Virtual organ and piano renditions by VViljanen.
In addition, some legendary guests of the past times  (recorded by VV from reconstructed and digitally imitated reproducing piano rolls) 
are playing on the list: 
Artur Schnabel with J.S.Bach Italian Concert 
Alexander Siloti with Bach-Szabo Prelude on Cantate no 29 "Wir Danken Dir Gott"
Percy Grainger with bach-Liszt Fugue G Minor BWV542
Maria Carreras with W.F.Bach-M.Zadora: Organ Concerto D minor
Ignaz Friedman with J.S.Bach Toccata & Fugue Dm BWV565
Ferruccio Busoni with Bach-Busoni Chaconne BWV1004
E. Robert Schmitz with Bach-Liszt Prelude & Fugue A minor, BWV543/S.462
Adela Verne with Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue em op.35 no.1
Robert Lortat with Cesar Franck Fugue from 'Prélude, Chorale et Fugue*
Marcel Dupré; Fugue in C BWV564, organ roll transcribed for piano

Bach Goes Virtual

Etude On The Roll Revisited

Selection of Piano-Rolls (from 1920's on or earlier, classical and 'vintage era'),  re-recorded from 2015-> by me, VViljanen. These recordings are are commercially unavailable. - The rolls were first scanned and converted into a digital form by diverse operators (see to the info of each piece). The pieces here were  partly picked from various open net sources, publicly available, but mainly from the huge archive of digitized copies copies od the original reproducing pianorolls, made available to me by one of the pioneers of roll digitizing tehchniques, and  then re-recorded mainly with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, tone & sound modified/designed by me. 
 MY MOST HUMBLE THANKS TO THE NOBLE DONOR OF THIS  INVALUABLE MATERIAL FOR MY USE!!!
COMMERCIAL USE OF THESE HISTORICAL RE-RECORDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

Masters of the Roll Revisited I

Recorded by VV 21 May 2021, from a digitally simulated copy of the original piano roll Kreisler - Rachmaninoff: Liebesfreud. Played by 
 Sergei Rachmaninoff 1926 On Ampico 66143.
Any kind of commercial use prohibited.

Kreisler - Rachmaninoff: Liebesfreud. Sergei Rachmaninoff 1926 On Ampico 66143

A nice showcase piano piece composed by Mel Stallwood reviving the silent movie days but also including a funky boogie middle section.
Arranged, 'decorated and dramatized', and recorded by VV Feb 4, 2022, using a modelled old Bechstein Grand (1896)...

That Old Film Flicker

Mel Stallwood:That Old Film Flicker - Arr.VV

Mel Stallwood : Jolly Good Rag (2010) - music for Charlie Chaplin film 'Easy Street' (1917).
Virtualized and recorded May 6, 2022 by VV, using a modelled 1896 Bechstein (...and 435Hz), the instrument reconfigurated by VV. 
Produced on non-commercial basis. Any kind of commercial use of this recording is prohibited.

Mel Stallwood : Jolly Good Rag

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger:
Sommarsång från Frösöblomster Op.16 No 2.
Tolkning, förverkligande och inspelning av VViljanen den 18. Juni 2022  vid modellerad Bechstein år 1896 flygel  (med setup av VV).
Foto: VV 10.6.2022
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE OF THIS RECORDING IS PROHIBITED.
Olof Wilhelm Peterson-Berger (1868-1942) studied at the Stockholm Conservatory from 1886–89 and then in Dresden for a year.[2]
He is best known for three albums of national romantic piano pieces entitled Frösöblomster I, II and III (Flowers of Frösö), which includes the often performed Vid Frösö kyrka (At Frösö Church) and Sommarsång (Summer Song). The sets, which were composed over a period of 18 years (1896 - 1914) and brought together afterwards as a collection have gained a reputation of representing a quintessential "Swedishness" in the romantic, nationalistic vein of their time. 
The most famous of the pieces, Sommarsång (Summer Song) recalls the warm, calm, harmonious and bright pre-summer evenings where the sun in the north almost never goes down; they were the great breakthrough for Wilhelm. Sommarsång is still known to most Swedes, even to people generally uninterested in music: the majority of young piano students in the Nordic countries have been taught this piece.

Sommarsång

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger: Sommarsång (från Frösöblomster, Op.16 No 2 )

Jean Sibelius: Finlandia Op. 26. Rudolph Ganz** & Ernest Hutcheson*** in 1928 on Duo-Art 539.
Recorded (updated from the previous rec.) by VV August 21, 2022 from  digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll (by permission), using on its playback and recording a modelled Bechstein 1896 grand, reconfigured and setup by VV.
Photo: Jean Sibelius ((8 Dec 1865-1957). A detail of the Sibelius Monument 'Passio Musicae' by Eila Hiltunen**** in Helsinki. 
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
FINLANDIA, Op. 26, No. 7, Symphonic Poem for Orchestra (arrangement for Four Hands)
Roll Number: 539, 539-4
Composer/Creator: Sibelius
Pianist: Ganz, Hutcheson
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: April, 1928
Category: classical, orchestral
Original Price: $3.00
*Roll info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)
**Rudolph Ganz (24 February 1877 Zurich – 2 August 1972 Chicago) was a Swiss-born American pianist, conductor, composer, and music educator.
Rudolph Ganz seems to have known Sibelius personally -  it can be read from the diaries of Sibelius, that he at least once went to Ganz's concert, although Sibelius otherwise nearly never visited any pianists' concerts (except Busoni's).
***Ernest Hutcheson (20 July 1871 - 9 February 1951) was an Australian pianist, composer and teacher.
****The monument is a sculpture by Finnish artist Eila Hiltunen titled Passio Musicae and unveiled on September 7, 1967. The sculpture eventually won a competition organised by the Sibelius Society following the composer's death in 1957. The competition took two rounds after one early winner was abandoned. Originally it sparked a lively debate about the merits and flaws of abstract art and although the design looked like stylised organ pipes it was known that the composer had created little music for organs. Hiltunen addressed her critics by adding the face of Sibelius which sits beside the main sculpture.
It consists of series of more than 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a wave-like pattern. The purpose of the artist was to capture the essence of the music of Sibelius. The monument weighs 24 tonnes (24 long tons; 26 short tons) and measures 8.5 × 10.5 × 6.5 metres.
A smaller version of the monument is located at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. A work with a similar concept, also designed by Hiltunen, is located at the grounds of the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

