Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
W. W. KIMBALL CO., of Chicago,
are to be congratulated at the outcome of
the competition at the World's Fair. Three
awards, and no small ones at that, were cap-
tured by this go-ahead house—one on the ex-
hibit of pianos, one on the reed organ exhibit,
and one on the portable pipe organ. Nowhere
else, I suppose, but in Chicago, could a house,
really in its infancy, produce goods that have
commanded so wide a market and such an un-
usual appreciation by the public. The upright
pianos on exhibition were worthy of the highest
commendation of the judges, owing to their
tone qualities and artistic construction, and the
concert grand displayed was a '' thing of
beauty." It elicited expressions of admiration
from all who saw it, not only for its full and
lovely tone, but for its exquisite finish. The
large organ was also highly praised, but the
pianos easily held first place. The merits of the
Kimball pianos have long been recognized by
many of the world's greatest artists, and it is
not surprising that their instruments should
have obtained such high honors at the World's
Columbian Exposition.
are in receipt of a very pretty waltz song,
written and composed by George W.
Peek. It is entitled "Three Little Kittens."
Mr. Peek has evidently caught the popular
fancy, and doubtless the melody will soon be as
familiar as any popular air of the day. The
composer is well known from his connection
with the musical fraternity and as head of the
celebrated piano firm, makers of the '' Opera
Grand." The cover page is the work of Beard,
the famous artist, and represents in a lifelike
manner the kittens left to their fate. We highly
recommend "Three Little Kittens." A copy
should be in the hands of every lover of music.
Hazel ton Brothers' pianos continue to
multiply and progress with the improve-
ments of our almost magical age. Mr. Sam.
Hazelton, who has inherited all the traits of his
uncle, is an extremely busy man. The pressure
of increased business duties is very evident, and
in the office department, the warerooms and the
various manufacturing branches, everything in-
dicates prosperity. Mr. Hazelton is turning out
same magnificent specimens of uprights. They
show results in tone quality which clearly de-
monstrate Mr. Hazelton's personal supervision,
for he is an admittedly expert piano-maker.
smoke from the battle-field around Sec-
tion I is clearing away. There are not
nearly so many dead or wounded after such a
sharp engagement at that place as naturally
might have been expected. Necessarily some
must be wounded ; disappointment is, without
doubt, rife with many, others may claim that
partiality for a section of country has entered
into the matter of awards. Time must heal
these temporary wounds. There is one thing in
the consideration of this matter of awards that
is absolutely true, and that is, each exhibitor
of musical instruments at the World's Fair who
entered their manufactured goods with others,
for a possible award, entered them with the full
knowledge that competition would be sharp, but
having faith in their own production, they did
well to compete, for competition is the life of
any trade, it is said, and though the much
coveted prize, "The highest degree of excel-
lence," could be given to but one, all of the
others who took position in that vast arena
where the exhibition of the highest results of
the musical genius in .the nineteenth century
was so beautifully displayed, must feel that the
recompense has been ample, has been of such
far-reaching benefit to them that the outlay for
preparation and maintaining their separate
booths, while being great, counts for but little,
when placed in comparison with the present as
well as future benefits, that must result from
any position occupied in the mightiest aggre-
gation of human ingenuity that the world has
ever seen. One day, "Chicago Day," 750,000
people acquired admission to the grounds of
Jackson Park. Probably all of this number did
not visit Section I of the Fair ; it could not be
possible. But when it is taken into account
that American people have been steadily edu-
cated in their love for music by the energy,
ingenuity, enterprise and competition of skillful
manufacturers of both pianos and organs, it is
safe to predict that a vast multitude visited the
gallery of musical sounds, and though each
exhibit was not seen by all, the countless eyes
that fell on one or another exhibitor's wares
must have made him feel that the World's Fair
afforded its compensation, even though the
much coveted award was not all he had dreamed
of or hoped for.
/T\. D^peu; j-topored.
DR. WALDTKRN PEGG, the eminent European
pianist, has dedicated a vocal work, entitled :
" Requited Love, " (which Messrs. Gordon, one
of his publishers, has sent to us), to Chauncey
M, Depew, by request of several of his friends and
relatives. " Requited Love " is a superb piece
of dramatic writing, uniquely original, and like
other of his famous works, there is noticeable
that rare taste and devotion to a lofty ideal.
