Apologies to Composers

Beethoven Virus

J.S.Bach: Concerto in D Minor for two violins BWV1043: I-III. Transcribed for two pianos, reproduced and  recorded  by VV June 23, 2023 after sequence made by Harm Fesefeldt (1942-2019)in 2015, on playback of edited and revised version, on a pair of modeled Blüthner Model 1 Grand pianos, revoiced, reconfigured, as well as the rec. setup made by VV.
Any kind of commercial use of this track is prohibited.
Photo: JSB statue at Leipzig Domkirche.

J.S.Bach: Concerto in D Minor BwWV043 - Transcribed for two pianos by VViljanen, June 2023

J.S.Bach: Concerto in D Minor BWV 1043: I-III. Transcribed for two pianos by VViljanen, June 2023

J.S. Bach: Concerto  F Minor . BWV 1056 ((for harpsichord (or organ), strings and continuo). 
The work is in three movements: 
1. Allegro moderato	2. Largo	3. Presto. 
Reproduced for Pianoduo by VViljanen July 5, 2023, and  May 24-26, 2025, with revision  about tempos, articulation & phrasing...etc,  on basis of reading into a sequence/arrangement**  (in G minor for oboe & sting .quartett) done ca.2010 by H.Fesenfeldt (1942-2019), using now on its  revised version playback, and its recording, a pair of modelled Blüthner Model 1 grands, revoiced and reconfigured, and the rec. setup made by VV.  (Diapason used here was 442Hz, and the sequence transposed back to its origianal key of F minor)).
Photo: J.S.Bach statue detail at Leipzig Domkirche.
Any kind of commercial use of this track is prohibited.

J.S.Bach: Konzert g-moll für Oboe Und Streichquartett BWC1056. Reproduced For TwoPianos By VViljanen

J.S.Bach: Concerto in F Minor, BWV 1056.  Arr. for Pianoduo

J.S.Bach: Konzert Für Flöte und Streichquartett e-moll BWV1059. Transcribed and adapted for Two Pianos byVV July 10, 2023.
Reproduced on a sequence made by H.Fesenfeldt (1942-2019), and slightly revised, and articulated by VViljanen July 10, 2023 and recorded from playback of a revised version, using a modelled Blüthner Model 1 grand, revoiced and reconfigured , and the rec. setup made by VV.
Photo: JSB statue detail at Leipzig Domkirche.
Any kind of commercial use of this track is prohibited.

J.S.Bach: Konzert Für Flüte & Streichquartett e-moll BWV1059. Transcr. for Two Pianos byVV July 10, 2023

J.S.Bach: Konzert Für Flöte & Str.Quartett BWV1059. Transcribed for two pianos

J.S. Bach: Präludium Und Fuge Fis-Dur BWV882. WTK II Nr.13. Revised and reproduced by VViljanen Sep.3, 2023 on a seq.of H.Fesefeldt 2015.
Playback and recording of the revised and further edited (e.g. phrased and artculated) sequence on a modelled Blüthner Model 1 Grand, revoiced, reconfigured and the rec. setup made by VV..
Photo: Night Hues by VV2016. 
Any kind of commercial use of this track is prohibited.

J.S. Bach: Präludium Und Fuge Fis-Dur BWV882. WTK II Nr.13. VV 2023 on revised seq.of H.F.

J.S. Bach: Präludium und Fuge Fis-Dur. WTK II Nr.13. BWV882

Digitally recorded in 2015 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitially simulated original reconstructed reproducing piano roll with modeled Grand Bluethner Model One, tone/sound modified/re-designed by VV.
Photo: J. Lawrence Cook (1899-1976) at the Aeolian Company

Bumble Bee Boogie, arr & played by J.Lawrence Cook

ClassicalSpasm, composed&played by Harry Thomas 1919 on Ampico Piano Roll #57533. Re-recorded in 2015 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.
Photo: Roll piano
Basic info of the original piano roll:
A CLASSICAL SPASM 1-step
Roll Number: 57533, 57533F
Composer/Creator: n/a
Pianist: Thomas
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $1.50
Notes: Arranged & published by Thomas
*Roll info source: The Player Piano Group web page (by permission)

Harry Thomas: Classical Spasm. Harry Thomas  1919 on Ampico 57533

I imagined what it would be like if Beethoven grew up and composed his music in Iran! 