Jean Sibelius: Finlandia Op. 26

Jean Sibelius: Finlandia Op. 26. Rudolph Ganz & Ernest Hutcheson 1928 on Duo-Art 539

Recorded June 20, 2022 by VViljanen from a reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll Duo-Art 70750, using a modelled Blüthner grand(re-configurated by VV)
Photo: Ethel Liggins(1886-1970), used fr.1906 stage name Ethel Leginska, was British pianist, composer, conductor and music educator. She was a student of Theodor Leschetizky, later studying composition with Rubin Goldmark and Ernest Bloch, and conducting with Eugene Goossens, Robert Heger and Gennaro Papi.[1] Among her students were harpsichordist Gavin Williamson, James Henry Fields, Daniel Pollack and Bruce Sutherland.[2] She was a pioneer of women's opportunity in music performance and conducting,[3] being the first woman to conduct many of the world's leading orchestras. (source: Wikipedia)
Info* of the original reproducing piano roll:
NQCTURNE, Op. 9, No. 2 in E-flat
Roll Number: 7075, 70750
Composer/Creator: Chopin
Pianist: Leginska
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: November, 1926
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.50
*source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Chopin: Nocturne in Eb Major Op.9 no 2

Frederic Chopin: Nocturne E Flat Major Op.9 no 2. Ethel Leginska 1926 on Duo-Art 70750

Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951): Arabesque Op. 7, No. 1 in E minor. 
Irene Scharrer 1924 on Duo-Art 0218.
Recorded June 21, 2022 by VV from the reconstructed and digitally simulated original piano roll, using a modelled Grand Bluethner, reconfigured by VV.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Irene Scharrer (2 February 1888 – 11 January 1971) was an English classical pianist. She was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Music with Tobias Matthay. She made her London début at the age of 16, and gave concerts regularly until June 1958, where she appeared for the last time, playing Mozart's Sonata for Two Pianos with Myra Hess. They often performed four-handed compositions together. (Scharrer is sometimes erroneously described as Hess's cousin. She was distantly related to another fine woman pianist, Harriet Cohen, the two sharing a great-great-grandfather).
 Her other collaborators included Arthur Nikisch in Berlin,and Landon Ronald in London. She visited Sir Edward Elgar in 1918 and was promised the first performance of his piano concerto, then being sketched.
Her technique was one of refinement rather than power. Her surviving recordings show her at her best in the smaller pieces of the romantic repertoire, where her impeccable control, fine tone and lack of showiness serve the music well. (Wikipedia)
Info* of the original roll:
ARABESQUE, Op. 7, No. 1 in E-minor
Roll Number: 0218, 0218
Composer/Creator: Medtner
Pianist: Scharrer
*The source of the roll info:
The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Medtner: Arabesque Op.7 no 1

Nikolai Medtner: Arabesque Op.7 no 1 in E Minor. Irene Scharrer 1924 on Duo-Art 0218

E. Robert Schmitz plays in 1925 Whithorne*: New York Days And Nights Suite. Duo-Art 6846. - - Recorded in 2016 (rec updated Mar 10, 2017 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Emerson Whithorne (1884-1958), portrait by Arnold Genthe (1923)
Basic info** of the original piano roll in 1925:
"NEW YORK DAYS AND NIGHTS" SUITE, Op. 40: 
No. 3, Pell Street (Chinatown);  
No. 2, Chimes Of St. Patrick's;  
No. 4, Times Square (Carnival)
Roll Number: 6846, 6846-3
Composer/Creator: Whithorne
Pianist: Schmitz
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: February, 1925
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.75
Notes: Some sources list Times Square as No. 5
*Emerson Whithorne (birth surname Whittern) (September 6, 1884 in Cleveland, Ohio - March 25, 1958)[1] was a notable American composer and researcher into the history of music. He had a reputation as an authority on the music of China. Whithorne lived for a period in London, staying until 1915. The Times reported that Whithorne was prosecuted for playing the pianoforte at unsocial hours. In November 1913 he won the case brought by the landlord of his South Kensington flat. 
Whithorne was married to famous pianist and one of the first female conductors, Ethel Leginska, who had studied piano with Theodor Leschetzky.
- As a curiosity of this piece, is a well-known folk tune 'Dies irae', also  used in the Finish Lutheran Psalm book as early as from the beginning of the 1600's It can be heard as one of the themes of this piece (at 2.30->) - possibly heard by the composer on NY streets from someone immigrated from Finland or some other European country, very common in NY in the beginning of the 1900's - 
- This tune was also used by some other composers, e.g. Franz Liszt, in some of their works.
**source of the roll basic info: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

New York Days And Nights Suite.

Emerson Whithorne: New York Days And Nights Suite. E Robert Schmitz 1925 On Duo-Art 6846

Brahms: Waltzes Op.39: 1, 2, 14, 16 &13. Benno Moiseiwitsch JUne 1926 on Ampico 66153. Recorded by VViljanen (rec.v5)July 22, 2022 from reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing Ampico piano roll, using in its replay a modelled Grotrian Royal concert grand, reconfigured and setup by VV.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Benno Moiseiwitsch (1890-1963)
The info* of the original piano roll:
WALTZES Op. 39, Nos. 1, 2, 14, 16, 13
Roll Number: 66153, 66153H
Composer/Creator: Brahms
Pianist: Moiseiwitsch
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: June, 1926
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
*source: The Player Piano  Group web page (by permission)

Brahms Waltzes Op.39 No 1, 2, 14, 16 & 13

Brahms: Waltzes Op.39: 1, 2, 14, 16 &13. Benno Moiseiwitsch 1926 on Ampico 66153

Liszt - Siloti Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude. Alexander Siloti 1923 On Duo - Art 6636 - (VVrec.v.5)
Recorded by VViljanen July 22, 2022 from reconstructed digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll using in its replay a modelled Grotrian Royal  grand, reconfigured and setup by VV.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Alexander Siloti (1863 born near Kharkov, Ukraine -  d.1945 New York) 
was pianist, conductor and composer. One of his teachers was Franz Liszt. 
Info of the original piano roll:
BENEDICTION OF GOD IN SOLITUDE from "Harmonies, Poetic and Religious" (revised and abbreviated by Siloti)
Roll Number: 6636, 6636-4
Composer/Creator: Liszt
Pianist: Siloti
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: June, 1923
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $3.00
Info source: Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude

Liszt-Siloti: Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude. Alexander Siloti 1923 on Duo-Art 6636

