the Steinway piano exclusively, was
the guest of honor at a very beautiful reception given
by the Society of American Musicians, on Thursday
evening, November 22, in the piano salon, third floor,
of Lyon & Healy's, Chicago.
Long Reception Line.
The reception line included Mrs. Marx E. Obern-
dorfer, acting-hostess for the artist receptions which
are being given this season by Lyon & Healy; Ray-
mond Durham, president of Lyon & Healy, Inc.;
Howard Wells, Walter Spry, Mrs. Rossetter Cole,
past presidents, and Marx E. Oberndorfer, president
of Society of American Musicians, who introduced
the honored guests.
A. W. Greiner Present.
A. W. Greiner of the artists' department of Stein-
wav & Sons, came from New York to attend this
A. W. GREINER.
terest that we anticipate the future events which this
progressive house has planned for the music lovers
of Chicago.
DEMAND FOR THE JESSE
FRENCH RADIO RECEIVERS
Great Factories Have Facilities Ample to Take
Care of the Growing Number
of Orders.
reception, and to hear Mr. Horowitz play the Tschai-
kowsky Concerto with the Chicago Symphony Or-
chestra on November 23-24.
Nearly Six Hundred Guests.
The piano rooms of Lyon & Healy were completely
transformed into a luxurious and beautiful drawing
room. Retween 500 and 600 guests, including the
most prominent musicians of Chicago, were thus priv-
ileged to meet Mr. Horowitz, and chat for a few
moments with the simplest, yet undoubtedly the most
amazing pianist of our generation. Among the dis-
tinguished guests was Mrs. H. H. A. Beach, the great
American woman composer, who was honored by a
reception Friday afternoon, November 30, by the
Musicians' Club, who gave the affair in the Musi-
cians' Club rooms on the fourth floor, Lyon & Healy's.
It is a distinction for Lyon & Healy to thus honor a
great musician and it shows progressiveness in bring-
C. J. ROBERTS IN
LETTER TO TRADE
President of National Association of Music
Merchants Sends Tentative Resolution, the
Adoption of Which by Individual Members
Should Vastly Increase Membership.
Famous Pianist Who Plays the Steinway
Piano Exclusively, Honored at Notable
Gathering of Musicians in the Piano
Salon of Lyon & Healy, Chicago.
VT.ADTM1R HOROWITZ AND THK LATK ERNEST
I'ROHS OF STEINWAY & SONS. TAKBN IN
El'ROrK D['R1NG MR. URCHS' r.AST
TRIP ABROAD.
$2 The Yeai
Radio receivers manufactured by the Jesse French
& Sons Piano Company, New Castle, Ind., have met
with a great reception since they were announced
two weeks ago in the trade papers. A flood of re-
sponses has come in at the factory headquarters at
New Castle, Ind., and every indication points to con-
tinuously increasing business.
Certainly Jesse French & Sons have the best of
facilities for making the finest radio sets; in fact,
the experience of the cabinet department of their
factory runs to producing the most artistic workman-
ship. This, together with the good taste of the
Messrs. French and associates and their demand to
produce nothing short of the best in any department
of the factory, is equivalent to a guarantee of desirable
instruments in their entirety in their new enterprise.
The facilities of the Jesse French factories are
such that they are perfectly equipped for this addi-
tional line that they have engaged in, and Presto-
Times, as well as the trade at large, will watch with
interest how these radios will stand the exacting tests
of the trade and the users, and anticipates getting
some expressions from them about these products.
R. R. EDWARDS JOINS WEAVER.
R. R. Edwards, who for the past five years has
been associated with the Arthur Jordan Piano Co.,
Washington, D. C, has joined the Weaver Piano Co.,
Inc., York, Pa., in a dual capacity, in accordance with
a new plan recently organized by the Weaver Piano
Co., Inc., for closer cooperation between merchant
and manufacturer. Mr. Edwards' long and success-
ful retail experience has equipped him ideally for the
work of this new department.
President C. J. Roberts of the National Association
of Music Merchants is sending to the members a
rather unusual communication in the form of a reso-
lution which he tells the members should have been
proposed and adopted at the last convention, and
"would have been if any of us had thought of it."
President Roberts feels that every member of the
association should be productive of at least one new
member in the association between now and the next
convention, to be held in Chicago, at the Drake Hotel,
week of June 3, 1929, and that, as the dues have been
reduced to $10, without any initiation fee, and dues
paid now will cover the entire year of 1929, applica-
tions should be secured as soon as possible. In dis-
cussing this subject, President Roberts said,
Way to Bigger Membership.
"For some time it has seemed to me that one of
the methods by which we can convey through the
spoken word the importance of every reputable retail
music merchant in the country becoming a part of
the promotional work which the National Association
is carrying on, is through the Association's own mem-
bers. Everybody knows the manner in which mem-
bership in various lodges, social clubs, and other
business or social organizations, is increased, is
through members speaking to their friends or acquain-
tances who may be eligible.
"I doubt very much if many of our members have
any idea of the possibilities for very greatly increasing
membership in our association, which lies in activity
which they could, if they would, undertake for the
benefit of the association and the trade at large. It
does not mean the expenditure of a great deal of time
or energy. The very gratifying interest in the asso-
ciation's activities which was manifested during the
recent trip of our executive secretary, Mr. Loomis, to
certain places in the far west, shows what may be
done with our association. In some cities where we
had had only one member, and in some cases none at
all, it was possible to record one hundred per cent
membership in the Association.
"While I have said that each one of our Individual
Active Members should bring in one new member
between now and the next convention in Chicago, I
am not placing a limit upon the number each member
may secure and I have in mind making some proper
acknowledgement at the time of the convention to
those members who secure the largest number of new
members in the Association prior to the convention.
We are not offering cash prizes but I can assure our
members that exceptional success in bringing in new
members will receive its due reward."
The Letter to the Trade.
The communication from Mr. Roberts which is
being mailed this week to all individual members of
the association entitled "A Most Important Communi-
cation from Your President," is as follows:
"Whereas, Our Association can use a lot of new
members, and in fact actually needs them, and
"Whereas, Our present members crave something
to do for the good of the Association, and
"Whereas. Among quite a number of things that
they can do is to assist in increasing the member-
ship, and
"Whereas, Each present member ought to be able
to secure at least one member each, and
"Whereas, Each Officer, including Commissioners,
particularly ought to be able to secure not only his
one member, but more, and
"Whereas, If all officers and members will cooper-
ate in this effort to extend our work and increase our
usefulness by increasing our membership, we can
count upon success, be it therefore
"Resolved, that the President be requested to invite
all officers and members to, if possible, secure one
new member each, between now and the time of the
next Convention, and that the Board of Directors be
requested to provide appropriate means to, at the next
convention, distinguish those who have been success-
ful in the degree in which they are successful.
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