Part 1 (1/2)

The Pianolist

by Gustav Kobbe

I THE titLE AND PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK

My book, ”How to Appreciate Music,” in the chapter devoted to the pianoforte, contains a paragraph relating to the Pianola and its influence in popularizingraph I was puzzled to knohat ter the instrunation which not only does not appeal to me, but, furtherhmechanical in its effects

The result?--I took a cross cut and arrived straight at the word Pianola as being the name of the most widely known piano-player, and happily derived from the name of the most widely known instrument, the pianoforte or, as it is more popularly termed, the piano For this reason the terraph referred to and now is employed in this book; and, for the same reason, this book is called ”The Pianolist” It is believed to be the title least requiring explanation, if, indeed, it requires any explanation at all Right here, however, I must add that the company which eneric term

So much for the title Now for the purpose of this book

Soon after the publication of ”How to Appreciate Music” I discovered that the paragraph concerning this new musical instrument had made a hit It idely quoted as evidence of the ”up-to-dateness” of the book and I began to receive letters from pianola owners ere pleased that the nized in a serious book onthese was a letter fro that I should write a book for the use of those ned piano-players Mr Mason and myself never have met

He knows me merely as an author of a book on music All I know of hiists' trade paper in Detroit Yet froestion which has led e from his letter, he had not been deeply interested in h it, was led to ask for a book which would tell hi about an art that was beginning to have eloquence and nificant, for there must be thousands of others like hireat awakening just is coh the pianola--at first a means of amusement, then an educator with the eleher order, left in!

Shortly after I received Mr Mason's letter an incident added greatly to the force of his suggestion I always have been very fond of Schubert's ”Rosamunde” impromptu The first person I heard play it publicly was Annette Essipoff, a Russian pianist and one of the very few great women pianists of the world Frequently I have heard it since then, but never so char part of the story

One night I was at my desk in my study, when, suddenly, I heard the strains of this impromptu, which is an air with variations, fro roo to the character of the variations; and, when the last variation began with a crispness and delicacy that reat virtuoso was atroohter seated at a pianola The instrument had arrived only a short tione South for the winter My daughter never had had a music lesson, never had heard Schubert's ”Rosamunde” impromptu Yet she had, without any effort, been the first to takework! It would have been ludicrous had it not meant so much

In fact it was ludicrous because, a few days before, when the instrument had just been delivered and set up, I had been deceived in

But to return to the Schubert ihter, the associate editor of a druggist' paper in Detroit, and irl, the third a writer on a trade paper, the fourth a music critic--what a leveller of distinctions, what a universal o the virtuoso and the music critic would have been the only ones concerned The schoolgirl and the trade paper editor wouldn't have been ”in it” Now, the schoolgirl was playing like a virtuoso and the writer on drugs and druggists was giving hints to thethe musical elect and those who formerly would have had to re! This may not always appeal to the reat enuinely musical but have lacked the opportunity for musical study or to those whose taste for ht out

To paraphrase a few sentences from my ”How to Appreciate Music” that have been much quoted:--

”'Are you musical?'

”'No,' nine persons out of ten will reply; 'I neither play nor sing'

”'Your answer shows a co of the case Because you neither play nor sing, it by no means follows that you are unmusical If you love music and appreciate it, you ers; or latent within you and only awaiting the touchstone of music there may be a deeper love and appreciation of the art than can be attributed to many virtuosos For most of a virtuoso's love and appreciation is apt to be centered upon himself And when you say, 'I cannot play,' you areof the pianoforte You may not be able to play that But you or any one else can play the pianola, and that instantly places at your coreatest virtuosos can boast”

One purpose of this book thus is to bring home to people an appreciation of what this arded as a toy hich the business time after business hours, or as a serious e one, is to furnish pianolists with a guide to the ht play if their attention were directed to it and to some of its characteristics, and to point out the ioodthis book a purpose which I may describe as personal I believe I was the first Aner music dramas that seemed to be what the public wanted, and the first to contribute to a eneral circulation an article on Richard Strauss It is aline--even if it is the privilege of those atch the battle from a safe distance to dictate the despatches and take the credit for the result to themselves And so, I wish to be the first to write a book on the pianola, an instruress and popular spread of lireat part it is destined to play

II THE CHARM OF PLAYING A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT YOURSELF

Hoish I could play like that! What is more co to a great virtuoso or even only to a fairly clever amateur? They realize that, no reater fascination in being the performer Not a musical person but would play if he could

Why, however, that ”if”? It no longer exists It has been eli a musical instrument yourself can be yours, and the only ”if” to it is--if you have intelligence enough to appreciate what that means

What formerly was an insuperable obstacle, the lack of technical facility--the real inability to play--absolutely has been done aith There is no excuse for anybody's not playing ants to The pianola furnishes the technique, the dexterity, the finger facility, or whatever you may choose to call it So far as this is concerned the instrument itself makes you a virtuoso--places you on a par with a Liszt, Paderewski or Rosenthal It does so mechanically, yet without the sharpness and insistent preciseness of a machine Its action is pneumatic and the effect of the compressed air is to iers” strike the keys--an elasticity which at least is coers As a friend of mine, a lawyer, who has owned three pianolas and who actually has been ot a ood as a virtuoso, you've got so of enormous importance to the whole world” And so you have