Grieg Piano Concerto, Op. 16. A Minor, 1st Movement

The artist, Marguerite Volavy, was a concert pianist who chose a career in the piano roll industry. She transcribed this concerto into a piano only performance. Her first version of this composition appeared in 1916, but she continued to upgrade and improve the performance. At least three versions of this work exist. Volavy, in two tours of employment at Ampico, became one of their most accomplished roll editors. Her skill is shown quite clearly in this work. Movements 1 & 3 have more power than most people expect from a reproducing piano, while the 2nd movement shows extreme delicacy.

All three movements are now posted on You Tube. Performed on a freshly restored Mason & Hamlin, 6'2" Ampico B

Category:

Music

Tags:

• AMICA
• MBSI
• reproducing
• player
• piano
• Ampico
• roll
• Mason
• RAA

[zigouigouix]

As an Ampico owner myself (Grotrian Steinweg 6'2"), I'm totally amazed by this performance, and instrument. Almost when I remember Douglas Anderson, revealing how commercial and of low artistic value reproducing pianos could be ...

[ampicoab]

@zigouigouix Thanks for the comment. I don't know Douglas Anderson. Perhaps you meant Douglas Henderson who is a known critic.

[gnativerson]

this is one of the best things I've ever heard ! - how was the piano miced ?

[ampicoab]

@gnativerson Thanks for the comment. Two Shure SM 81 mics were used. One is centered 12 inches over the bass strings and pointed toward the hammers at a 45 degree angle, while the other mic is over the treble strings. It is aft of the hammers, about 12 inches high over the bridge, and pointed slightly forward, towards the hammers. Both mics are completely under the piano lid.

[zigouigouix]

@ampicoab You're right : L. Douglas Henderson, from Artcraft Music Rolls ...

[ampicoab]

@aardvaark069 The question is understandable, but do you really want to dissect what is behind the music? As long as the editors can make the music sound correct and good, who cares about two crescendo devices. Rolls made after 1927 have identical bass and treble crescendo coding, so the pianos playing those rolls need only one. Compared to the "A" system, the "B" crescendo has only 50% of the authority, but acts twice as fast. I'm still trying to sort that out after 35 years of study.

[aardvaark069]

@bigcity233 I have a question for you. If the A system had two crescendos so that one part of the music could crescendo while another part of the music could stay out of it, that seems far more sophisticated musically (and realistic too) than the B concept where there is only one crescendo for the whole keyboard. If one part of the piece crescendos then the whole thing crescendos. That seems to be a far less sophisticated system to me, and yet people seem to think that the B is the best. Why?

[bigcity233]

@aardvaark069 i agree that the Ampico has the edge, however, when well restored and properly maintained, the Duo-Art can be excellent. Check out the Youtube videos posted by Steinway XR and Bartolomochristofari - both have excellent examples. 

[bigcity233]

Fantastic restoration! One of the best I've heard. Mason & Hamlin with an Ampico B - it doesn't get any better in the realm of reproducing pianos. Great sound and great recording. When you hear recordings such as these, you can understand why Ampico was the market leader in the reproducing piano field.

[aardvaark069]

The Ampico plays so much more musically than the duo-art. It's surprising that duo-art is known as the calssical music specialist when in my opinion classical is what duo-art does worst of all.