Most of the pieces belonging at least somehow to the category of 'Golden Age' 1910-20's , beginning with a half hour's 'borrowed' material, and continuing with my own re-recordings of old reproducing piano rolls...and a few arrangements
Photo: Ernö Rapée at the NBC microphone

Nostalgy Radio

Re-rec. of the piano-roll Aeolian(UK) # 032, originally played by Max Darevsky 1921, Scanned by Julian Dyer, and rendered into a digital copy 2007. - Recorded Sep 25, 2015 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.

Elgar-Darevsky: Land of Hope and Glory Variations, played by Max Darevsky 1921

Tea For Two played by Adam Carroll (1924) on Ampico Piano Roll # 205521,
Recorded 20 Jan 2015, and the rec updated 31 Oct 2018, by VV from the digitized copy of the original roll  obtained by scanning the original piano roll by Warren Tractman. Instrument of re-rec.&updated rec..: virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, modified by VV
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Tea for Two from musical comedy 'No, No, Nanette'  sheet music cover
Basic info of the original roll:
TEA FOR TWO "No No Nanette" Fox-Trot A flat
Roll Number: 205521, 205521E
Composer/Creator: Youmans
Pianist: Carroll
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: January, 1925
Category: dance, popular, song
Original Price: $1.25
Notes: With words
*Info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Vincent Youmans: Tea For Two. Adam Carroll in 1924 on Ampico 205521

Gershwin: LIZA, played by J.Lawrence Cook on QRS Piano Roll #4777. Re-recorded in 2015 by VViljanen (by permission)from digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll with virtual Grand Bluethner Model One, tone/sound modified/redesigned by VV.

Gershwin: Liza. J.Lawrence Cook in 1920's on QRS 4777

The Camel Walk played by Willard Robison 1925 on AeolianMelODeeSongRoll - 47104. Re-recorded in 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.

The Camel Walk. Willard Robison 1925 on Aeolian 47104

Blue, played by  Zez Confrey 1922 on Golden Age Piano Roll #2004. 
Scanned and digitized by Warren Trachtmann 2007, http://www.trachtman.org/rollscans/RollListing.php . 
Re-recorded from this digitally simulated reconstructed original piano roll by VV in 2015 using on its playback a modelled Grand Bluethner, sound/tone modified by VV.

Blue, played by  Zez Confrey 1922

They'll Be Whistling It All Over Town*. Played by Pete Wendling 1917 on QRS Piano Roll # 444. Converted into a digital form by Warren Trachtman 2004. 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.
*composer J.Schwartz

They'll Be Whistling It All Over Town, played by Pete Wendling 1917

AmpicoRecording - 1301 - recorded 1924 by EdgarFairchild*. 
- A ballad omposed by Seitz 1919.  Re-recorded in 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.
*The original piano roll converted into a digital form by Robert Perry 2010 and made freely available for NON-commercial purposes.
Photo by VV
Info of the original piano roll:
THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR THE SUNRISE Ballad D flat
Roll Number: 1301, 1301F
Composer/Creator: Seitz
Pianist: Fairchild
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: April, 1924
Category: ballad, classical, song
Original Price: $1.50
Notes: With words
*Edgar Fairchild, also known as Milton Suskind

Seitz: The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise, played by Edgar Fairchild in 1924

Played by Zez Confrey on QRS World Roll #1361.   Composed by Zamecknick** 1920.
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
*Freely made available for NON-commercial purposes  by Robert Perry . rob@pianola.co.nz / http://www.pianola.co.nz
**John Stepan Zamecnik (May 14, 1872 in Cleveland, Ohio – June 13, 1953 in Los Angeles, California) was an American composer and conductor. He is best known for the "photoplay music" he composed for use during silent films by pianists, organists, and orchestras.

Zamecknick: Biddy, played by ZezConfrey in 1921

[NOTE: Going forward new episodes of this podcast will release on the first Wednesday of each month.] 

The fifth 78Man presents podcast features hit songs that may be older than you think! 

Tracks heard are: 
"Ain't She Sweet" by Harry Bidgood and his Broadcasters
"Are You Lonesome Tonight" by Sam Lanin and his Dance Orchestra
"My Resistance Is Low" by Hoagy Carmichael
"Spread A Little Happiness" by Original Havana Band
"Smoke Gets In Your Eyes" by Turner Layton
"These Foolish Things by Jean Sablon
"Way Down Yonder In New Orleans" by Al Jolson
"The Sunshine Of Your Smile" by Lilian Davies
"Cry Me A River" by Marion Ryan

More info can be found at the 78Man blog - https://78manblog.wordpress.com/

05 Older Than You Think

Ain'tMisbehavin  played 1929 by Fats Waller on ORS piano roll No 7883. Reconstructed in 1943. Re-recorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll, using on its playback and recording a modelled Erard Grand, tone/sound modified/re-designed by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo:Fats Waller

Ain't Misbehavin played by Fats Waller 1929 on QRS piano roll 7883

'Blue Grass' was issued in October 1928 as DuoArt roll number 0561 in the USA or 0906 in the UK. (It would have been recorded in New York). 
Recorded in 2016 by VViljanen and the rec updated Feb 21, 2023 by VV (by permission)from the digitallysimulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll , using on its playback and rec a modelled Grand Bluethner, modified by VV.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Photo: Pauline Alpert
Info of the original piano roll:
BLUE GRASS ("Southern" Fox-Trot Song)
Roll Number: 0561, 0561
Composer/Creator: Henderson
Pianist: Alpert
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: October, 1928
Category: dance, popular, song
Original Price: $1.25 (Avg price (between $0.65 and $2.00))
Notes: With words