If Beethoven Was Born In Iran

Desecration, played 1914 by Zema Randale(1900-1918) on Imperial piano Roll # 52035.Re-recorded in 2015 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.. -------Desecration was dedicated by the Arndt quite simply to T. Whoever he or she may have been is a mystery. The work itself is indeed humorous cleverly combining well known melodies from classic composers to whit: Antonín Dvorák (Humoresque), Ferencz Liszt (2nd Rhapsody), Christian Sinding (Rustle of Spring), Fryderyk  Chopin (Scherzo, Polonaise and Funeral March).

Arndt: Desecration, played 1914 by Zema Randale (1900-1918)

Piano Roll QRS #110425 played by Walter Redding (pseudonym of  J. Lawrence Cook [1899-1976]). Scanned & digitized by Terry Smythe, Kevin Keymer/Richard Stibbons. Re-recorded  from this digitized copy of the original roll by VViljanen 2015 with Bluethner Model One (modified by VV)

Grieg Concerto Fox Trot played by Walter Redding on QRS Piano Roll # 11042S

Zez Confrey plays in 1925  'Humorestless' (transcribed From Dvorak), Ampico Roll 64381.
Re-recorded 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/designed by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Zez Confrey 1895-1971
Basic info of the original piano roll:
HUMORESTLESS novelty 1-step
Roll Number: 64381, 64381F
Composer/Creator: Confrey
Pianist: Confrey
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: April, 1925
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $1.50

Zez Confrey plays in 1925  'Humorestless', transcribed From Dvorak, on Ampico Roll 64381

Rimsky - Korsakoff - Lopez : Scherazade Fox - Trot In G. Vincent Lopez In 1924 On Ampico 63893.
Recorded 21 Sep 2017 by VViljanen (by permission) from digitized original reproducing piano roll. 
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Vincent Lopez
*The Basic info* of the original piano roll:
SHEHERAZADE Fox-Trot key of G
Roll Number: 63893, 63893F
Composer/Creator: Lopez
Pianist: Lopez
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: December, 1924
Category: dance, popular
Original Price: $1.50
Notes: Arrangement by Lopez; Assisted
*Info source. The Piano Player Group wb page (by permission)

Rimsky-Korsakoff - Lopez : Scherazade Fox-Trot In G. Vincent Lopez In 1924 On Ampico 63893

Werner Janssen: Ragamuffin (Apologies to Chopin). 
Werner Janssen 1920 on DeLuxe (Welte) B6735.
Digitally recorded (by permission) from the digitized copy of the original piano roll by VViljanen 10 Sep 2018.
Photo: Werner Janssen (1899-1970, here in 1937), was an American conductor of classical music, and composer of classical music and film scores. He was the first New York born conductor to lead the New York Philharmonic. - He studied piano with Arthur Friedheim, a pupil of Franz Liszt.

Werner Janssen: Ragamuffin (Apologies to Chopin). Werner Janssen 1920 on DeLuxe B6735

Henry W. Lange: Sweet Chopiano. Howard Lutter 1922 on Deluxe (Welte) Y6386.
Recorded by VViljanen 10 Sep 2018 from the digitized  copy(made by Larry Doe) of the  original DeLuxe piano roll. 
Photo: Howard Lutter (1889–1959) was an American musician and composer best known for creation of player piano rolls. He was born in Newark, New Jersey.
About the composer: Henry W. Lange (1896-1985). - Studies in piano and composition under Harman Wasserman, pupil of Godowosky. Known as the "Monarch of the Ivories", Lange began his musical career as a pianist in 1920 with the Paul Whiteman orchestra, where he was Whlteman's personal composer. He led several bands during the 1920-1930s. . George Gershwin Ferdie Grofe and Lange were the trio of pianists to perform in the initial performance of George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1924 in New York. Lang's song successes as a composer included "Hot-Lips", "I Adore You", Regret", "Yes Sir that's Lazybones", "Page Mr. Pianist", "Sweet Chopiano", "Classicanna", "Symphanola", "Maid of the Moon", and others. (Source: AMICA web page)

Henry W. Lange: Sweet Chopiano. Howard Lutter 1922 on Deluxe (Welte) Y6386

Luscombe: Concerto For Two. Len Luscombe nn Broadway 2686.
Digitally recorded (by permission) from the digitized copy of the original piano roll by VViljanen 10 Sep 2018. The original roll digitized by Gordon Raspin.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED
Photo: 	Patricia Kirkland and Tom Beck Acting Out a Famous Hollywood Piano Scene During Actor's Weekend.
About Len Luscombe:
http://www.glennamer.com/new/Pianola_Rolls_files/Len%20Luscombe%20Biography.pdf