Kreisler - Rachmaninoff: Liebesfreud. Played by
Sergei Rachmaninoff 1926 on Ampico 66143.
Recorded by VV July 23, 2022(rec.v.3), from reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll, using in its playback a modelled Bechstein 1896  grand (w.435 Hz), reconfigured and setup by VV.
Any kind of commercial use prohibited.
Photo: Sergei Rachmaninoff

Liebesfreud

Kreisler-Rachmaninoff: Liebesfreud. Sergei Rachmaninoff 1926 on Ampico 66143

Franz Liszt: Mazeppa Etude. Erwin Nyiregyhazi 1924 on Ampico 63703.
Recorded for educational and pedagogical use from reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll by VViljanen July 30. 2022, using in its playback  a modelled Bechstein 1896  grand, re-voiced & reconfigured by VV,
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Erwin Nyiregyhazi( 1903-1987) in 1920, LA Times
Basic info* of the original piano roll in 1924:
MAZEPPA "Etude Transcendante" No. 4, D minor
Roll Number: 63703, 63703H
Composer/Creator: Liszt
Pianist: Nyiregyhazi
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: November, 1924
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
'Info source: The Piano Player Group Web page (by permission)

Etude transcendante No 4 D Minor, 'Mazeppa'

Franz Liszt: Etude Transcendante No. 4 in D Minor 'Mazeppa',  Erwin Nyiregyhazi 1924 On Ampico 63703

Handel - d'Albert: Chaconne HWV435. Eugen D'Albert 1922 on Triphonola 58440. Playback and recording on a modeled Bechstein 1896 (w.435Hz) from reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll by VViljanen Sep 14, 2022.

Handel-d'Albert: Chaconne HWV435. Eugen d'Albert 1922 on Triphonola 58440, plb w. Bechstein 1896

Rhapsody In Blue  (Solo piano version) played 1925 and 1927 by George Gershwin on Duo-Art Piano rolls nos 70947 & 6878.
Recorded Sep 25, 2022 by VV from digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano rolls (reconstructed and simulated 2005 by Larry Doe), using on their playback and recording (w.5 mics) a modeled yr.1896 Bechstein grand, reconfigured and setup by VV, and w.435Hz diapason..
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: George Gershwin 1898-1937
The basic Info of the original Piano rolls:
Roll no 1:
RHAPSODY IN BLUE, Concerto In Fantasia Form For Piano and Jazz Orchestra, Part 1 (arrangement by Gershwin)
Roll Number: 7094, 70947
Composer/Creator: Gershwin
Pianist: Gershwin
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: January, 1927
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $1.75
*source: from The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)
**Before recording, some wrong notes (because of the roll mis-punctures remained in the digitized copies) corrected/removed.
Roll no 2:
RHAPSODY IN BLUE, Concerto In Fantasia Form For Piano and Jazz Orchestra, Part 2: Andantino (Andante) and Finale (arrangement by Gershwin)
Roll Number: 6878, 68787
Composer/Creator: Gershwin
Pianist: Gershwin
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: May, 1925
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $1.75

Rhapsody in Blue

Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue. George Gershwin 1925 & 1927 on Duo-Art 7094 & 6878

J.S.Bach: Fugue G Minor, BWV 578,  'The Little', 
Virtual rendition by Veikko Viljanen, 27Feb2014,
Garritan Classic Pipe Organ

Bach J.S. Fugue Gm BWV578, 'The Little'

Virtual rendition by VV 28Feb2014, Garritan Classic Pipe Organ
Photo by VV

Bach J.S.: Fantasia Gm 'The Great', BWV542-1

Garritan Classic Pipe Organ, virtual rendition & rec. by VViljanen 19Mar2014 [ver.2]

Bach J.S.: Passacaglia & Fugue  in C Minor BWV582

Bach - Saint-Saens Overture of Cantata BWV29('We thank you, God, we thank you') played by Sidney Silber 1925, on Ampico piano roll #63423A. Scanned and converted into a digital form 2007 by Terry Smythe and Anthony Robinson/Kevin Keymer. Recorded in 2015 (and the rec updated 26 Sep 2017 and Mar2020)  by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Basic info of the original roll:
OVERTURE, 29TH CANTATA
Roll Number: 63423, 63423H
Composer/Creator: Bach, Saint-Saens
Pianist: Silber
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: August, 1924
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $2.00
*Info source: The Player Piano  Group web page (by permission)

Bach - Saint-Saens: Overture BWV29. Sidney Silber 1925 on Ampico 63423

Franz Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody no.2, played By Alfred Cortot 1921 on Ampico Piano Roll #59263. Recorded in 2017 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy(made by Warren Trachtman) of the original reproducing piano roll with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, tone/sound modified/re-designed by VV.
Commercial use prohibited.
Photo: Alfred Cortot 1877-1962
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY (RHAPSODIE HONGROISE) No. 2
Roll Number: 59263, 59263H
Composer/Creator: Liszt
Pianist: Cortot
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: March, 1921
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $2.00
*Info source: The piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Franz Liszt: Rhapsodie Hongroise No 2. Alfred Cortot  in 1921 on Ampico 59263

Kreisler-Rachmaninoff: Liebesleid played by Rachmaninoff 1923, on Ampico piano roll 62103. which scanned and converted into a digital form by Terry Smythe et al,, and audio-recorded (by permission)in 2015 by VViljanen, and the rec. updated 19 May 2017 from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Sergei Rachmaninoff 1873-1943
Info* of the original roll:
LIEBESLIED (LOVE'S SORROW) "alternating roll with silent sections Weiner Tanzweisen" (Old Viennese Dance Melodies) No. 2
Roll Number: 62103, 62103H
Composer/Creator: Kreisler, Rachmaninoff
Pianist: Rachmaninoff
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: June, 1923
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $2.00
* source: from The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Kreisler-Rachmaninoff: Liebesleid. Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1923, on Ampico 62103

J.S. Bach: Ich Ruf Zu Dir. Orgelbüchlein Choral Nr 40, BWV 639.
Rendition by VViljanen 21 Nov 2015  with Garritan Classic Pipe Organ v.1.0  & Sib 7.5.   Stops: I Classical Quintadena 8' - II Baroque Copula Major 8' - Ped. Bar.Plenum, Principal 16', Bourd.16' & Contrebourd.32' - a Virtual rendition in Big European Cathedral environment.
Photo: VV

