Music Trade Review
Issue: 1917 Vol. 65 N. 10 - Page 45
Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
TOSCANINl GIVEN DECORATION
STRADIVARIUS SECRET DISCOVERED
Conductor Honored by Italian Government for
Bravery Under Fire—A Good Example of the
Value of Music in Modern Warfare
Electrician in Topeka Believes He Has Repro-
duced Stradivarius Tone in Violin After Years
of Costly Experimenting and Hard Work
Arturo Toscanini, the noted Italian conductor,
whose work is equally well known on both sides
of the Atlantic, especially as musical director at
the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, up
to two years ago, has been decorated by the
Italian Government for great bravery under fire.
Toscanini kept his military band playing during
the battle of Monte Santo, the soldiers storming
a position of the enemy to the strains of martial
music. In the midst of the firing, and at a
time when the Austrian barrage fire was at its
height, Toscanini led his band to an advanced
position where, sheltered only by a huge rock, he
kept his men playing until word was brought to
him that the Austrian trenches had been taken
by the Italian soldiers. The decoration of this
gallant leader is not only a fitting personal trib-
ute, but is also a recognition of the value of
music in military operations. Men fight better,
even as they play better, when accompanied
by music, and the present military plans being
laid by the American Government very wisely
include the equipping and sending to the front
of a sufficient number of bands to keep the
American soldiers inspired with patriotic ardor,
as well as to cheer them when they become
weary from the hardships which they will un-
dergo.
TOPEKA, KAN., September 4.—Once again has the
secret of the tone of the Stradivarius violin been
rediscovered, 200 years after the death of the
master violin maker. This time the discovery
of the long lost secret of tone is credited to
C. N. Nutter, chief electrician of the Santa Fe
Railroad.
It is said that Nutter spent more than $8,000
in experimenting with different woods which he
secured from various parts of the world. He
even secured pieces of the "silver fir" from
Italy, the wood believed to have been used by
Stradivarius in making his instruments, and
eventually found a wood that suited him in a
spruce that grows at the edge of the snow line in
the Arizona mountains.
Having completed the instrument Nutter be-
gan to experiment with the finish, with indif-
ferent success, until, reading some historical liter-
ature, he learned that the merchants of Venice at
about the time of Stradivarius carried on an ex-
tensive trade with China in amber. He secured
some amber from China and then had to work
hard until he discovered through accident an acid
that would act as an amber solvent. After mak-
ing a number of violins, using on them the newly
discovered finsh, Nutter effected a number of
improvements until he now declares he has an
instrument that measures up to the genuine
Stradivarius standard.
He plans next winter to have his instruments
tested by some of the famous violinists, includ-
ing Kreisler, who naturally ranks as an expert.
ZITHER PIANO PATENTED
WASHINGTON, D. C, September 4.—Patent No.
1,238,718 for a zither-piano was last week granted
to Henry F. Schenuit, Pasadena, Cal., one-half
of which has been assigned to Marie Sebastian
Wustum, same place.
It is an object of this invention to provide
a zither-piano which has a piano key action with
dampers and adapted to be actuated in the same
manner as a regular piano and with the same
rapidity of movement so that the tones obtained
by striking the keys will be clear and suscepti-
ble to modulation by the player.
NEW WEYMANN UKULELE
45
RUN0
T H E OLDEST AND
LARGEST MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE HOUSE
IN AMERICA
Exclusively Wholesale
35I-53R»URTH AVE. NEWYORKCITY
VIC tor Distrihufoi-s
DEATH OF WILLIAM 0 . PETERSON
Veteran Traveler for Small Goods Department
of the Oliver Ditson Co., Boston, Passes Away
in That City—Had Long Experience
BOSTON, MASS., September 1.—William O. Peter-
son, a valued employe of the Oliver Ditson Co.,
died a few days ago and was buried from his
home in Medford Hillside. Mr. Peterson was
fifty-six years old and was born in Boston.
For fifteen years he had been a traveling sales-
man for department B of the Ditson house, and
he was extremely familiar with the musical in-
strument line, which he represented. He be-
gan business with G. W. Stratton, located in
Hanover street, a number of years ago, and
later he associated himself with Thompson &
Odell, for whom he traveled. Then he ac-
cepted a position as New England traveler for
the Ditson concern. Mr. Peterson was a mem-
ber of the Masons and Odd Fellows, and is sur-
vived by his wife and two sons.