Luscombe: Concerto For Two. Len Luscombe on Broadway 2686

George L. Cobb: Russian Rag. Max Kortlander 1918 n QRS 100870.
Digitally recorded from the digitized original piano roll by VV 12 Sep 2018. The original piano roll digitized by WSTCo in 2006.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Three Roll Piano Legends: Max Kortlander (M), Phil Ohman (L)and  Victor Arden (R)

George L. Cobb: Russian Rag. Max Kortlander 1918 on QRS 100870

Grieg - Fairchild: Anitra's Dance Fox-Trot. Edgar Fairchild & Adam Carroll 1924 On Ampico 63393. Recorded from digitized copy of the original piano roll by VViljanen 9 Oct 2018.
Any kind of commercial use prohibited.
Photo: Edgar Fairchild (1898-1975)Composer, songwriter ("I Can't Get You Out of My Mind"), conductor and pianist, educated at Juilliard (on scholarship) and a student of Percy Goetschius. He led his own trio, and conducted orchestras for several network radio programs. He was also the featured pianist in several Broadway musicals. Joining ASCAP in 1942, his chief musical collaborator was Jack Brooks. His other popular song compositions include "Gotta Go to Work Again", "I Made Arrangements With the Moon", "Gee! It Was a Beautiful Song", "Lady Precious Stream", "These 'n' That 'n' Those", "Moon In the Parlor", and "Are You Listenin' Joe?".

Basic info* of the original piano roll:
ANITRA'S DANCE "Peer Gynt Suite" special Dance arrangement
Roll Number: 63393, 63393F
Composer/Creator: Grieg, Fairchild
Pianist: Fairchild, Carroll
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: July, 1924
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $1.50
*Basic info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Grieg - Fairchild: Anitra's Dance Fox-Trot. Edgar Fairchild & Adam Carroll 1924 on Ampico 63393

Grieg-Fairchild-Carroll: To Spring Fox-Trot. Edgar Fairchild & Adam Carroll 1925 On Ampico 64523.
Recorded from digitized piano roll in Oct 2018 by VViljanen.
Photo: Adam Carroll with his son in 1935
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
TO SPRING Fox-Trot F sharp
Roll Number: 64523, 64523F
Composer/Creator: Grieg
Pianist: Fairchild, Carroll
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: May, 1925
Category: dance, popular
Original Price: $1.50
Notes: Arranged & published by Fairchild & Carroll
*Source of basic info:
The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Grieg-Fairchild-Carroll : To Spring Fox-Trot. Edgar Fairchild & Adam Carroll 1925 On Ampico 64523

Verdi - Lopez: Aida Fox-Trot. Vincent Lopez 1924 on Ampico 63693.
c Recorded from digitized original reproducing piano roll Jan 2, 2018 by VViljanen.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Vincent Lopez (1895-1975)autographed photo. Lopez was an American bandleader, actor and pianist.
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
AIDA Fox-Trot E flat
Roll Number: 63693, 63693F
Composer/Creator: Lopez
Pianist: Lopez
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: October, 1924
Category: dance, popular
Original Price: $1.50
Notes: Arrangement by Lopez; Assisted
*Info source:The Pano Player Group web page (by permission)

Verdi - Lopez: Aida Fox-Trot. Vincent Lopez 1924 on Ampico 63693

Tango In Eleven-tone D. Feat. Isaac Albeniz/George Copeland 1915 on Duo-Art 5662. Arr./adapted into 11-tone scale by  VViljanen.
Recorded only for educational and pedagogical purposesfrom digitized reproducing piano roll (with described scale modification) by VViljanen Feb 1, 2019, ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
c VViljanen 2019

Tango in Eleven-tone D. Feat. Isaac Albeniz/George Copeland 1915 on Duo-Art 5662

My warmest thanks to everyone stopping by for listening to my tracks, the most of the representing a  'REVIEW   OF THE PAST TIME PIANISTS' INTERPRETATIONS ON THE HISTORICAL PIANO ROLLS, and in addition to them, also to a minor but growing  LISTS of MY MY OWN RENDITIONS, all of the latter representing a variety of piano music, & some pipe-organ classics, - and  TO THE Growing LISTS OF (just lately done and reproduced)  TRANSCRIPTIONS OF VARIOUS CHAMBER MUSIC CLASSICAL PEARLS FOR TWO PIANOS.
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.

Apologies to Composers

Veikko Viljanen