J.S. Bach: Ich Ruf Zu Dir. Orgelbüchlein Choral Nr 40, BWV 639

Rendition by VV 22 Nov 2015 with Garritan Classical Pipe Organ & Sib7.5
Stops: 1) I-II: Bar.Copula major 
2)  II: Rohr Schalmei 4', I: Copula major, Ped: PlnRd, Principal 16', 
3) II: Rohr Schalmei 4', I: Copula major, Ped Rauschpf IV, Pln, Tromp 8'4', Bourd 16',  
4)II: Tromb En Chamb, I: Cop.maj, Ped: Rauschpf IV, PlnRd, Princ 16', Fag 16', Contrefag 32', Contrebourd 32'

Bach J.S.: Vom Himmel Hoch, Da Komm Ich Her, BWV606

Gabrilowitsch: CapriceBurlesque, played 1917 by Olga Samaroff on Ampico piano roll # 52315, which scanned and digitized 2009 by Keystone, www.wstco.com. Re-recorded Aug 2016 by VV from the digitized copy of the original roll with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, modified by VV.
Photo: Olga Samaroff (August 8, 1880 – May 17, 1948) was a pianist, music critic, and teacher. Her second husband was conductor Leopold Stokowski.
COMMERIAL USE PROHIBITED.
The information of the original piano roll:
CAPRICE BURLESQUE
Roll Number: 52315, 52315K
Composer/Creator: Gabrilowitsch
Pianist: Samaroff
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $2.50

Gabrilowitsch: Caprice Burlesque, by Olga Samaroff in 1917, on Ampico 52315

Arensky: Etude Op 36 No 13.  Gitta Gradova*** Sep.1927, on Duo-Art 71520. Recorded for educational and pedagogical purposes  2016, and the rec. updated Feb 22, 2019** by VViljanen (by permission) from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Gitta Gradova with her colleaque and friend Vladimir Horowitz (cont'd below with a short biography***)
Gitta Gradova (1904 – April 26, 1985), also known as Gitta Cottle and Gertrude Weinstock, was an American pianist. At 19, she performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She was a friend of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Vladimir Horowitz; Arturo Toscanini praised her work.
Basic info* of the original reproducing piano roll in 1927:
ETUDE, Op. 36, No. 13 in F-sharp from "Twenty-Four Morceaux"
Roll Number: 7152, 71520
Composer/Creator: Arensky
Pianist: Gradova
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: September, 1927
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.50
*source of the info:  from The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)
**with Grand Petrof model 275, re-configurated and setup by VV.
***SHORT BIOGRAPHY:
Gertrude Weinstock (1904 – April 26, 1985), also known as Gitta Gradova and Gitta Cottle, was an American pianist.
Gertrude Weinstock was born in Chicago, the youngest child of Joseph and Sonya Weinstock. Her parents were both Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States; Gertrude was their only American-born child. Her father, Joseph Weinstock, was a rabbi by profession; both of her parents had been actors in Yiddish theatre when young.[1] Identified as a musical talent in childhood[2] she was already performing as a soloist in Chicago before her teens.[3][4] Her teacher in Chicago from age 7 was Esther Harris Dua.[5][6] Gitta Weinstock was sent to New York at age 13, to study piano with Sergei Prokofiev.
At 19, Gertrude Weinstock (using the name Gitta Gradova) performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. She was a friend of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Vladimir Horowitz; Arturo Toscanini praised her work.[8] "Miss Gradova is a pianist whose own brilliancy, accuracy, and forcefulness become a transforming medium for what she plays," wrote a Chicago critic in 1931.[9] She toured in Europe in 1935, and was featured at the Chicago's outdoor Ravinia Festival in 1938 and 1941.
Although she retired from performing in 1942, she never stopped practicing daily at home; she taught piano, and played for guests and friends, according to her son. At the time of her death, she was planning for a return to the concert stage, to play Rachmaninoff's First Piano Concerto with the Chicago Symphony under James Levine.
She married a doctor, Maurice Cottle. They had two children, Thomas and Judy; both of her children earned PhDs. Judy became a cabaret singer in New York.[13] Gitta Cottle died in 1985, aged 80, in Chicago.
 Her son Thomas Cottle wrote a memoir about her, When the Music Stopped: Discovering my Mother (SUNY Press 2004). 
Several recordings of her playing, including a private 1950 recording of Gradova and Horowitz playing a Mozart piano duet, are now available online.
(From Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Weinstock )

Arensky: Etude  Op. 36 No 13.  Gitta Gradova Sep.1927 on Duo-Art 71520

Moussorgsky:	Hopak played in1926  by Gitta Gradova*(1904-1985)on DuoArt reproducing piano roll No.D215. Scanned in the  2000's and converted into a digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll. Re-recorded 2016 from this by Veikko Viljanen (by permission) with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One (tone/sound modified by VV).  
*Gitta Gradova Cottle, a Chicago native, became a musical sensation in New York at age 19 with such performances as Sergei Rachmaninoff`s Concerto No. 2 with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Photo: Gitta Gradova ( from the front page of the book "When the Music Stopped" by professor Thomas Cottle, the son of this pianist)
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
GOPAK (Hopak) (transcribed by Rachmaninoff) (Listener's Introduction by Dr. E. Markam Lee)
Roll Number: 215, D-215
Composer/Creator: Moussorgsky
Pianist: Gradova
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: UK
Date: by October, 1926
Category: audiographic
Original Price: n/a
Notes: Student edition
*Info source: The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Moussorgsky-Rachmaninoff: Hopak. Gitta Gradova 1926 on Duo-Art D-215

Mozkowski: Caprice Espagnol played byPaquita Madriguera*(1900-1965), betw.1918 on DuoArt piano roll No 6013.
Scanned and converted into a digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll in 2000's. Recorded in 2016, and the rec updated 21 Jun 2017,  by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
*married with guitarist Andres Segovia from 1933, after her first husband deceased.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Info* of the original piano roll:
CAPRICE ESPAGNOLE, Op. 37 in A-minor
Roll Number: 6013, 60139
Composer/Creator: Moszkowski
Pianist: Madriguera
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: May, 1918
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.25 (Price after 1922)
Notes: A Major an error
*info source: from The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Mozkowski: Caprice Espagnol, Paquita Madriguera in 1918, on Duo-Art 6013

(This is another piano roll rec of this etude by Irene Scharrer, the other one, from separate recording, has been  posted here previously)
Chopin: Etude Op.25 No.11 "Winterwind" played by Irene Scharrer  on DuoArt  073. Recorded 2016 (and rec updated 30 Sep 2017) from a digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll  by VV (by permission).
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
The basic info of the original roll:
ETUDE (Winter Wind), Op. 25, No. 11 in A-minor (Lento)
Roll Number: 073, 073
Composer/Creator: Chopin
Pianist: Scharrer
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: UK
Date: by September, 1923
Category: classical
Original Price: n/a
*Info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Chopin: Etude "Winterwind" Op.25 No 11. Irene Scharrer in 1923 on Duo-Art  073

