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Claudio Arrau & British Series Duo-Art Rolls
By Albert Petrak

Further to Alan Whytock's inquiry and my promise to question Gerald
Stonehill.  He replied at once with accurate information, to wit
(Gerald Stonehill's info):

 "1. Smith listed the Impromptu Op. 142 #4 as in A-flat, but the
  English Aeolian catalogue of July 1932 shows that it is in F minor.
  The other piece he recorded was a little tribute to Sophie Menter,
  (019) being a waltz that she had composed.

 "2. No point in Alan saying that Arrau had not come to England until
  1922.  Arrau actually signed his name and the date in the log, which
  I have inspected and copied, attached to the director of music
  Reginald Reynolds' miniature piano in the year 1920, on the way from
  Chile to Berlin, where he was to take lessons with Martin Krause.
  He only returned to Chile in 1921.

 "3. The 2 rolls he made are very rare indeed, and only exist in the
  first printing made in 1920.  (I told Smith that they were released
  'before 1923', for lack of exact release dates).  Aeolian obviously
  thought that they were not hot sellers, since Arrau was then an
  unknown student.  They are certainly genuine, though."

(End)

His reference to "Smith" is the late Charles Davis Smith, who produced
the only absolutely complete Duo-Art catalog in 1987, I believe.

In conclusion, Gerald Stonehill wants proper credit for the information
I've supplied.  He states that he gets too many "brickbats" from
critics, and desires affirmative response for that of which he is
certain.  He has, as many of you perhaps don't know, the largest and
most complete collection of classical Duo-Art rolls in the world, and
it is his collection being used for the releases on NIMBUS, called
"Grand Piano."

Albert Petrak


(Message sent Tue 29 Feb 2000, 08:37:35 GMT, from time zone GMT.)

Key Words in Subject:  Arrau, British, Claudio, Duo-Art, Rolls, Series
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