Music Trade Review

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8
THE
MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
in experience to be very much more satisfactory
when requiring a player-piano to exchange such
an instrument for one of the fine American-built
articles manufactured specially to that end. In-
The Subject of Some Interesting Remarks by Our Correspondent—Reasons Why More American deed, some of the first-rate London firms who deal
Pianos Are Not Sold in Great Britain—Some Points in This Connection—American Player largely in player-pianos will decline to put their
Actions, However, Control the Market—Many News Items of Interest.
American "players" into an ordinary piano.
The sales of the American player-pianos are by
(Exclusive Correspondence of Music Trade Review.)
of readjustment seems to set right the curious no means confined to Great Britain. The player
'tightening' tendency developed.
actions hereinbefore enumerated are equally popu-
London, Eng., Nov. 28, 1911.
"The second chief reason militating against an
lar in other countries in Europe and extensive
That there is room in the British market for a
very much larger number of American-made pianos •. increase in popularity of American instruments sales of complete American pianos fitted with
seems to be the system adopted in the States of
"players" have been made of late years in Rus-
than come at present to this side of the Atlantic
varnishing piano cases'with copal or oil varnish.
sia, Sweden, Belgium, Holland, Spain, France and
is' a fact beyond any question. There is indeed a
Italy. The firm of Kastner & Co. have been es-
very fine opening for pianoforte manufacturers in This again is entirely unsuitable to the humid at-
mospheric conditions here which almost directly
pecially to the fore in the exhibition field, and their
the United States who will undertake to comply
cause a case so varnished to be covered with small player actions as shown at the recent Turin ex-
with certain specific requirements which are a
cracks and a bluish haze. The best system for
hibition have certainly resulted in an increasing
sine qua non for the English dealer. Such com
Europe and the one adopted both in England and
demand for American pianos throughout Italy.
pliance will, however, certainly have to be made
all over the Continent is that of French polishing, The firm's Autopiano has even achieved the feat
before business can be done. It is not a matter
which is solely a shellac process. This not only of pleasing so exacting a critic as Puccini, the
of the quality of the manufacture. So far as that
famous Italian maestro, who has given them a
is concerned it is fully recognized by all the prin- improves the instrument from the point of view
cipal London firms that in this department the of the musical expert, but its appearance also is handsome testimonial, and it is a big feather in
American instrument makers have nothing to learn greatly enhanced, a fact which has to be taken the cap of the American makers that to-day Italian
into full account considering that the piano is purchasers of pianos much prefer that their in-
from those of any country on the Continent of
usually destined to adorn the best room in ihe struments should bear the names of makers in
Europe, Germany included. It is rather in certain
modern mansion. This difficulty has recently been the United States rather than those of Italian
other essentials that if attended to will largely
overcome by many American piano makers who houses. Of course a great point to help sales is
popularize your instruments here that some con-
are now sending their piano cases over in the the presence in the establishment of assistants of
cessions must be made.
rough; that is to say, unvarnished or veneered; various nationalities who can deal with customers
The correspondent of The Music Trade Review
and
where these latter processes have been left
in their own language, and here the firm of Kast-
had an interesting conversation on a recent date
with a member of the firm of Steinway & Sons, to be done in the London workshops the result ner & Co. score heavily, as their salesmen are not
has been very much more satisfactory from the only polyglot, but all their piano literature is dupli-
who are, of course, a leading American firm in
cated in half a dozen languages at least.
England and are doing one of the largest busi- selling point of view."
It is a fact also that the American piano
At present there are only some two or three
nesses on this side. This gentleman gave several
makers have scarcely yet hit upon the exact style factories at most in London making the American
reasons, quite cogent in themselves, to account
of case that best suits the English market. Amer- player actions, but it is much more likely that these
for the fact that American-built pianos have not
ican dealers on this 1 side are engaged in trying to will be extended in the future than that the Eng-
made more headway on the English market than
has been the case. He says: "The principal cause overcome these various difficulties and as a re- lish makers of player-pianos will bring their prod-
is' the apparent impossibility of acclimatizing the sult more and more American-made pianos are ucts up to the requisite scale of excellence enabling
American instrument to the humid British atmos- being imported. The present system adopted is them to compete on even terms. Of course the
frequently on the lines of a mutual arrangement better mechanism means a heavier expense, but the
phere. A piano which fulfils every requirement as
player is no longer the toy that it was once con-
regards tone, touch and mechanical excellence in between New York, Hamburg and England.
America is frequently found to have entirely and
Finally there is the question of price. The cost sidered to be. It has received the imprimatur of
irretrievably 'gone off almost immediately upon
even wholesale of American-made pianos is very such maestri as Paderewski, Puccini, Busoni and
Janotha, to mention but a few names in the world
its arrival here. Sounding board, case and to some
much greater than for a German instrument of
extent action are all alike affected, and no amount
the same class, while an English piano is now built of music, and must now be regarded as an almost
to compete on favorable terms with either nation. It
is a fact, of course, that the English import trade is
very considerably in the hands of German manu-
facturers. The bigger American houses of Lon-
don have always been able to maintain themselves;
nevertheless the German is still the most important
factor on the British market, and is closely fol-
lowed by the French, who build some beautiful
instruments of perfect tone and quality. Before
the Americans can enter the rank of first-rate com-
petitors they must, then, amend their price schedule
in the first place, and in the second contrive to
adapt their piano to the British climate. The fact
of cheaper materials owing to the enormous timber
resources in the States' is more than counterbal-
anced by the higher wage scale paid on your side,
which must always be a strong deterrent factor in
a keenly competitive market.
With regard to the player-piano the outlook is
much more rosy from the American point of view.
Every Packard owner if a Packard
Indeed the best of the player-piano business is
booster. He is more than satis-
altogether in American hands, as a recent visit
of The Review correspondent around the principal
fied—for he has received more
player-piano dealers' of the British capital abund-
than "full value" for his money
antly went to show. Whereas the British player
actions are so poor in quality as to have been left
THEY'RE
That's the reason Packard pianos
almost out of account by dealers here, there is no
WORTH
are easy to sell—and that's the
difficulty at all in selling the superior American
IT
reason you will find profit and
actions; for the public, whether virtuosi or ama-
pleasure in selling them. Also it's
teur, requiring a player-piano naturally wants to
To the manufacturer who
buy the very best.
the reason why we are finding it
values bis reputation, and to
easy tu get the better dealers
There are many American player-pianos which
the dealer who wants his cus-
leave nothing to be desired from the point of
everywht*e to handle them. Write
tomer's confidence, demand
quality and expression on the British market.
them in the pianos you han-
The Packard Company, Fort
dle—especially in the players
Among them we would cite especially the Pianola
Wayne, 1 *diana—to-day. If we
—made of superior German
manufactured
by
the
Orchestrelle
Co.,
of
New
arc not already represented in
felt
Bond street; Autopiano sold by Kastner & Co.,
your territory, we may be glad
of Margaret street; the Melville Clark player of
to make agency arrangements
the C. H. Wagener Co., of Great Portland street;
401-424 E. 163d St., New York
with you—and it may mean for
the Angelus, a specialty of Marshall, Rose & Co.
Chicago Office: Republic Bldg.
yu the one big opportunity.
In all these cases literally nothing is left to be
desired. Some American player actions are able
to be installed in British pianos, but it is found
AMERICAN PIANOS AND PLAYERS IN ENGLAND
THEY
COST
MORE
A satisfied customer
is a real profit maker
—the best salesman a
piano dealer can possibly
have