Dr. Waldtern Pegg is one of the most poetically
expressive composers of our century. He has
brought forth in his operas, (" The Fairy Cir-
cle " and " Maid of Perth "), a wealth of beauti-
ful melodies, thrown about with the rich hand
recognizable in Meyerbeer's " Robert le Diable."
He has created harmonies and modulations en-
tirely his own, new and beautiful, with a clear-
ness of nature and simplicity of form doubly
gratifying in an age of musical torture, where a
number of musical, or rather unmusical, howl-
ers advocate everything that is grating on your
ears, hurtful to your perception and false to
one's organization.
ESSRS. ADRIAN H. MULLER & SON,
the auctioneers, sold at the Real Estate
Exchange on Wednesday, the 4th instant, 100
shares common stock of the Weber Piano Com-
pany, par value $100 each, for $5 for the lot.
The Weber Piano Company was incorporated
last year for $700,000.
H
TH£ WORLD'S
FAIR CITY,
(Continued from page j.)
the original of which was built by Amenoph
fifteen hundred years before Christ! Fancy the
Ferris wheel, that modern wonder, looking
down upon the tombs of the High Priest Thi,
dated five thousand years ago ! Fancy the
dancers of the Nile and of Persia clicking their
small cymbals on the shores of Lake Michigan !
Is not truth stranger than fiction at this won-
derful end of the century when the invention of
Edison throws light on Orisis and Isis ?
*
The awards thus far seem to have been gene-
rally satisfactory ; the only criticism which is
heard is that they are too numerous—that the
real value of the awards are lessened from the
fact that there are so many given to the medium
grade pianos. Still all agree that the jury acted
conscientiously, that their examination was
thorough, practical and painstaking. I have
talked with many of the exhibitors, and they
have nearly all emphasized the fact that the
jury exercised great thoroughness in their ex-
aminations.
The W. W. Kimball Co. have reason to feel
particularly elated over the recognition which
their entire product, pianos, pipe and reed
organs, have received from official hands. The
awards are strongly worded and possess great
value to the firm. Lyon & Healy have taken a
round dozen of awards. These are on the Wash-
burn guitars, mandolins and other lines which
they manufacture. The Peloubet organ is also
included. I have not seen the wording of
Sohmer & Co.'s award, but I understand that it
is of the strongest character and places them in
the very front rank. There are some of the
awards which I have read which are made to
appear stronger only by a transposition of ad-
jectives. You will recollect that I wrote pre-
viously that the interpretation of adjectives will
enter largely into the award matter, and so it
will. There are some inventions specially noted
in the wording of some of the awards. For
illustration, the Wegman tuning device, the A.
B. Chase octavo pedal, the Phelps harmony
attachment, the Reed system of stringing, the
Newman Bros.' circulating air cells, and so on.
Among the distinguished members of the
trade whom I saw in Section I this week were
Hugo Sohmer, Charles Steinway and wife,
Ernest Knabe, Henry B. Fischer and family,
Fred. P. Stieff, Rudolph Gross and family,
Jacob Doll and wife, C. H. W. Foster, P. J.
Gildemeester, O. L. Braumuller, A. G. Wigand,
E. P. Hawkins, Calvin Whitney, Carl Hoffman,
Braton S. Chase, Malcolm Love, Everett Web-
ster Furbush, Stephen Brambach.
#
I heard a pretty good story the other day
while on the roof walk on the Manufacturers'
Building. The panoramic view before one from
the height is simply overwhelming in its
grandeur and magnificence. Beside me was a
middle aged gentleman accompanied by his
young son, a lad of tender years. The boy
gazed admiringly upon the majestic scene before
him. He tugged at his father's hand, and said,
"This is a fair, ain't it, papa? " "Yes, my
son, " replied the pater. " I say, papa, this is a
big fair, ain't it ? " exclaimed the boy as his
wondering eyes took in the scene. '' Yes, my
son," said the father, slowly. That tone didn't
please the boy. He evidently thought his
father should show more enthusiasm over such