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NQ. 11 . Francis William Knorp « Editor San Francisco, California MAY 1966

Our meeting for this month will be on FRIDAY« MAY 20th at 8:00 PM, In the home ofSherwood Poppe, 1682 Lower Grand Avenue, Piedmont, Calif. We are indebted toour host for the excellent accompanying map, indicating how to get to his home. Themeeting will feature a 1928 WEBER "DUO-ART" 5' 9" GRAND PIANO. Finished inwalnut, the piano was restored by Mr. Edward F. Parker in Berkeley, Calif. in 1965.It was bought at the Cline Piano Co. in San Francisco by Sherwood Poppe, afterhaving bought a modern player-piano which was completely unsatisfactory!

RECENT FACTSTwo meetings ago MR. ALF E. WEROLIN gave us a fine talk on the subject of

maintenance and care of rolls. It is included in this month's AMICA Bulletin. In thenext issue will be included an article on Piano TLining by MR. JAMES C. ABER. Thearticle was read in its entirety at the last meeting, and it made such an impressionthat it w.ill be included in the next "'~MICA! Our last meeting (April) was held in thehome of JIM KOHNKE and again it is so wonderful to hear a reproducing piano thatreally works! It is most gratifying and it is amazing what such an ins t rume nt can dounder ideal conditions!

VLADIMIR HOROWITZ gave another recital in Carnegie Ball. The populacepacked the place again--his second recital after a twelve year self-imposed retire­ment. A biogra phical sketch will be included in this Bulletin.

ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN will give another Jan Francisco recital in the Spring of1967.

ALEXANDER BRAILOWSKY may possibly give a San Francisco recital about thesame time, but no date has yet been set.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES Of. ROLL ARTISTS:

vVILHELM BACHAU S. (sometimes spelled Backhaus), still is recognized as oneof the foremost concert pianists in Europe. He was recognized as such fifty yearsago! Born in Leipzig on March 26, 1884. After studying at the Leipzig Conservatoryfor five years he went to Frankfort. He became a pupil of the famous pianist-com­poser, Eugen d' Albert. He later studied by himself and began concertizing in 1900.He won the Rubinstein prize in 1905. Bachaus came to America in 1912 and made hi~

debut as soloist with the New York Symphony Orchestra. He played the Beethoven"Bmperor" Conc'erto , The conductor was Walter Damrosch. Naturally, he-receivedthe usual bravos from the critics. One of them said he was Uszt, Rubinstein andP~derewsJd rolled into one. A well-known Chicago critic said of him that" he 1s a

'. · , :~::';:pJa.n1st on the order of Moriz Rosenthal. He has that absolute command of the key-

):::,';;' ; ·~[~d. n , .The r()l1s made for reproducing pianos are well-known I and the p-e-war , <

_ -.:~. recOl:d. , including ·t he Brahms D-MinOl' Concerto, the Grieg Concerto, the'./t:~~JJilia'.Walt~. and 'Brahms Variations on a Theme of Paganini were standbys among the ·. f :>t;j.]~"'~ Puffs "of the period. (tarly Eleetr1cals) Bachaus has an unusual. collection ~t ? }f~~~t~~~.-iIt~. ~\'llicluded are thoseofBrtlbms 'and Gustav Mahlei:. ' ;Mahler ai9l1«l'the ,."':"'-·3>·:; · ·~~:": ;· l:~Jj~I~~?:t1t~~l:~~~~~~; ~~~~?~ ~~' .~~. :;-/-'~.:. :_~.~ ';~:b'< - .,.·:,~f1r<~~::: ~ ~;:. : ~. ·· .':-'" :.:.. '." ' . ~ ~~:s "it,: .", .: ~~~*:.~~~~,~~tr;~~_:: ~/:" :\~·~t~:·~;;~1~7 ;~:~./ ~:·;' ~~·;:~ii

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_ book adding the words: lithe further you go, the less you must hurry." Bachaus nowrecords for London Stereo and his recordings of the Beethoven Concertos with modemsound are excellent in every way!

VLADIMIR HOROWITZ. Paderewski called him the greatest of the youngerpianists. Horowitz was born in Kiev on October I, 1904. After studying with hismother, he went to the Kiev Conservatory where his teacher was Felix Blumenfeld.Horowitz graduated with honors. His uncle was a music critic and it was he whoarranged for the first public concert, which took place in 1922. In 1923 alone hegave 70 concerts of which 23 were in Leningrad. He was often paid with flour andbutter due to cond it ion s in the country at that time. :n 1924 he toured Europe, andin Gerrnany , many called him Busoni's successor. In Paris he was considered bymany to be successor to Anton Rubinstein. Horowitz's American debut took place onJanuary 12 1 1928 with the New York Philharmonic, Sir Thomas Beecham conducting.The concerto was the 'I'ac ha ikow s ky piano concerto No.1. Olin Downes wrote:" Hi s treatment of the work was a whirlwind of virtuoso interpretation .••. " In 1932'I'oscaruni chose Horowit z to perform the Beethoven "Emperor" Concerto with the NewYork Philharmonic. He met, at that time, Vianda Toscanini (Toscanini's dauqhter) ,He married her in 1933. Horowit z retired from concert work until 1938. At that timethere were rumors he would never again concertize. He returned to Ame ric a oftenuntil he decided 12 years ago to retire. He had recorded for Victor many outstandingconcertos and piano pieces plus the fine DUO-Art rolls he made in the late 1920' s .During the 12 years retirement he act ually did make recordings and for the past fewyears he has been rccordfnc for Columbia. In 1965 he decided to give a CarnegieHall concert. He did, and it was recorded by Columbia. Another concert wasannounced in 1966. Two hundred people, in order to get tickets, arrived outsideCarnegie Hall with sleeping bags and pillows. He played again magnificently. Hesigned a five-year contract wit h Columbia records. On May 8th he played again at

-Rutgers University. Will he ever come to San Francisco again? Time will re Il ,

AMPICO and DUO-ART ROLL MAINTENANCE SUGGESTIONS

BY ALF E. v-fROUN

Mechanical Precautions

1. Be sure that tracking device operates properly.2. Be sure that reroll speed is not exces sfvely fast, and that the paper is

not taut during rewind •. 3. Check spring tension on left-hand plunger--shouldn't be too strong •

..··: 4 . Do not apply lacquer on tracker bar. OK to polish, but watch holes.:" .:;:: : Paper must slide over easily, with minimum of function •.

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Roll Storage Or Handling

1. Do not place rolls on or near a radiator, or leave in sun.2. Keep rolls in boxes--helps keep moisture out and temperature even.3. Insert and remove rolls by grasping right flange at end of roll. Don't

grab roll at middle. Be sure right- hand plunger is definitely engaged inslot. (U se knurled position of plun ger to make sure)

4. Upon removinq roll, hold gently at center and tum right-hand flangelightly--until "birdie" just begins to whistle. Don't overtighten anddon't leave loose. This prevents edges of roll from overlapping flangesand becoming da:-::aged and keeps moisture out of paper.

5. Carefully, place :i small rubber band on roll. Protects and keeps paperfrom swelling .

Roll Repairs

1. Check hook tab--replace if not soft and pliable. Be sure hook is in exactmiddle of roll and that paper ad; aoerit to tab is not torn. Repair andstrengthen this trnportant area promptly.

_ 2. On old rolls there is a tendency for left-hand flange to be too loose andfor cardboara core to be shorter than roll paper. Thus, as roll nears endof its play, the spring on the left-hand plunger will push flange in tighter.On reroll, therefore, edges of roll will curl or fold up and if paper isbrittle, will s plrt I crack and tear.

--Remedy: wrap one thickness of scotch tape around hub of flange,and slip one or two O-ring gaskets over the hub, pushing themagainst t ne flange. Very small thick rubber bands might also work.

Cuts ide diameter of hub == 47/64 "Ir.s ide diameter of core = 3/4"Len qt h of Scotch Tape to go around hub = 2-1/3"

Don't per mit overlap, or flange will be " c oc ke ye d " .

3. If edges become torn , mend with Scotch Magic Ivl e n din g (invisible) tape.DO NOT USE REGULAR SCOTCH TAPE--it turns yellow and brittle in a fewyears and will eventuaIly ruin the roll. If expression holes are near tornedge, cut mending tape lengthwise in half, or in thirds, and apply care­fully on top surface of role, being sure not to extend tape beyond edge ofroll paper. It is best to apply these strips in about 2" lengths. This canbe done right at the piano, but is easier if you can lay the roll out flat ona table top.