Music Trade Review

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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
From the Editor's Note Book.
The fact is Mr. Blumenberg has seen his
enormous commissions (in his mind) on
ARE
PRESENTED—GREETINGS FROM THE REVIEW
PROSPECTS FOR
THE
NEW YEAR—POSSIBLE CHANGES.
trust deals vanish into thin air. He has
not yet become fully aroused to the pecu-
HE funniest thing in trade jour- inated that massive cranial dome when he liarities of the situation, and probably has
nalism that has occurred for penned the above.
not acquired sufficient information to tell
No use to deny it, writes "Piano Man" definitely just where he is at. That will,
some time past, appeared in
the Courier Annex, last Sat- Blumenberg, that a twin quotation to his come later, and in the meanwhile we may
urday, under the caption, expression, "That settles it." He alternates expect a series of letters from this same
"Steinway and the Syndi- them so readers will not get tired.
old "piano man," who wants to move the
cate." This article at the first blush ap-
If evidence were needed that Mr. Blu- trade with his lever, but to use his own
peared to be a letter addressed to the Cour- menberg has completely lost his head in words, he can hardly get the fulcrum fixed,
ier Annex from a "piano man."
the trust matter, it seems to me that the and it requires an awful big lever to move it.
The letter contained among other things evidence is supplied fully in this letter
It looks as if Mr. Blumenberg were se-
a criticism of Chas. H. Steinway's attitude from the "piano man," and, by the way, riously tangled up in those "six hundred
toward the syndicate, as expressed in an that signature is very familiar because, if and seventy-five trains that are running
interview printed in the Annex. The hu- we recollect, years ago Mr. Blumenberg out of the Pennsylvania Railroad station
morous part, however, is that the ear was attacking the original piano makers' daily"—in fact after reading the article
marks of Mr. Blumenberg are apparent association in his own paper under a series one is led to believe that Mr. Blumenberg
throughout the latter—in fact Mr. Blumen- of letters signed by "an old piano man." had an imaginary encounter with the
berg just oozes out at every punctuation The same signature occurs this time, and "six hundred and seventy-five trains out
point. How in the world an editor whose who but Mr. Blumenberg could write in so of the Pennsylvania Railroad station," a
peculiarities are so well known to the trade thoroughly, completely and overwhelm- ten million dollar dividend, a twenty mil-
as Mr. Blumenberg's could write the follow- ingly eulogistic a strain as appears above? lion dollar commission, the crowned heads
ing and print it in his own paper is really It is really the silliest, weakest, most vapid of Europe, the great piano magnates of the
beyond the ken of ordinary mortals. Here's thing that a man who poses as an editor West, and the Steinway stockholders all
could be guilty of. How much more manly rolled in one.
an extract:
it would have been to have printed the
" Your edition of Saturday last published an interview
Well, this is a funny world any way, and
with Mr. Steinway, the head of the Steinway house, on the
matter as straight editorial, without any
present syndicate discussion. I read the interview carefully
without these humorous incidents now
over and over again, and with the proper courtesy send
attempt on his part to hide behind this
you my views on it first, because it appeared in your paper.
and then we should probably all fall into
I hold a copy of this incase you refuse to publish this opin-
mysterious old "piano man." No editor
decline.
ion on that interview, for I propose to send it to that trade
living would print such a communication
paper which I consider should be the next to have the offer
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* *
in case I cannot publish it in your columns. I shall, in case
from purely an anonymous source. He
of a denial to publish in the next trade paper, try all the
Everybody is asking this week, "What is
others, one by one, until all have refused to print this reply
would first obtain the real name of the new in the trade ? " "What changes will take
and then I shall publish it in some other medium,
"You may publish this; I doubt it. I'll tell you why I
writer as a guarantee of good faith, and place the first of the year? "
doubt it. You will show it to Stein ways first and they will
I'll wager that Mr. Blumenberg cannot
request you to suppress and you will be obliged to
As a matter of fact there will be this
suppress it. I don't believe in all these rumors about
produce an individual who will affirm year as in all former yeans a little shifting
Steinways owning or even controlling your papers and your
Blumenberg Press. They have about all they want to
under oath that he wrote and mailed the of traveling men and salesmen, some re-
attend to without assuming such responsibilities; but,
nevertheless, I do believe that the relations of that house to
original "Steinway and the Syndicate" organizing and rehabilitating on new
your enterprises are so old, so thoroughly engrafted in the
manuscript to the Courier Annex office
two systems and so completely identified with the past
lines, some tossing off a little ballast here,
history of a score of years in both the musical profession
before the day of publication.
and the musical trade of the country that, like the Siamese
some taking on a little at another point.
twins, the one must have the other or each must have the
It surely does not require the aid of a But after all there are no great changes on
one who is not the one himself in order to continue logically
on the basis ot the past successes of the two institutions, for
Yerkes
telescope to see through this whole tap for the beginning of the year of 1898.
Steinways are still at the head of all piano houses and
appear still to hold the key, with no prospect of resigning
matter. I hardly think that Steinway & The new year, however, promises to be
it, and your papers are the representative organs of their
kind for distancing all others, as we all know.
Sons would consider it necessary to obtain one in which there will be considerable
Of course it is foolish and nonsensical for any person to
information
as to just who wrote the criti- activity, as there are plans maturing which
deny these facts, and I do not question them; I merely refer
to them to show you that I take a broad view of the case, and
cisms on Mr. Steinway's utterances.
may bring about some changed conditions
for that reason I attribute to you a broad conduct, which
means that you are not owned by Steinways at all, and yet
Marc A. Blumenberg, the would-be hero ere the spring months shall have passed.
that, being the two greatest institutions of their respective
of the battle of Manhattan Beach, now However, I do not believe in making pre-
kinds, it is but natural that a mutual gravitation must exist
for mutual interests and advantages, and that hence this
passed into history, is, in my opinion, dictions, it is quite enough to meet the
article will first be shown to Steinways before you decide
to publish it, and that only after they have seen it, and you
without question the author of the docu- present without going into extensive pre-
and they have agreed to pass it as fair or consider it policy
not to reject it, will it be printed by you. I therefore send
ment. It only makes his moral cowardice dictions regarding the future.
it to you early in the week so that they and you will have
more apparent to secrete himself behind
ample time to debate it before deciding."
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# *
this
mythical "piano man."
As The Review year closes to-day, this
Imagine what modesty must have dom-
THE
11
LETTER
FROM A " PIANO
COURIER
ANNEX ARE VISIBLE
MAN
IN WHICH
THE
EAR
MARKS OK THE EDITOR
SOME MODEST STATEMENTS EXCERPTS FROM
OF THE
WHICH