H. A. Weymann & Son, Inc., Placing Ukulele
With Beveled Back on the Market
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
PHILADELPHIA, PA., September 4.—H. W. Wey- free of charge for men who desire positions
mann, president of H. A. Weymann & Son, of any kind.
Inc., states that there is an extraordinary de-
mand for small goods in all sections of the
country. Manufacturers everywhere are work-
HAPPY MAN
ing their factories to capacity, and still are un-
The happiest man in the world lives in able to keep pace with the orders which are
Georgia; he has six fiddles, ten children, thir- pouring in. The. Weymann concern is placing
teen hounds, a deaf and dumb wife and a moon- a new form of ukulele on the market, of the
shine still that has never been "spotted" by the same size as the standard Hawaiian instrument,
the only difference being that the back is beveled
Government.—Buffalo News.
instead of being flat. This form of construction
gives the new instrument a harp-like tone which
satisfy the most exacting buyers. Try
is very different from the ordinary ukulele tone,
Helmet, II Trovatore and La Melodia
and the instrument has met with instant favor
Violin Strings.
wherever it has been placed on sale.
AND
rmottrs
Musical Instrument
Strings
DURRO
STEWART
Send for a wholesale Musical String
and Accessory catalogue
OLIVER DITSON CO.
Largest Wholesale
Musical Merchandise
House in America
BOSTON, MASS.
M anuf acturers
NEW
YORK
MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE
Attractive Specialties
Modern Service
ESTABLISHED 1834
MUSICAL
Merchandise
Cincinnati
Chicago
Importers and Jobbers ol
Buegeleisen & Jacobson
113 University Place
Armour & Company
Chicago
HEWMAW
Superior Quality MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Victor Distributors
1108 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Established over half a century
Black Diamond
Strings
THE WORLD'S BEST
National Musical String Co.
Nev/ Brunswick, N. J.
THE MUSIC TRADE
REVIEW
TOSCANINl GIVEN DECORATION
STRADIVARIUS SECRET DISCOVERED
Conductor Honored by Italian Government for
Bravery Under Fire—A Good Example of the
Value of Music in Modern Warfare
Electrician in Topeka Believes He Has Repro-
duced Stradivarius Tone in Violin After Years
of Costly Experimenting and Hard Work
Arturo Toscanini, the noted Italian conductor,
whose work is equally well known on both sides
of the Atlantic, especially as musical director at
the Metropolitan Opera House, New York, up
to two years ago, has been decorated by the
Italian Government for great bravery under fire.
Toscanini kept his military band playing during
the battle of Monte Santo, the soldiers storming
a position of the enemy to the strains of martial
music. In the midst of the firing, and at a
time when the Austrian barrage fire was at its
height, Toscanini led his band to an advanced
position where, sheltered only by a huge rock, he
kept his men playing until word was brought to
him that the Austrian trenches had been taken
by the Italian soldiers. The decoration of this
gallant leader is not only a fitting personal trib-
ute, but is also a recognition of the value of
music in military operations. Men fight better,
even as they play better, when accompanied
by music, and the present military plans being
laid by the American Government very wisely
include the equipping and sending to the front
of a sufficient number of bands to keep the
American soldiers inspired with patriotic ardor,
as well as to cheer them when they become
weary from the hardships which they will un-
dergo.
TOPEKA, KAN., September 4.—Once again has the
secret of the tone of the Stradivarius violin been
rediscovered, 200 years after the death of the
master violin maker. This time the discovery
of the long lost secret of tone is credited to
C. N. Nutter, chief electrician of the Santa Fe
Railroad.
It is said that Nutter spent more than $8,000
in experimenting with different woods which he
secured from various parts of the world. He
even secured pieces of the "silver fir" from
Italy, the wood believed to have been used by
Stradivarius in making his instruments, and
eventually found a wood that suited him in a
spruce that grows at the edge of the snow line in
the Arizona mountains.
