The earliest recordings I have of Marguerite Volavy are her Duo-Art
rolls recorded in 1914.  They are not a good representation of her art,
unfortunately.

When asked to compare her playing style over the many years she was
active in the piano roll industry, I often look at the only work she
recorded for all three systems (Duo-Art, Ampico and Welte Licensee),
"By The Seashore" Op. 17 Concert Etude by Smetana.  This gives not only
an interesting comparison of Volavy's playing style but a comparison of
player systems.  In my view, there is not a lot of difference between
all three recordings.

Volavy remains one of the most interesting artists associated with
piano rolls, as she was undoubtedly a fine pianist.  She studied with
Theodor Leschetizky, having begun her studies at the Vienna Conservatory
at age 12.

She appeared as soloist with the Russian Symphony Orchestra in New York
on February 13, 1915, and again on March 21 1915, playing the first
American performance of Scriabin's "Prometheus - A Poem of Fire"
performing on a "Chromola", otherwise known as a "colour keyboard".
This concert was held at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Modest Altschuler.

When asked about Volavy, Emse Dawson commented, "Yes she was good.
She was European trained and good.  Big physique, plenty of strength."

I believe that had Volavy made gramophone recordings, she would be more
widely known today.  She made well over 140 recordings for Ampico (with
various pseudonyms), and Sitsky lists 64 works by Volavy on Artecho
roll.  One of these is the Smetana work, but we cannot be sure it was
actually re-recorded by Artecho, or whether it was taken from her other
recordings.

My only concern about Volavy is how to pronounce her name.  Is it
"Volavy" or "Volarvy"?  Denis Condon used the latter pronunciation up
until the mid-1990s.

As a recording artist, I believe she ranks with some of the best, and
that she was always a fine pianist, not one that gradually developed
over the years.

Peter Phillips
Sydney

 [ More about Prometheus and the colour keyboard at
 [ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus:_The_Poem_of_Fire 
 [ -- Robbie