Vladimir Horowitz Plays Tchaikovsky Dumka On Duo - Art Piano Roll 7281. Rerecorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, tone/sound modified/re-designed by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Basic info on the original piano roll in 1929:
DOUMKA, Russian Village Scene For Piano, Op. 59
Roll Number: 7281, 7281-4
Composer/Creator: Tchaikovsky
Pianist: Horowitz
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: January, 1929
Category: classical
Original Price: $3.00
(Source of the roll basic info: The Piano Payer Group web page)

Tchaikovsky: Dumka op.59. Vladimir Horowitz 1929 on Duo-Art 7281

Leopold Godowsky Plays Liszt Concert Etude No.2 F - Min., Ampico Piano Roll 51164. Recorded in 2016 and  the rec updated Aug22 2022 by VViljanen (by permission)from reconstructed digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll, using on its playback a modelled Bechstein 1896 grand, reconfigured and setup by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Godowsky and Chaplin.
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
ETUDE DE CONCERT No. 2, F minor
Roll Number: 51164, 51164H
Composer/Creator: Liszt
Pianist: Godowsky
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
*source: The Piano Player Group web page

Franz Liszt: Concert Etude No. 2 F Minor "La Leggierezza". Leopold Godowsky 1910's on Ampico 51164

Sergei Rachmaninoff plays in 1928 his Elegy Op.3 No.1, on Ampico 69253. 
Recorded in 2016( and the rec updated 4 Oct 2017)by VViljanen (by permission)from a digitally reconstructed simulation of the original reproducing piano roll, with a modelled Grand Bluethner(modified and reconfigured by VV).
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
ELEGIE (ELEGY) Op. 3, No. 1
Roll Number: 69253, 69253H
Composer/Creator: Rachmaninoff
Pianist: Rachmaninoff
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: October, 1928
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
*Info source: The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Rachmaninoff: Elegy Op. 3 No 1. Sergei Rachmaninoff 1928 on Ampico 69253

Sergei Rachmaninoff plays in 1925 Gluck-Sgambati: Melodie (Orfeo ed Euridice), Ampico 64921.
Recorded in 2016 (and the rec updated 25 Sep 2017) by VViljanen (by permission)from the optically digitized  copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Sergei Rachmaninoff 1873-1943
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
MELODIE D minor
Roll Number: 64921, 64921H
Composer/Creator: Gluck, Sgambati - (Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (1714-1787))
Pianist: Rachmaninoff
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: September, 1925
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
*Info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission).

Gluck-Sgambati: Melodie from 'Orfeo ed Euridice'. Sergei Rachmaninoff  1925 on Ampico 64921

Rudolph Reuter plays in 1919 Cyril Scott Lotus Land Op.47  No.1  Eb, Duo-Art Piano Roll 6096.
Re-recorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission from Terry Smythe, Winnipeg)from digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll with a modelled Grand Bluethner Model One, tone/sound modified/reconfigured by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Cyril Scott 1879-1970.
LOTUS LAND, Op. 47, no l
Roll Number: 6096, 60968
Composer/Creator: Scott
Pianist: Reuter
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: January, 1919
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00 (Price after 1922)

Cyril Scott: Lotus Land Op.47  No.1  Eb. Rudolph Reuter plays1919  on Duo-Art 6096

Alexander Siloti plays in 1923 Sonia's Song (Ukranian Folk Song, On Duo-Art piano roll 6657.
Recorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission)from a digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, tone/sound modified/re-designed by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Alexander Siloti 1863-1945, a pupil of Franz Liszt
Basic info of the original piano roll:
RUSSIAN (Ukrainian) FOLK-SONG ("Sonia's Song") (arrangement by Siloti)
Roll Number: 6657, 6657-3
Composer/Creator: Riabinin
Pianist: Siloti
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: September, 1923
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $2.75

Alexander Siloti plays in 1923 Sonia's Song (Ukranian Folk Song), On Duo-Art roll 6657

Frederic Lamond plays Franz Liszt: 'Un Sospiro', Grand Concert Etude no.3, in 1928 on Duo-Art A-54.
Recorded  21 Feb, 2017 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Frederic Lamond 1868-1948, was a Scottish classical pianist and composer, and the second-last surviving pupil of Franz Liszt.
(..to be continued below...)
The basic info of the original piano roll:
Un SOSPIRO (A Sigh), No. 3 in D-flat from "Grand Concert Etudes" (annotated by Basil Malne)
Roll Number: 54, A-54
Composer/Creator: Liszt
Pianist: Lamond
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: January, 1928
Category: audiographic, classical
Original Price: n/a
Continued about Frederic Lamond:
Lamond was born in Glasgow, Scotland. After exhausting the resources of his home town, he continued his musical study abroad in Germany under Max Schwarz and Hans von Bülow. He studied with Franz Liszt at Weimar and Rome in 1885, and in London in 1886. In 1886 Lamond also met Johannes Brahms, who coached him in his own works. Lamond also became acquainted with Anton Rubinstein in Germany, hearing him conduct and play many times there, and later in Russia in the 1890s.
In addition to becoming one of the early champions of Brahms' piano works, Lamond was considered the primary authority on Beethoven's piano music before Artur Schnabel, and Breitkopf & Härtel published his edition of the piano sonatas. In 1893 Lamond was invited by Vasily Safonov to Moscow to play Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto in B-flat minor, Op. 23, at the request of the composer. While in Russia, he met Alexander Scriabin, whose Second Sonata, Op. 19, Lamond later played. In the 1920s and '30s, Lamond recorded many works of Beethoven (including an acoustic recording of the "Emperor" Concerto complete under Eugène Goossens, for HMV) and Liszt, as well as a scattered assortment of smaller works by other composers. While not the greatest of technicians by the time of his recordings — reviews from his youth praise his accuracy and bravura in such taxing works as the Brahms Paganini Variations, Op. 35 — his graceful phrasing and singing tone are quite remarkable (Wikipedia)

Franz Liszt: 'Un Sospiro', Grand Concert Etude No 3. Frederic Lamond in 1928, on Duo-Art A-54

