Duo-art Player

Duo-Art Player Piano Roll - Erno Rapee - “Christmas Fantasie” - 100478 About the Interpreter:  Erno Rapee was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1891.  Growing up amidst the Music Halls of Budapest, Rapee was known as a musical virtuoso at the age of 18, graduating from the Budapest Conservatory in 1909.  Before moving to the United States, he conducted the orchestra in several German opera houses. He left Hungary in 1912, arriving in New York City. He became musical Director of the Hungarian Opera of NY. From there, he moved on to become musical Director of the Rialto Theatre, the Roxy Theatre and the Capitol Theatre. He eventually used his musical expertise to write film scores for early silent films, such as "Charmaine", "Angela Mia" and others. He returned to Europe to guest conduct the Symphony Orchestras of Berlin, Vienna and Budapest. Once back in the U.S., he joined Warner Brothers and First National Pictures as Musical Director in Hollywood for a time.  Then, he returned to the East Coast and joined the National Broadcasting Company as Musical Director and eventually, Musical Head of Radio City Music Hall.  He died in 1945. About the piece: “Christmas Fantasie” contains various well known seasonal songs like "Jingle Bells." About the Manufacturer:  Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century. These technologies flourished at that time because of the poor quality of the early phonograph. From 1913 - 1925, a number of distinguished classical and popular pianists (such as Harold Bauer) recorded for Duo-Art, and their rolls are a legacy of 19th-century and early 20th-century aesthetic and musical practice. The recording process – using a piano wired to a perforating machine – was unable to capture the pianist's dynamics automatically. These were added by a recording technician, who manipulated hand controls to notate the dynamics onto the recording 'master'. Post-recording editing was required to produce the finished performance – usually a joint effort by the recording technician and the pianist, who approved the final product. Thus, these recordings do represent the overall style of these great artists and are a good representation of their live performances." This role has not been played in over 70 years.  It was purchased by a family who owned an Aeolian baby grand player piano.  The role was stored in a basement for decades and looks to be in good condition.  However, I have not seen or heard it play myself. I only ship to addresses in the U.S. via USPS.  Please examine the photos carefully.  No returns.