[ Ref. Ben Roth in 200420 MMDigest ]

Hello all, In response to "William Tell Overture" piano rolls, the
Connorized version (No. 83) "Orchestral Arrangement" is one of the
best!  It's not just a 4-hand arrangement -- the second part (the
storm) and the finale (charge of the Swiss Guards) are really 6-hand
versions.

Connorized utilized the entire 88-note keyboard in this roll.  The
overture is in the key of E, so even the lowest B on the piano is used.
For overtures, symphonies and sonatas, the old Connorized white label
rolls are great, along with QRS 10,000 and 20,000 series "arranged"
rolls.

The "Autograph" and "Hand Played" QRS classical music rolls have
erratic tempo and usually are second rate (my opinion only).  Aeolian
(Universal, Mel-O-Dee, Themodist Metrostyle) are good arrangements,
but are usually 2-hand transcriptions.  For that big orchestral sound
in classical music, I'd put my money on Connorized, QRS, and Aeolian,
pre-WW1.

I've been collecting classical rolls for over 50 years, and these
are some of my observations.  I won't mention orchestra music on
reproducing rolls, because I don't want to open Pandora's box!


Henry Prellwitz