Maloof Berceuse Orientale, Alexander Maloof In Dec1920 On Duo-Art 6379.
Recorded Mar 18,  2017 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, tone/sound modified/designed by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo; Alexander Maloof (1887-1968) gravestone. He was Syrian-born composer and pianist, who made several records for the Victor Talking Machine Company. - This is the only piano roll by him, known to me.
The info of the original piano roll*:
BERCEUSE ORIENTALE
Roll Number: 6379, 63798
Composer/Creator: Maloof
Pianist: Maloof
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: December, 1920
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $2.00 (Price after 1922)
*Source of the info summary: The Player Piano Group web page

Maloof: Berceuse Orientale.    Alexander Maloof Dec1920, on Duo-Art 6379

Chopin: Etude Op. 25 No 5. Doris Madden Un 1910's On Artrio 8087.
Recorded 30 Mar 2017 by VViljanen (by permission)from a digitally processed copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Frederic Chopin in 1849(the only known photograph of Chopin)
Doris Madden (1886-1976) was Australian-born concert pianist, and the accompanist of the legendary coloratura soprano Nellie Melba.

Chopin: Etude Op. 25 No 5. Doris Madden in 1910's on Artrio 8087

Chopin: Etude Op 25 No 7 C#m . George Proctor In 1910's On Ampico 57816.
Virtually audio-recorded from the digitized copy of the original piano roll 3 Apr 2017 by VViljanen.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: James Proctor in ca.1910 (on the right), the housle-headed pianist and future Professor of The New England Conservatory (source: 'Cultivating Music in America: Women Patrons and Activists Since 1860')
The basic info* of the original piano roll:
ETUDE Op. 25, No. 7, C sharp minor
Roll Number: 57816, 57816H
Composer/Creator: Chopin
Pianist: Proctor
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
'source: The Piano Player Group web page

Chopin: Etude Op 25 No 7 C#m . George Proctor In 1910's On Ampico 57816

Chopin: Etude Gb Op 25 No 9 'Butterfly'. James Whittaker In 1910's On Ampico 51612. 
Audio-recorded 3 Apr 2017 by VViljanen (by permission) from digitally simulated original piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: from Butterfly Watching Nepal
The Basic info* of the original piano roll:
ETUDE Op. 25, No. 9, G flat (Butterfly)
Roll Number: 51612, 51612D
Composer/Creator: Chopin
Pianist: Whittaker
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical
Original Price: $1.00
*source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Chopin: Etude Gb Op 25 No 9 'Butterfly'. James Whittaker In 1910's On Ampico 51612

Chopin: Etude Op.10 No.4 C#m. Tina Lerner in 1928 on Ampico 68543.
Recorded by VViljanen 6 Apr 2017 (by permission) from the digitized piano roll copy.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Tina Lerner,  Russian Pianist in 1913, on the Moscow Philharmonic US Tour.
The basic info* of the original piano roll:
(1. GAVOTTE Op. 14, A flat minor Sgambati;) 
2. ETUDE Op. 10, No. 4, C sharp minor
Roll Number: 68543, 68543H
Composer/Creator: Chopin
Pianist: Lerner
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: February, 1928
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
*source: The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Chopin: Etude Op. 10 No. 4 C#m. Tina Lerner in 1928 on Ampico 68543

Beethoven - Rubinstein: Turkish March. Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1928, on Ampico 68771.
Recorded 13 May 2017, and the rec updated 12 Jan 2018, by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
TURKISH MARCH (MARCHE A LA TORQUE) "Ruins Of Athens"
Roll Number: 68771, 68771H
Composer/Creator: Beethoven, Rubinstein
Pianist: Rachmaninoff
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: April, 1928
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $2.00
*source: The Piano Player Group web page

Beethoven - Rubinstein: Turkish March. Sergei Rachmaninoff 1928 on Ampico 68771

The Star-Spangled Banner (arr. Rachmaninoff).  Sergei Rachmaninoff about 1920 on Ampico 57282.
c Recorded (by permission) from reconstructed and digitally simulated  original reproducing piano roll 4 Dec 2017 by VViljanen.
Photo: About Star-Spangled Banner sheet music.  Garrick Gaieties sheet music cover (Alamy stock photo)
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Basic info* of the original roll:
THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER
Roll Number: 57282, 57282F
Composer/Creator: n/a
Pianist: Rachmaninoff
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $1.50
Notes: Words by Key
*Info source: The Piano Player Group Web page (by permission)

The Star-Spangled Banner (arr. Rachmaninoff).  Sergei Rachmaninoff about 1920 on Ampico 57282

Chopin: Mazurka In C# Minor Op. 6 No 2. Flora Mora 1921 on Duo-Art 6435.
c Recorded 14 Feb 2018 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano rolls
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Flora Mora 1894-1987 Cuban pianist. 
From a newspaper review about the debut of Flora Mora in Aeolian Hall recital, 1919: "Flora Mora, a Cuban pianist of much ebullient temperament and great technical equipment entertained a fine audience at Aeolian Hall in the afternoon with an important program which commenced with Weber's "Perpetum Mobile" as an exposition of her almost miraculous manual clerity and went to the best of composers and the high limit of Miss Mora's artistry in Chopin's "Winter Wind" Etude and the dazzling "Scherzo" by the same much-patronized wizard. Saint-Saen's "Etude en forme de vals" seems to find the pianist less familiar ground, but she played it with supreme confidence, if not authority, and then made a breathless diversion with a brilliant playing of Granados' "Zapateade." The Wagner-Liszt "Liebestod," Chopin's "Phantasie Impromptu," and the Paganini-Liszt "La Campanella" which concluded the program, were other media for the display of an admirable musicianship made eventful and, sometimes confusing by charming but distracting mannerisms."

