Click on the "play" button in the video to hear some light(ish) classical music played on an Ampico reproducing piano owned by one of our members, made in around 1924. The piece is Liszt's "Soirees de Vienne" No. 6, "Valse Caprice", an arrangement of some of Schubert's waltz tunes. The roll (no. 69263) was recorded by Nikolai Orloff in October 1928 - the resulting performance aims to be a faithful reproduction of the pianist's original performance. The present video recording of the roll was made in January 2022 in the UK. Learn more about reproducing pianos here.
Here are two more classical pieces played on the Ampico reproducing piano. Both pieces are by Frederic Chopin. Firstly a lively Waltz (Op. 18 in E flat Major) played rather energetically and robustly by renowned composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff, on Ampico reproducing piano roll no. 59743. And in rather more contemplative mood, Chopin's Nocturne Op. 72, No. 1 in E minor (written for his sister and published posthumoustly many years later), played by Esther Marvin Cutchin, on Ampico reproducing piano roll 52474. Again, click on the "play" button of the video.
By no means all the music on reproducing pianos and pianolas is serious - here is a typical piece of "pop music" from the heyday of the player piano, again played on the Ampico reproducing piano. It is the fox trot "Idolizing", played by bandleader Vincent Lopez (assisted, probably rather signficantly, and probably by one of Ampico's resident recording artists) on Ampico reproducing piano roll no. 208661.
Click on the "play" button in the video to hear some more dance music from the 1920s, this time played on a pedal-operated pianola rather than a reproducing piano. This particular instrument is a "push-up" player (rather than a self-contained player piano), playing 65 notes of an existing piano via wooden fingers. The music is not normally a recording of a real performance but a manually-coded transcription to the paper roll of the musical notes. To achieve satisfactory results, the person pumping the pianola to provide the suction will need to vary the intensity of the pedalling to give expression to the music and bring out the melody. This particular instrument, despite being extremely basic (no proper expression controls, no automatic sustain pedal, no automatic accenting system etc.) gives an entirely respectable performance of "Miracle Melodies", a medley of fox trots on Meloto dance roll no. 32810A.
One of the best interpreters of piano rolls, especially of popular and ethnic music, was the late Robert "Bob" Berkman (1955-2023), who for most of his working life was the manager at QRS Music Rolls and was responsible for issuing and re-issuing many rolls from the 1980s until the end of large-scale roll production. Here is one of his own compositions, "Menlo Park Rag", which he recorded onto roll in the 1970s as a private project.
This roll of "Birth of the Blues" also appears to have been a custom production by Bob Berkman, and in this case is pedalled by him on his own player piano in a home recording, sensitively providing the expression via the pedals and hand controls in order to create a highly musical performance.
Links to more videos recorded by the NWPPA are given below, covering both reproducing and non-reproducing players.
Some not-too-heavy classical music from the composer of "Carmen" and the most famous of Ampico pianists: Minuet from L'Arlesienne Suite No. 1 (Bizet) arr. & p.b. S. Rachmaninoff on Ampico roll no. 61601
A typical, well-arranged fox-trot music, Roll Away, Clouds (Hope), 65-note roll played on an early Pianola, believed to be a transfer from a Duo-Art reproducing roll played by Alex Swift
A very tasteful and well-arranged piece of slightly later dance music: (In the Gloaming) By the Fireside (Noble-Campbell-Connelly) p.b. Victor Arden on Ampico roll 213991
A late romantic-era classical piece by a composer rarely heard of these days, but well worth a listen: Étude Op. 15 No. 8 in D flat by Sergei Bortkeiwicz, played by Moriz Rosenthal on Ampico roll no. 67133-H
A superbly-arranged waltz from the early 1930s, "I'll Never Have to Dream Again", playing credited to Ernest Leith (believed to be an alias of prolific roll arranger Frank MIlne), on Ampico roll no. 214231.
A 65-note roll of that epitomises the dance music of the 1920s: Black Bottom by Ray Henderson, actually a shortened version of the Duo-Art roll arranged and played by Alan Moran.
Another classical piece from a composer less commonly heard of today: Guitarre, Op. 45, No. 2 by Moritz Moszkowsk, played by Richard Hans Barth on Ampico roll no. 63301-G.
Another superb dance arrangement, this time of "Isle of Capri", a rumba from the 1930s played by Victor Arden (Lewis J. Fuiks) and Adam Carroll on Ampico roll 215361.
A bright and breezy dance tune from the mid-1920s: "Hallelujah" by Vincent Youmans (from the show "Hit the Deck") on a 65-note roll, believed to be taken from the Duo-Art roll p.b, Freddie Rich.
A somewhat "bluesey" foxtrot from the early 1930s, "Morning, Noon and Night" (nothing to do with the Suppé overture!) played by Victor Arden (Lewis J. Fuiks) on Ampico roll no. 214611.
From the mid 1920s, a cheerful dance tune "Put Away a Little Ray of Golden Sunshine for a Rainy Day" played by J. Milton Delcamp on a very worn (but carefully-repaired) Ampico roll no. 215321.
An absolutely super 65-note roll of the Johann Strauss II waltz "Tales from the Vienna Woods", turned into a "concert paraphrase" by now-forgotten composer Eduard Schuett.