Reproducing Piano by Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Ampico, Duo-Art, Welte Reproducing Pianos

Without doubt, the most spectacular evolution of the player piano was the "reproducing piano". Through mechanical design and special roll encoding, these fabulous instruments could re-enact the performance of the artist who played the special recording piano! Fortunately these instruments came at a magical time to capture the golden age of the American Songbook from Tin Pan Alley to Broadway to Hollywood as well as the most famous classical, semi-classical and salon selections performed by world renowned pianists.

Here you could find the artistry Rhapsody in Blue actually played by George Gershwin or Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody performed by Ignace Jan Paderewski. You could sit back and listen to music from the opening night of the Ziegfeld Follies. You could imagine yourself in the Empire Room of the Palmer House or the Roof Garden of the Waldorf Astoria listening to the elegant medleys of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, Dietz & Schwartz, Rogers & Hart, Rudolf Friml, and Harry Warren played by the gifted hands of Frank Milne. Imagine a dinner party with candlelight and silver and a special dinner music roll on your Steinway Duo-Art! The music rolls are simply superb time capsules from a golden age, an elegant age!

Ampico, Duo-Art, and Welte reproducing mechanisms found their way into the famous pianos of Steinway, Mason & Hamlin, Weber, Chickering, Knabe, Wurlitzer, and more! And if you could afford it, you owned a custom art-case version.

These fantastic instruments were built for the wealthy of their day and yet they are surprisingly affordable today! And how do they compare with the computer operated solenoid pianos of today? Quite frankly in my opinion there is simply no comparison in terms of class, sound, and style! And new music rolls are available!

Enjoy the following virtual museum of the Reproducing Piano! And YES I always have prime reproducing pianos for sale. Just click on the Items For Sale.............

E-mail Tim Trager for Permission to Use Above Material in Lectures, Slide Shows, Books, and Websites.

01/01/10