Basic info* available of the original piano roll:
MAZURKA, Op. 6, No. 2 in C-sharp minor
Roll Number: 6435, 64357
Composer/Creator: Chopin
Pianist: Mora
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: In mid-1921
Category: classical
Original Price: $1.75 (Price after 1922)
*source: from The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Frédéric Chopin: Mazurka in C# Minor Op. 6 No 2. Flora Mora 1921 on Duo-Art 6435

Debussy-Ravel (arr.): Afternoon of A Faun. George Copeland ca 1915 on Ampico 56027.
Recorded 21 Feb, 2018 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: George Copeland (1882-1971)in 1918. was an American classical pianist known primarily for his relationship with the French composer Claude Debussy in the early 20th century and his interpretations of modern Spanish piano works.
The basic info* of the original piano roll:
L'APRES MIDI D'UN FAUNE (AFTERNOON OF A FAUN)
Roll Number: 56027, 56027H
Composer/Creator: Debussy
Pianist: Copeland
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $2.00
*source: from The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)
Arrangement of Maurice Ravel..?? (comment by VV)

Debussy-Ravel: Afternoon of A Faun. George Copeland ca 1915 on Ampico 56027

Johannes Brahms: Capriccio in B Minor Op. 76 No 2. Arthur Rubinstein on Duo-Art 6596.
Recorded 6 Mar, 2018 by VViljanen (by permission)from reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Arthur Rubinstein  (1887-1982) with his wife
The basic info* of the original piano roll:
CAPRICCIO, Op. 76, No. 2 in B-minor from "Eight Clavierstucke"
Roll Number: 6596, 65969
Composer/Creator: Brahms
Pianist: Rubinstein 
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: February, 1923
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.25
*source: from The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)


Show more

Johannes Brahms: Capriccio in B Minor Op. 76 No 2. Arthur Rubinstein 1923 on Duo-Art 6596

Ivanovici: Danube Waves. George Kerr (= one of the pseudonyms used  by Marguerite Volavy) 1930 on Ampico 70753.
Recorded from igitized original reproducing piano roll Dec 31, 2018 by VViljanen
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Iosif Ivanovici (1845-1902). Ion Ivanovici (alternatively: Jovan Ivanović, Iosif Ivanovici, Josef Ivanovich) (1845 – 28 September [O.S. 16 September] 1902) was a Romanian military band leader and composer of Banat Serbian origin, best remembered today for his waltz Waves of the Danube.
Ivanovici was born in Timișoara, Austrian Empire. His interest in music began after he learned to play a flute given to him when he was a child.[1] Later, he enrolled in the 6th Army Regiment, where he also learned to play the clarinet. His talent for music soon led him to become among the best musicians in the regiment, and he continued to study with Emil Lehr, one of the most prominent musicians of the latter half of the nineteenth century. Ivanovici later became a bandmaster, and toured Romania. In 1900, he was appointed the Inspector of Military Music, a position that he held until his death next year.
Although today Ivanovici is chiefly remembered for his waltz Waves of the Danube (Donauwellen in German, Flots du Danube, in French), in his lifetime he composed over 350 dances, and his works were published by over sixty publishing houses throughout the world.[1] In 1889, Ivanovici won the coveted march prize to mark the World Exhibition in Paris,[2] out of 116 entries.[1] He died in Bucharest.
His great-grandson Andrei Ivanovitch is a successful international classical pianist. (Wikipedia)
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
WAVES OF THE DANUBE
Roll Number: 70753, 70753
Composer/Creator: Ivanovici
Pianist: Kerr
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: October, 1930
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: n/a
*Info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Ivanovici: Waves of The Danube. George Kerr (=Marguerite Volavy) 1930 on Ampico 70753

Johann Strauss Jr: Artist's Life Waltzes Op.136. Ernö Rapée 1921 On Duo-Art 6447.
Recorded from digitized original reproducing piano roll Dec 31, 2018 by VViljanen.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Ernö Rapee (1891 -1945)  was an Estonian-born American symphonic conductor in the first half of the 20th Century whose prolific career spanned both classical and popular music. His most famous tenure was as the head conductor of the Radio City Symphony Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the Radio City Music Hall, whose music was also heard by millions over the air.
A virtuoso pianist, Rapée is also remembered for popular songs that he wrote in the late 1920s as photoplay music for silent films. When not conducting live orchestras, he supervised film scores for sound pictures, compiling a substantial list of films on which he worked as composer, arranger or musical director.
Basic Info* of the original piano roll:
ARTIST'S LIFE (Kunstler Leben), Waltz, Op. 136
Roll Number: 6447, 6447
Composer/Creator: Strauss
Pianist: Rapee
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: June, 1921
Category: classical, dance, popular
Original Price: $2.50 (Price after 1922)
'Info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Johann Strauss Jr: Artist's Life Waltzes Op.136. Ernö Rapée 1921 On Duo-Art 6447

Rameau - Leschetizky: Gavotte and Variations. Ethel Leginska 1919 on Duo-Art 6217.
Recorded** from reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing piano roll June 20 , 2022 by VViljanen.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)was one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century. He replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of French opera and is also considered the leading French composer for the harpsichord of his time, alongside François Couperin.
Little is known about Rameau's early years, and it was not until the 1720s that he won fame as a major theorist of music with his Treatise on Harmony (1722) and also in the following years as a composer of masterpieces for the harpsichord, which circulated throughout Europe. He was almost 50 before he embarked on the operatic career on which his reputation chiefly rests today. His debut, Hippolyte et Aricie (1733), caused a great stir and was fiercely attacked by the supporters of Lully's style of music for its revolutionary use of harmony. Nevertheless, Rameau's pre-eminence in the field of French opera was soon acknowledged, and he was later attacked as an "establishment" composer by those who favoured Italian opera during the controversy known as the Querelle des Bouffons in the 1750s. Rameau's music had gone out of fashion by the end of the 18th century, and it was not until the 20th that serious efforts were made to revive it. Today, he enjoys renewed appreciation with performances and recordings of his music ever more frequent. (Wikipedia)

Ethel Liggins (13 April 1886 – 26 February 1970) was a British pianist, conductor and composer. A student of Theodor Leschetizky, she became widely known as the ‘Paderewski of woman pianists’ and (from 1923) established herself as one of the first female conductors.[1] She made her debut as a pianist in London in 1902 at the age of 16.[1] In 1905 she went on tour in Australia,[7] and from 1906 performed in Europe under the stage name Ethel Leginska.
She studied composition with Rubin Goldmark and Ernest Bloch, and conducting with Eugene Goossens, Robert Heger and Gennaro Papi and conducted many of the world's leading orchestras from the mid-1920s.[2] She was a pioneer of women's opportunity in music performance, composition and conducting.[3]
(Wikipedia)

Basic info* of the original piano roll:
GAVOTTE AND VARIATIONS (transcribed by Leschetizky)
Roll Number: 6217, 6217-3
Composer/Creator: Rameau
Pianist: Leginska
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: December, 1919
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $2.75 (Price after 1922)
*Info Source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)
**Recorded here using Baroque tuning and diapason at 415Hz

Rameau - Leschetizky: Gavotte and Variations. Ethel Leginska 1919 on Duo-Art 6217

