Player Piano Associations in UK
By Dan Wilson
Denis Anderson asks what player-piano associations there are in the UK. The Player Piano Group PPG) Bulletin (very informative these days) and Membership List between them list all the UK suppliers of materials and rolls; you join the PPG by writing to the Membership Secretary,
Malcolm Billingsley
80 Montalt Road
WOODFORD GREEN
Essex IG8 9SS ph 0181 505 1850
The 1996 subscription price was =L=11.00.
The PPG is a jolly and sociable group who have meetings in the London area sometimes as often as twice a month. The main thing is enjoyment and chat with serious seminars on particular systems or performers less in fashion than they once were.
The more serious side of the player and reproducer is attended to by the Friends of the Pianola Institute (FPI), being a charitable trust with intentions to set up an archive and demonstration rooms. The Pianola Institute produces an annual Pianola Journal pitched to interest inter- national musicological libraries, so a fairly severe affair. The latest issue carries the first printed score of Paul Hindemith's Toccata for Mechanical Piano, transcribed from the (red) Welte roll. The FPI Membership Secretary is:
Mike Davies
70 Blackheath Park
Blackheath
LONDON SE3 (I don't have phone number - he's just moved)
Both the PPG and FPI host high-quality recitals, sometimes jointly. Regional groups are:
North West Player Piano Assocn
% Everson Whittle
47 Raikes Road
PRESTON PR1 5EQ ph 01772 792795
The Player Piano Assocn of South Wales & The West
% Graham Kent
Goldtrieve
54 Over Lane
Almondbury
BRISTOL BS12 4BW (no phone number given)
Good hunting !
Dan Wilson |
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