The Grand Piano Series

Josef Hofmann's device for measuring the exact touch of a pianist

In the Grand Piano series, there have been a number of revelations, not only for musicians ignorant of the historic performances locked away in reproducing-piano rolls - but surprises for many dyed-in-the-wool collectors of these same recordings.

On the one hand, there are recordings of famous pianists who never made a single 78-rpm disc, such as Siloti, a pupil of Liszt. Then there are barely surviving records of Beethoven Sonatas by fabled virtuosi, who are only known for shorter pieces that would fit comfortably on the old 4-minute turntable with the usual sound of eggs and bacon frying scratchily in the background.

In David Dubal's booklet accompanying Nimbus' latest release (NI 8818 Josef Hofmann playing Liszt and Beethoven), there is a different sort of surprise - a long-forgotten photograph of Hofmann with his invention for measuring the exact touch of the pianist. This device was in use in the Duo Art studios already in 1924, but was kept rather secret, since rivals were sniffing around, not far away, seeking a booster for their own production.

It was not until 1929 , that The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America was able to publish a description of the 'Spark Chronograph for measuring Intensity of Percussion Instrument Tones' by Dr. Hickman of the rival Ampico system. But, by 1929, due to The Depression, the era of the Reproducing Piano was already in terminal decay.

Hofmann liked to boast that he made more money out of his inventions, such as the windshield wiper, than he did out of his piano playing. Musically, though, his most important invention was the Touch Recorder. All the same, it has to be remembered that the Duo-Art editors could not rely exclusively on the Touch Recorder. It was only one of several elements that contributed to the (second stage of) roll editing - a very useful, indeed vital, check that the reproduction performance emerging from the roll of perforated paper truly corresponded with the combined dynamic notations made in the studio. (For further information see A Technical Outline of the Reproducing Piano.)

Stage three was the checking of the result by the recording pianist. In the case of Hofmann, he was his own editor, and very content to verify stages two and three on his own. Percy Grainger too was insistent on being involved right through to production of the final result.

So, it is very exciting now to rediscover the ancient photograph of Josef Hofmann with his Touch Recorder. Furthermore, in each of the splendidly informative booklets issued with the Grand Piano series CDs, David Dubal discloses little-known facts that give deeper insight into the performances enshrined in the Nimbus transfers. Aeolian Duo Art spent a tremendous amount of energy, time and money preserving the playing of great pianists for future generations (and, of course to make oodles of money selling their own pianos). Little did they imagine, though, the millennium-proof sound quality that is now available on compact disc - 80-odd years later!

©1999 Gerald Stonehill