Sonia's Song (Ukranian Folk Song). Alexander Siloti 1923 on Duo-Art 6657.
Recorded only for educational and pedagogical use by VViljanen Feb 7, 2019, and the rec. updated  from a reconstructed and digitally simulated original reproducing Duo-Art  piano roll, using in its replay a modelled Grotrian Royal   concert grand. 
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo:  Alexander Siloti with his teacher Franz Liszt.
Alexander Siloti (born 1863 near Kharkov, Ukraine -and d. 1945  in New York) - was pianist, conductor and composer. The most remarkable of his teachers was Franz Liszt. 
His daughter, Kyriena Siloti, was also a noted pianist and teacher in New York and Boston until her death in 1989, aged 94.
Basic info of the original piano roll:
RUSSIAN (Ukrainian) FOLK-SONG ("Sonia's Song") (arrangement by Siloti)
Roll Number: 6657, 6657-3
Composer/Creator: Riabinin
Pianist: Siloti
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: September, 1923
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $2.75
*Info source: The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Sonia's Song (Ukranian Folk Song). Alexander Siloti 1923 on Duo-Art 6657

Franz Liszt :Mazeppa Etude Erwin Nyiregyhazi 1924 on Ampico 63703.
Recorded for educational and pedagogical use from digitized reproducing piano roll by VViljanen Apr 16, 2019**, 
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Erwin Nyiregyhazi( 1903-1987) in 1920, LA Times
Basic info* of the original piano roll in 1924:
MAZEPPA "Etude Transcendante" No. 4, D minor
Roll Number: 63703, 63703H
Composer/Creator: Liszt
Pianist: Nyiregyhazi
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: November, 1924
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.00
'Info source: The Piano Player Grou werb page (by permission)
**recorded with virtual Blüthner model One, modified en re-designed by VViljanen

Franz Liszt :Etude Transcendante No 4 D Minor 'Mazeppa'. Erwin Nyiregyhazi 1924 on Ampico 63703

Franz Liszt: Legende No 2, 'St Francois De Paule Marchant Sur Les Flots'. Ferruccio Busoni ca. 1910 on Triphonola 51885.
Recorded Apr 2, 2020 by VV from Julian Dyer's (2012) digitally reconstructed simulated original reproducing piano roll, Triphonola 51885, with a modelled Grand Bluethner Model One, modified and thoroughly reconfigured by VV, for educational and pedagogical purpose.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924)
More about the life of Francois de Paule,born onMarch 27, 1416 in Paule (in Italian Paola ), in Calabria ( Italy ) and died on April 2, 1507 at the convent of Plessis-lès-Tours:
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois_de_Paule

Legende No 2 St Francois de Paule marchant sur les flots

Liszt: Legende No 2, 'St Francois de Paule Marchant Sur Les Flots'. Ferruccio Busoni on Triphonola

Rachmaninoff: Melodie Op.3 No.3. Sergei Rachmaninoff Ca.1920 On Ampico 57545. Rec from a digitally simulated original piano roll by VViljanen Sep 23, 2020.

Rachmaninoff Melodie Op. No.3

Rachmaninoff: Melodie Op.3 No.3. Sergei Rachmaninoff Ca.1920 On Ampico 57545

My warmest thanks to everyone stopping by for listening to my  'REVIEW   OF THE PAST TIME PIANISTS' INTERPRETATIONS ON THE HISTORICAL PIANO ROLLS, and also to THE  SMALL LIST OF MY MODEST OWN RENDITIONS, all of the latter representing a variety of piano music & some pipe-organ classics.  
A HEADSET IS RECOMMENDED for optimal sound experience!
This kind of 'touching' on these old pre-sound-rec. era works by the great performers of the past, and giving my sound to these old 'punch rolls',  makes me feel  deep humbleness, .and I wish that this modest attempt to bring these  performances alive will satisfy you listening to them!
To introduce myself...
I am a Finnish M.D., PhD. and Hand Surgeon (now retired), previously when young with 10 years of professionally orientated piano studies at Turku Conservatory in 1965-1975, partly  along with medical University studies. 
The digital sound techniques have become very familiar to me already from 1980's along with my university research work  
and my musical activities.
As continuation to my musical and professional experience, I have, during the last few years of my retirement, adopted a music historical challenge
to bring the past time major and minor pianists, prior to sound-recording era, onto the same 'start line' with the present pianists, by making their presentations, played onto 'punch rolls' i.e. piano rolls, audible with modern digital techniques. This wouldn't be possible without the pioneering  efforts of Richard Stibbons, Wayne Stahnke, Terry Smythe, Warren Trachtman, Spencer Chase, and others, who developed the optical digitizing techniques of the piano rolls, and digitized them.

The main part of my recordings here in SC consists of selection recorded by me from optically digitized piano-rolls** (from 1910's on or earlier, classical and 'vintage era'). These recordings of mine are not and will not be commercially unavailable. - The rolls were first optically scanned and converted into a digital form by diverse operators** (see also to the info of each piece). The pieces here were partly (minor part) picked from various open net sources, publicly available, but mainly from the huge archive (n=ca.5000) of digitized copies copies of the original reproducing piano rolls, made available to me by one of the pioneers of roll digitizing tehchniques (willing to keep anonymous), and then recorded from this archive mainly with virtual grand piano (called by me 'Bluethner Model One') modified/re-designed by me, as well as the rec settings. 
Also a minor selection of my own renditions among my records can be found here, included on my playlist 'Bach Goes Virtual', the name of the list telling something about the techniques used for getting the end result... The list includes various organ works by J.S.Bach and others, and also a few piano renditions of mine. Then there are included also various pieces which have been in my repertoire, but here played mainly by the  'guest' great players of the past (before the sound recording era).
MY MOST HUMBLE THANKS TO THE NOBLE DONOR  OF THIS INVALUABLE PIANO ROLL MATERIAL FOR MY USE!!!
My Sincere Thanks also to The Player Piano Group, UK, for providing me their permission to use the information about the piano rolls collected and provided on their web page ( https://rolls.playerpianogroup.org.uk ),  and for simplifying my short historical presentations of these renditions on their re-publication here!
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, MY MOST HUMBLE THANKS TO EVERYONE  OF YOU FOR LISTENING, AND FOR YOUR 'LIKES' & COMMENTS !
YOUR LISTENING & FEEDBACK IS TRULY APPRECIATED..!!.
Use of good headphones or speakers will make your music experience more enjoyable!
Best wishes, all the best
Veikko
These recordings are not commercially available, and ANY KIND OF THEIR COMMERCIAL USE IS PROHIBITED.

Veikko Viljanen

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks