HKB Welte-Mignon Advent Calendar and Magic Piano
This is a wonderful series of interviews recorded in 2021, that Sebastian Bausch had with key experts in the piano music roll world. We have listed all 24 interviews below, accessible thru the link to the HKB YouTube channel.
These are the 24 videos…
01.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 1582 – Beethoven, Sonata f minor Op. 2 Nr. 1, 1st and 2nd movement – Herbert Fryer
Introduction by Sebastian Bausch and Manuel Bärtsch, Bern University of the Arts
02.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 750 and 751 – Kienzl, Two excerpts from “Der Evangelimann” – Wilhelm Kienzl
Introduction by Thomas Gartmann, Head of the Research Department at the University of the Arts, Bern
03.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 3927a – Beethoven: Piano Concerto Nr. 5 Op. 73, 2nd movement – Georg Liebling
Introduction by Kai Köpp, Professor for Musicology and Interpretation Research at the University of the Arts, Bern
04.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 410 – Liszt: Valse-Impromptu – Paula Hegner
Introduction by Jörg Holzmann, Musicologist and Guitarist, PhD Student at the University of the Arts, Bern
05.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 2891 – Lange: Zu Weihnachten, Fantasie – Eugenie Adam
Interview with Marc Widuch, Founder of www.pianolarollen.de / faszinationpianola.de and initiator of the Global Piano Roll Meeting, on the fascinating story behind pianist Eugenie Adam-Benard, the first pianist ever to record for Welte-Mignon
06.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 652 – Beethoven: Sonata E major Op. 109, 1st and 2nd movement – Felix Weingartner
Introduction by Peter Phillips, Sydney, who devoted decades of his life to creating high-quality digitizations and emulations of piano rolls and has provided his knowledge and help to the Bern piano roll research countless times.
07.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 681 – Bach: Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue BWV 903 – Otto Neitzel
Introduction by Johannes Gebauer, violinist and currently postdoc researcher on 19th-century performance practice at the Bern University of the Arts.
He wrote a groundbreaking and soon-to-be-published dissertation on Joseph Joachim
08.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 2972 – Beethoven: Sonata in A major Op. 101, 1st and 2nd movement – Eugen d’Albert
Introduction by Camilla Köhnken, former research fellow and doctorate student at the University of the Arts Bern, now postdoc research at the Orpheus Institute, Ghent
09.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 2 – Schumann: Papillons Op. 2 – Eugenie Adam-Benard
Introduction by Laura Granero, fortepianist, HIP researcher and doctoral student of Clive Brown at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts
10.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 1168 – Schumann: Papillons Op. 2 – Arthur de Greef
Introduction by Sebastian Bausch, co-initiator of the Magic Piano project
11.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 621 – Mozart: Adagio in B minor K.540 – Fritz von Bose
Introduction by Clive Brown, Emeritus Professor at the University of Leeds, pioneer of 19th-century HIP and practice-based research, and author of the groundbreaking book “Classical and Romantic Performing Practice 1750-1900“
12.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 1053-55: 3 Christmas Carols – Interview with Hans Schmitz on Hugo Popper and Welte
Interview with Hans Schmitz, expert on Welte-Mignon restauration, author of the scholarly catalog of Welte-Mignon recordings (together with Gerhard Dangel), and long-time collaborator in the HKB roll research projects
13.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 457 – Beethoven: Variation in F major Op. 34 – Clotilde Kleeberg
Introduction by Martin Skamletz, professor for music theory and head of the “Institut Interpretation” of the research department at the University of the Arts, Bern. Initiator of several roll related research project in Bern
14.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 1787 – Sgambati: Toccata in A flat major Op. 18,4 – Fanny Davies
Introduction by Gerhard Dangel, retired curator of the Augustinermuseum Freiburg i. Br.
15.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 733 – Beethoven: Sonata in A flat major, 1st movement – Georg Alfred Schumann
Introduction by Neal Peres da Costa, professor of historical performance and associate dean of research at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (University of Sydney). Neal’s book “Off the record” opened up an entirely new perspective on early recordings, including piano rolls, as evidence for the forgotten performing traditions of 19th-century piano playing
16.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 906 – Saint-Saëns: Toccata from the Etudes Op. 111 – Germaine Schnitzer
Introduction by the “La Nouvelles Athènes Early Recordings Group“
17.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 1504 – Beethoven: Sonata in F minor Op. 57, 1st movement – Graf Carl von Pückler
Introduction by Manuel Bärtsch, co-initiator of the Magic Piano project at the University of the Arts in Bern
18.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 721 – Liszt: St. Francis Legend Nr. 1 – José Vianna da Motta
Introduction by Miriam Gómez-Morán, professor for piano at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Castilla y León in Salamanca and HIP researcher with a PhD dissertation on the performing practice of Franz Liszt
19.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 3658 – Liszt: 2 Pieces from the “Christmas Tree” – Michael von Zadora
Introduction by Sebastian Bausch, co-initiator of the Magic Piano project
20.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 184 – Beethoven: Ecossaisen – Carl Reinecke; Interview with Rex Lawson
Interview with Rex Lawson, world-class pianolist and founder of the Pianola Institute, about the history of the Institute, his performances of hand-played rolls by Grieg and Scriabin, and the usefulness of piano roll emulations
21.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 2168 – Khvostchinsky: Sonata Op. 7, 1st movement – Pyotr A. Khvostchinsky
Introduction by Wolfgang Huller, great-grandson of Karl Bockisch, one of the inventors of the Welte-Mignon
22.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 236 – Beethoven: Sonata Op. 90 – Xaver Scharwenka
Interview with Kumaran Arul, Lecturer in Music at Stanford University, and one of the directors of the Player Piano Program at Stanford. Stanford has done pioneer work in making roll scans available online
23.12.2021
Welte-Mignon Nr. 2738 – Debussy: 3 Préludes – Claude Debussy
Introduction by Michael Lehner, lecturer in music theory at the Bern University of the Arts. Michael participated in several research projects on piano rolls at the HKB, in which he studied and analyzed rolls by Mahler, Debussy, and Reger
24.12.2021
Introduction by Sebastian Bausch, co-initiator of the Magic Piano project
The HKB Project ‘Magic Piano’ is designed as a mediation project, sources, data, findings and results are now to be made accessible audiences – through concerts, discussions and concerts, discussions and workshops, but above all but above all through their own actions. More conscious listening and freer playing are the main objectives in order to get to know interpretation as a discipline in its own right. There are many great things available at the Magic Piano Website.