Leonardo Forti wrote in 21.09.07 MMDigest:

> Does someone know whether the composer Ruggero Leoncavallo
> played himself rolls for any roll company (Welte, or others)?

John McClelland has pointed out [210914 MMDigest] that the few
recordings of his own works which were made by Leoncavallo were
all for Welte; one of these, with music from his biggest hit,
"I Pagliacci", was later re-mastered for Artecho.

It is interesting to compare this list with recordings made by
Leoncavallo's near-contemporary, Pietro Mascagni, who recorded
exclusively for Hupfeld. His rolls, initially released without
expression coding on Hupfeld's hand-played  "Animatic" label,
were later released with added coding as Triphonola rolls, and a
couple, with music from his biggest hit, "Cavalleria Rusticana",
were also re-mastered for Ampico.

The rolls by Leoncavallo with music from "La Boheme" have nothing
to do with the famous opera by Puccini; Leoncavallo wrote
a separate opera on the same story, which premiered one year
later than Puccini's opera, and which was almost immediately
eclipsed by Puccini's version.

It's a shame that the hugely successful Puccini didn't record any
rolls; he composed at the piano, was by all accounts a good pianist,
and was interested in all matters technological and fashionable.
He did, however, have an aversion to performing in public.

Greetings from the UK,
Rowland Lee