Music For Christmas.

Music for Christmas .

I ^ IAXOFORTE playing is one of the most interesting and entertaining of home pleasures , and playing the piano b y means of the Pianola is a form of music production of the utmost interest and charm . Every clay since the time when the Pianola was lirst made known to the public if has

been creating new friends for itself , until now it is almost generally accepted that to realise and complete the piano ' s usefulness , it is necessary to possess a Pianola also . Musicians , among whom one would naturally expect to find its most severe and exacting critics , have accepted it as an

important addition to the pianoforte art , and the most famous pianists and composers , men whose names are known to all , have acclaimed the

Pianola , in so many words , " an artistic and valuable aid to pianoforte playing . " The highest development of the Pianola idea is found in the Metrostyle Pianola . Towards the successful evolution of this new instrument Paclerewski , Moszkowski , Strauss , Grieg , Banc r .

Hofmann , Chaminade , and other equally famous musicians , have given their valuable aid . Its attainment is something unique in music . It enables anyone to play according to the ideas an d

st yle of the above-named authorities . The tempo at which Padcrcwski plays , the dynamic effects he employs , his individual ideas of interpretation , the subtle changes and nuances that characterise the playing of fhis great master , have , been recorded by him on Pianola music rolls . His whole conception of pianoforte playing , the result of all the knowledge and experiments that such a virtuoso possesses , has been

transferred b y him to paper for the benefit of Metrostyle Pianola owners . This merely by way of instance ; what Padcrcwski has done so have Chaminade and Bauer and others . As with many great inventions , this creation of a new

tactor in music results from very simple means . In playing with the aid of the Pianola , the expression is controlled through what are termed expression levers . To one of these , the tempo lever ( so named because its function is to regulate the time at which a composition is played ) , is

affixed a pen . When a composition is played with the Metrostyle Pianola this pen traces a line on the unwinding music roll , which line forms a faithful index to all the tempo and dynamic effects that have been employed in the rendition . All music rolls marked in this way are preserved in order

that facsimile reproductions may be made , which give to the world lasting records of great performances . But a greater and more interesting feature of the Metrostyle Pianola lies in the fact that , by following the printed line with the Metrostyle pointer , the artiste ' s playing is reproduced over again . For the first time , therefore , in the history of piano-playing it is possible to fashion

one ' s playing on the actual and authorised interpretations of the virtuosi of to day . Recitals with the performances of Bauer , Hofmann , Chaminade , & c , as items on the programme , may be held in one ' s own home . Apart from the interest and entertainment

afforded by the Metrostyle Pianola , its value as a musical educator is a point of the utmost importance . It is as if one had the great exponents of the pianoforte as tutors , for their ideas of interpretation arc made common to all . In conclusion , to possess a Metrostyle Pianola is to

have at one ' s command the key to practicall y all that there is of music , and to be able at any time to render the classics of pianoforte literature in a wav that only the virtuoso can equal ; lighter music , too— -marches , waltzes , comic operas , song

and instrumental accompaniments , all are available . In short , money spent in the purchase of a Metrostyle Pianola brings a return in

pleasure-giving occupation and entertainment suilicient to make it an investment of the soundest and most satisfactory nature . No more fitting Christmas gift could be thought of than the Pianola , and our readers should pay a visit to the showrooms of the Orchestrcllc Company at their beautiful place , yKolian Hall , 135-6-7 , New Bond Street , W .