Classical artists on BluesTone Ampico rolls include Clarence Adler, Harold Bauer, Ferrucio Busoni, Teresa Carreno, Leopold Godowsky, Phillip Gordon, Arthur Loesser, Arthur Mirovitch, Elly Ney, Marguerite Volavy, and Eleanor Winogradoff.

Popular artists on BluesTone Ampico rolls include John Arpin, Eubie Blake, Adam Carroll, Edgar Fairchild, and J. Rosamond Johnson.

Playing Ampico rolls on regular 88-note player pianos: Ampico rolls are layed out so that they will play fine on any standard 88-note player. If you wish, you can use a piece of Scotch tape to cover channels 3-6 on the bass end and channels 91-97 on the treble end so that no extraneous notes are played on your piano. For details please take a look at a brief BluesTone Tracker Bar Comparison. Note that the automatic sustain channel will still operate normally in this case.

BT-115 Negro Spirituals (traditional) $15
arranged and played by J. Rosamond Johnson (originally issued on Ampico 69493, December 1928)

J. Rosamond Johnson was an important singer and arranger of spirituals, who wrote several books of them with his brother, fellow composer James Weldon Johnson. The first of these two pieces is a ballad-like piece played very seriously and emotionally. The second is a fun, animated piece that is played with a good share of humor. Although the original roll was issued without lyrics, both pieces appear in Johnson's books, and the lyrics and music are included in a Dover reprint of these and other Negro spirituals.

BT-176A St. Louis Blues (Handy) $20
played by John Arpin

John Arpin has rightfully earned the status of one of the finest ragtime players of our time. His flawless technique and beautiful, intelligent arrangements are renowned. This particular roll starts and finishes with a great nightclub-style improvised slow, cool jazz style. Right in the middle when you least expect it John slams into a hot boogie-woogie section which cooks like nobody's business! When John appeared at the 1990 Scott Joplin Festival in Sedalia, MO he was asked to record his clever arrangement of this tune. Bob Taylor (who is famous for hand-coding the Leo Podolsky Ampico rolls a few years ago for Chicago AMICA) liked this performance so well that he took on the task of coding it for the AMPICO (both A and B) with impressive results. You'll find this classy performance is like no other Ampico roll issued, and a welcome relief to the long drought of good new Ampico popular music we've had to tolerate.

BT-221 Charleston Rag (Eubie Blake) $15
played by the composer Eubie Blake (originally issued on Ampico 54174, ca. 1917)

Here is the classic performance of Charleston Rag which Eubie recorded for Ampico around 1917. This is an outstanding roll of a milestone rag, and it is one of only two Eubie made for Ampico (the other being Goodnight Angeline - available below). Believe it or not, this is recut from the only known original of this roll (thank you, Mike Montgomery). This recut was checked meticulously against the original to verify that absolutely no errors were introduced in the recutting process. See Rags and Ragtime for more info. (NOTE: Eubie also recorded a single roll for Duo-Art, which is also available on BluesTone: Negro Spirituals Medley)

AMP-001 Impromptu - Op. 90, No. 3 (Schubert) $15
played by Teresa Carreno (originally issued on Ampico 50015, ca. 1916?)

AMP-002 Impromptu - Op. 90, No. 4 (Schubert) $18
played by Harold Bauer (originally issued on Ampico 51517, ca. 1916?)

AMP-003 Impromptu - Op. 142, No. 3 (Schubert) $15
played by Clarence Adler (originally issued on Ampico 50536, ca. 1916?)

AMP-004 Impromptu - Op. 142, No. 4 (Schubert) $15
played by Elly Ney (originally issued on Ampico 22003, Feb. 1922)

The Schubert Impromptus are lovely pieces that have been recorded extensively in recent years. When I heard them on CD's recorded by Alfred Brendel (Phillips) and Murray Perahia (Columbia) I began searched for them on reproducing rolls. Ampico and Duo-Art each issued Op. 90, Nos. 3 & 4; and Op. 142, Nos. 2, 3 & 4. To date I have located four of these rolls, which comprise the first four Ampico rolls in this new series. All four are fine rolls; the price of Op. 90 No. 4 reflects the fact that this roll is over 64 feet long.

AMP-005 Scherzo - Op. 31 in B Flat Minor (Chopin) $18
played by Alfred Mirovitch (originally issued on Ampico 64713, July 1925)

This Scherzo is a hugely popular, outstanding Chopin composition, and this roll features a lovely extended performance. This roll is over 70 feet long and plays for 8-9 minutes!

AMP-006 Ballade - Op. 23 in G Minor (Chopin) $18
played by Ferruccio Busoni (originally issued on Ampico 50047, ca. 1916)

AMP-007 Nocturne - Op. 62, No. 2 E Major (Chopin) $18
played by Arthur Loesser (originally issued on Ampico 53627, ca. 1917)

AMP-008 Waltz - Op. 64, No. 2 in C# Minor (Chopin) $15
played by Leopold Godowsky (originally issued on Ampico 54954, ca. 1918-19?)

AMP-009 Etude - Op. 8, No. 5 in E Major (Scriabin) $15
played by Eleanor Winogradoff (originally issued on Ampico 56193, ca. 1921)

AMP-010 Perpetual Motion - Rondo from Sonata, Op. 54 (von Weber) $15
played by Phillip Gordon (originally issued on Ampico 63273, June 1924)

AMP-011 Three Preludes - Op. 28, No. 17 in Ab Major / Op. 28, No. 3 in G Major / Op. 45 in C# Minor (Chopin) played by Marguerite Volavy (originally issued on Ampico 70953, February 1932) $20

This group of classical Ampico rolls includes both early and very late releases, and all are top-notch. The list is dominated by Chopin pieces which are likely familiar to most listeners. The Ballade and Nocturne are both longer selections, the Nocturne being a particularly sensitive performance; both required medium-sized boxes. The Waltz is probably one of Chopin's best-known; it and the Scriabin Etude roll are both quite dramatic. Perpetual Motion has always been one of my favorites: one of my earliest recollections of a real show-off piece, when I heard it played on a 7' Mason & Hamlin!