Having completed the instrument Nutter be-
gan to experiment with the finish, with indif-
ferent success, until, reading some historical liter-
ature, he learned that the merchants of Venice at
about the time of Stradivarius carried on an ex-
tensive trade with China in amber. He secured
some amber from China and then had to work
hard until he discovered through accident an acid
that would act as an amber solvent. After mak-
ing a number of violins, using on them the newly
discovered finsh, Nutter effected a number of
improvements until he now declares he has an
instrument that measures up to the genuine
Stradivarius standard.
He plans next winter to have his instruments
tested by some of the famous violinists, includ-
ing Kreisler, who naturally ranks as an expert.
ZITHER PIANO PATENTED
WASHINGTON, D. C, September 4.—Patent No.
1,238,718 for a zither-piano was last week granted
to Henry F. Schenuit, Pasadena, Cal., one-half
of which has been assigned to Marie Sebastian
Wustum, same place.
It is an object of this invention to provide
a zither-piano which has a piano key action with
dampers and adapted to be actuated in the same
manner as a regular piano and with the same
rapidity of movement so that the tones obtained
by striking the keys will be clear and suscepti-
ble to modulation by the player.
NEW WEYMANN UKULELE
45
RUN0
T H E OLDEST AND
LARGEST MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE HOUSE
IN AMERICA
Exclusively Wholesale
35I-53R»URTH AVE. NEWYORKCITY
VIC tor Distrihufoi-s
DEATH OF WILLIAM 0 . PETERSON
Veteran Traveler for Small Goods Department
of the Oliver Ditson Co., Boston, Passes Away
in That City—Had Long Experience
BOSTON, MASS., September 1.—William O. Peter-
son, a valued employe of the Oliver Ditson Co.,
died a few days ago and was buried from his
home in Medford Hillside. Mr. Peterson was
fifty-six years old and was born in Boston.
For fifteen years he had been a traveling sales-
man for department B of the Ditson house, and
he was extremely familiar with the musical in-
strument line, which he represented. He be-
gan business with G. W. Stratton, located in
Hanover street, a number of years ago, and
later he associated himself with Thompson &
Odell, for whom he traveled. Then he ac-
cepted a position as New England traveler for
the Ditson concern. Mr. Peterson was a mem-
ber of the Masons and Odd Fellows, and is sur-
vived by his wife and two sons.
H. A. Weymann & Son, Inc., Placing Ukulele
With Beveled Back on the Market
Consult the universal Want Directory of
The Review. In it advertisements are inserted
PHILADELPHIA, PA., September 4.—H. W. Wey- free of charge for men who desire positions
mann, president of H. A. Weymann & Son, of any kind.
Inc., states that there is an extraordinary de-
mand for small goods in all sections of the
country. Manufacturers everywhere are work-
HAPPY MAN
ing their factories to capacity, and still are un-
The happiest man in the world lives in able to keep pace with the orders which are
Georgia; he has six fiddles, ten children, thir- pouring in. The. Weymann concern is placing
teen hounds, a deaf and dumb wife and a moon- a new form of ukulele on the market, of the
shine still that has never been "spotted" by the same size as the standard Hawaiian instrument,
the only difference being that the back is beveled
Government.—Buffalo News.
instead of being flat. This form of construction
gives the new instrument a harp-like tone which
satisfy the most exacting buyers. Try
is very different from the ordinary ukulele tone,
Helmet, II Trovatore and La Melodia
and the instrument has met with instant favor
Violin Strings.
wherever it has been placed on sale.
AND
rmottrs
Musical Instrument
Strings
DURRO
STEWART
Send for a wholesale Musical String
and Accessory catalogue
OLIVER DITSON CO.
Largest Wholesale
Musical Merchandise
House in America
BOSTON, MASS.
M anuf acturers
NEW
YORK
MUSICAL
MERCHANDISE
Attractive Specialties
Modern Service
ESTABLISHED 1834
MUSICAL
Merchandise
Cincinnati
Chicago
Importers and Jobbers ol
Buegeleisen & Jacobson
113 University Place
Armour & Company
Chicago
HEWMAW
Superior Quality MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
Victor Distributors
1108 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa.
Established over half a century
Black Diamond
Strings
THE WORLD'S BEST
National Musical String Co.
Nev/ Brunswick, N. J.
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