Henderson: Blue Grass.  Pauline Alpert 1928 on Duo-Art 0561

Nacio Herb Brown: Doll Dance played by Constance Mering 1926 on Aeolian (Duo-Art) No 713376.
Recorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll.
ANY IND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Constance Mering & Muriel Pollock
Basic info of the original piano roll:
DOLL DANCE from "Hollywood Music Box Revue" (Fox-Trot Dance)
Roll Number: 713376, 713376-D
Composer/Creator: Brown
Pianist: Mering
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: June, 1927
Category: dance, popular
Original Price: $1.25

Nacio Herb Brown: Doll Dance played 1926    by Constance Mering

Grainger: Children's March 'Over the Hills And Far Away'. Percy Grainger & Lotta Hough 1920 on Duo-Art 6368.
Recorded in 2016, and the rec. updated Nov 24, 2017and Feb 22, 2023 by VViljanen (by permission)from playback of digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll, using a modelled Grand Blüthner modified by VVV
Photo: Percy Grainger (1882-1961)
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
CHILDREN'S MARCH: Over the Hills And Far Away (arrangement for Two Pianos)
Roll Number: 6368, 6368-5
Composer/Creator: Grainger
Pianist: Grainger, Hough
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: December, 1920
Category: popular, salon
Original Price: $3.25 (Price after 1922)
*Info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Grainger: Children's March, Percy Grainger & Lotta Hough in 1920, on Duo-Art 6368

Peith & Earl Play in 1923 Scotto: Tango In The Night, on Duo-Art piano roll 1913-5.
Re-recorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission from Terry Smythe, Winnipeg)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. 
A TANGO IN THE NIGHT (Un Tango dans la Nuit) (tango Dance)
Roll Number: 1913, 19135-D
Composer/Creator: Scotto
Pianist: Leith, Earl
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: September, 1923
Category: dance
Original Price: $1.25

Scotto: Tango In The Night, Peith & Earl in 1923 on Duo-Art 1913-5

Andrei Kmita Plays Old Scottish Ballad Annie Laurie, on Ampico Piano Roll 241.
Re-recorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission from Terry Smythe, Winnipeg)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. 
ANNIE LAURIE Ballad key of C
Roll Number: 241, 241F
Composer/Creator: Scott
Pianist: Kmita
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: n/a
Category: ballad, popular, song
Original Price: $1.50
Notes: With words

Andrei Kmita Plays Old Scottish Song Annie Laurie, on Ampico Piano Roll 241

Zez Confrey plays in 1926 his 'Dizzy Fingers', On Ampico piano roll  65581.
Re-recorded in 2016 by VViljanen (by permission)from the digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll, and updated the rec jan 29, 2023, using on its playback and recording a modelled combined/'morphed' Blüthner Grand & Petrof Mistral 284 Grand, modified, revoiced and re-designed by VV.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: Zez Confrey 1895-1971
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
DIZZY FINGERS novelty 1-step
Roll Number: 65581, 65581F
Composer/Creator: Confrey
Pianist: Confrey
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: January, 1926
Category: classical, popular
Original Price: $1.5
*Info source: The Piano Player Group web page (by permission)

Confrey: Dizzy Fingers. Zez Confrey  1926, on Ampico 65581

Mendelssohn-Liszt:  Wedding March and Elfin Chorus. Lester Donahue  July1920  on Duo-Art 6310.
Recorded in 2016 (and the rec updated June 12, 2024) by VViljanen (by permission)from digitally simulated reconstructed original reproducing piano roll, using on its playback a modeled Petrof Mistral & Bluethner 'mixed' grand, modified, revoiced and setup made by VV.
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED. 
Photo: 'Midsummer Roses' by VV June2017
Basic info* of the original piano roll:
WEDDING MARCH and ELFIN CHORUS from "A Midsummer Night's Dream", Op. 6 (transcribed by Liszt)
Roll Number: 6310, 6310
Composer/Creator: Mendelssohn
Pianist: Donahue
Roll System: Duo-Art
Country: US
Date: July, 1920
Category: classical
Original Price: $2.50 (Price after 1922)
*Roll info rource: from The Player Piano  Group web page (by permission)

Mendelssohn-Liszt: Wedding March and Elfin Chorus. Lester Donahue 1920 on Duo-Art 6310

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

Schwartz: Ragtime Eyes, played by Daly on Welte piano roll 3535.
Re-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/designed by VV.
COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.

Schwartz: Ragtime Eyes, played by Daly on Welte piano roll 3535

Padilla La Violetera 'Who Will Buy My Violets'. Henry Lange 1924 On Ampico 204491.
Recorded (by permission) from digitized copy of the original reproducing piano roll 20 Nov 2017 by VViljanen.
Photo: City Lights (1931), for which Chaplin used La Violetera
ANY KIND OF COMMERCIAL USE PROHIBITED.
Basic info* of the original roll:
WHO'LL BUY MY VIOLETS? (LA VIOLETERA) "Little Miss Bluebeard" tango A flat
Roll Number: 204491, 204491E
Composer/Creator: Padilla
Pianist: Lange
Roll System: Ampico
Country: US
Date: February, 1924
Category: classical, song
Original Price: $1.25
Notes: With words
*Info source: The Piano Player Group Web page (by permission)

José Padilla: La Violetera - 'Who Will Buy My Violets'. Henry Lange 1924 on Ampico 204491

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 a small LIST of MY MODEST 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.

Nostalgy Radio

Veikko Viljanen