The Preludes roll is very long (77' of paper, about 8 minutes of playing) and being a late issue, is coded for the Ampico B. It is a great roll for showing off you piano; all three Preludes are very dramatic (half of the roll is taken up by the beautiful Op. 45).

AMP-012 Goodnight Angeline (Europe, Sissle & Blake) $15
played by Eubie Blake & Edgar Fairchild (originally issued on Ampico 200743, ca. 1919) lyric sheet included

AMP-013 Baby Buntin' (Sissle & Blake) $15
played by Edgar Fairchild (originally issued on Ampico 203681, June 1923) lyric sheet included

AMP-014 Home in Pasadena (Warren) $15
played by Adam Carroll (originally issued on Ampico 204611, April 1924) lyric sheet included

AMP-015 Black Bottom (Henderson) $15
played by Adam Carroll (originally issued on Ampico 207781, September 1926) lyric sheet included

Next are four terrific Ampico popular rolls. First is Goodnight Angeline, the OTHER scarce Eubie Blake-played Ampico roll (the first being Charleston Rag, available above). The other three are terrific, later pop. rolls what absolutely sparkle. The Adam Carroll rolls are just snappy as hell and this Edgar Fairchild recording of Baby Buntin' (another Eubie Blake composition) is just as lively. All are top-notch pop rolls, although Home in Pasadena is probably my favorite!

Amp-016 Fantasie, Op. 49 in F Minor, Part 1 (Chopin)
Amp-017 Fantasie, Op. 49 in F Minor, Part 2 (Chopin)
played by Mischa Levitzki (originally issued on Ampico 63623 and 63633 / October 1924)

SOLD ONLY AS A 2-ROLL SET (two VERY LARGE rolls - over 120' of music!) $40

Chopin's Fantasie is a single-movement composition from 1841, which, while loosely in sonata form, is a shorter composition than Chopin's sonatas. Nevertheless, it builds to an exciting conclusion. Maurice Hinton's "Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire" describes the piece very succinctly: "This brilliant and difficult masterpiece is structurally one of Chopin's most successful designs. (It) begins in march time and includes a two-bar motive of a Polish folk song. Improvisatory and march-like passages repeated in three different keys, followed by a short Lento sostenuto. Ending is quiet until the final keyboard sweep." Between the two rolls, this composition plays for a very satisfying 13 minutes.

Amp-018 Concerto in G Minor, Op. 22 - 1st Mvmnt. (Saint-Saëns)
Amp-019 Concerto in G Minor, Op. 22 - 2nd Mvmnt. (Saint-Saëns)
Amp-020 Concerto in G Minor, Op. 22 - 3rd Mvmnt. (Saint-Saëns)
played by Victor Wittgenstein (originally issued on Ampico 53717, 53995 and 54066 / late 1917)

SOLD ONLY AS A 3-ROLL SET (three LARGE rolls - over 150' of music!) $50

This is the second and most famous of Saint- Saëns' piano concerti. It was written in 1868 for a concert to be conducted by his friend and fellow pianist Anton Rubinstein, and it debuted on May 13, 1868 with the composer at the piano. The 1st movement (Andante sostenuto) is the longest, taking over 11 minutes to perform. It is a beautiful movement full of grand musical gestures and lovely arpeggios. But my favorite movements are the 2nd (Allegro Scherzando) and 3rd (Presto) which are more animated and fun to listen to. Each is 5-6 minutes long, for a total playing time of over 20 minutes!

Amp-021 Carnaval, Op. 9 - Part 1 (Robert Schumann)
Amp-022 Carnaval, Op. 9 - Part 2 (Robert Schumann)
Amp-023 Carnaval, Op. 9 - Part 3 (Robert Schumann)
Amp-024 Carnaval, Op. 9 - Part 4 (Robert Schumann)
played by Benno Moiseiwitsch (originally issued on Ampico 65733, 65743, 65753, 65763 / March 1926)

SOLD ONLY AS A 4-ROLL SET (four VERY LARGE rolls - over 250' of music!) $75

Schumann wrote Carnaval in 1835 when he was just 25 years old! It is a series of 21 movements, primarily based on the pitches of A, "S", C, and "H" (in German, S = Eb and H = Ab). Hence, this was something of a musical game using all of the musical pitches in Schumann's name. Originally titled "Carnival Pranks on Four Notes, for Piano", the musical themes range from fictional characters ("Arlequin" and "Florestan") to such people as his wife Clara ("Chiarina"), Chopin, and Paganini. The movements vary from light, introspective passages to the bombastic finale. I find that Schumann's longer piano compositions such as Papillons, Kreisleriana, Kinderscenen, the Symphonice Etudes, and of course Carnaval are among my favorite piano pieces.

Amp-025 Preludes, Op. 28 Nos. 6, 21, & 23 (Chopin) $18
played by Antoinette Szumowska (originally issued on Ampico 57675 / ca. 1920)

Chopin's 24 preludes, opus 28, were composed between 1836 - 1839. This roll offers a nice sampling: Nos. 6 (B Minor), 21 (B-flat Major) and 23 (F Major). The first very delicate and beautiful. The second is a slow waltz featuring legato figures in the left hand under a lyrical melody in the right. The third features very fast sixteenth notes in the right hand, and almost reminds me of Flight of the Bumblebee! After all the heavy compositions among these Ampico selections, this selection is a nice, lighter alternative.