From 1832 until 1932, the firm produced mechanical musical instruments of the highest quality. The firm's founder, Michael Welte (1807-1880), and his company were prominent in the technical development and construction of orchestrions from 1850, until the early 20th century.
In 1872, the firm moved from the remote Black Forest town of Vöhrenbach into a newly developed business complex beneath the main railway station in Freiburg, Germany. They created an epoch-making development when they substituted the playing gear of their instruments from fragile wood pinned cylinders to perforated paper rolls. In 1883, Emil Welte (1841-1923), the eldest son of Michael, who had emigrated to the United States in 1865, patented the paper roll method (U.S. Patent 287,599), the model of the later piano roll. In 1889, the technique was further perfected, and again protected through patents. Later, Welte built only instruments using the new technique, which was also licensed to other companies. With branches in New York and Moscow, and representatives throughout the world, Welte became very well known.
One of the first Welte-Mignon-Pianos, keyboardless, built 1905-ca. 1908
The firm was already famous for its inventions in the field of the reproduction of music when Welte introduced the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano in 1904. "It automatically replayed the tempo, phrasing, dynamics and pedalling of a particular performance, and not just the notes of the music, as was the case with other player pianos of the time." In September, 1904, the Mignon was demonstrated in the Leipzig Trade Fair. In March, 1905 it became better known when showcased "at the showrooms of Hugo Popper, a manufacturer of roll-operated orchestrions". By 1906, the Mignon was also exported to the United States, installed to pianos by the firms Feurich and Steinway & Sons.[1] As a result of this invention by Edwin Welte (1876-1958) and his brother-in-law Karl Bockisch (1874-1952), one could now record and reproduce the music played by a pianist as true to life as was technologically possible at the time. Pianists who recorded for Welte-Mignon included Anna Schytte.[2]
Welte Philharmonic Organ
Further information (in German): List of Philharmonie organs made by M. Welte & Söhne [de]
Welte Philharmonic Organ
From 1911 on, a similar system for organs branded "Welte Philharmonic-Organ" was produced. Thirteen well-known European organist-composers of the era, among them Alfred Hollins, Eugene Gigout and Max Reger were photographed recording for the organ,[3] distinguished organists like Edwin Lemare, Clarence Eddy and Joseph Bonnet were recorded too. The largest Philharmonic Organ ever built is at the Salomons Estate of the Markerstudy Group.[4] This instrument was built in 1914 for Sir David Lionel Salomons to play not only rolls for the organ but also for his Welte Orchestrion No. 10 from about 1900, which he traded in for the organ. One of these organs can also be seen in the Scotty's Castle museum in Death Valley where it is played regularly during museum tours. An organ built for the HMHS Britannic never made its way to Belfast due to the outbreak of the First World War. It can currently be heard playing in the Swiss National Museum in Seewen.[5]
Welte Inc.
In 1912 a new company was founded, the "M. Welte & Sons. Inc." in New York, and a new factory was built in Poughkeepsie, New York. Shareholders were predominantly family members in the U.S. and Germany, among them Barney Dreyfuss, Edwin's brother-in-law.
As a result of the Alien Property Custodian enactment during the First World War, the company lost their American branch and all of their U.S. patents. This caused the company great economic hardship. Later the depression and the mass production of new technologies like the radio and the electric record player in the 1920s virtually brought about the demise of the firm and its expensive instruments. Other companies with similar products like American Piano Company (Ampico) and Duo-Art also began to fade from the scene at this time.
Welte & Sons also built pipe organs.
Welte-Lichtton-Orgel (1936)
From 1919 on, Welte also built theatre organs, in particular for installation in cinemas. With the introduction of "talkies" around 1927, the demand for these also began to diminish, and by 1931 production of such instruments had been severely curtailed. The last big theatre organ was a custom-built instrument for the Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NORAG) broadcasting company in Hamburg, still in place and still playing today. A number of other Welte theatre organs survive in museums.
In 1932 the firm, now with Karl Bockisch as sole owner, barely escaped bankruptcy, and began to concentrate on the production of church and other speciality organs.
The last project of Edwin Welte was an electronic organ equipped with photo-cells, the Lichttonorgel [de] or Phototone-Organ. This instrument was the first ever to use analoguesampled sound. In 1936, a prototype of this type of organ was demonstrated at a concert in the Berliner Philharmonie. The production of these organs - in cooperation with the Telefunken Company - was halted by the Nazi-government because the inventor, Edwin Welte, was married to Betty Dreyfuss, who was Jewish.
The business complex in Freiburg was bombed and completely destroyed in November 1944. This event seemed to obliterate the closely kept secrets of the firm and their recording apparatus and recording process appeared lost forever. But in recent years parts of the recording apparatus for the Welte Philharmonic-Organs and documents were found in the United States. It was then possible to theoretically reconstruct the recording process. The Augustiner Museum of Freiburg keeps the legacy of the company - all that survived the Second World War.
See and hear a Welte-Mignon piano roll play Mon Reve" by Hanna Vollenhoven
Welte Mignon made several organs for important churches as did Welte-Tripp. One of the last surviving instruments is in the Church of the Covenant, Boston Mass. This was restored by Austin several years ago - supposedly to the original state. It was altered by an organist in 1959 or 1960. Until that time it has been careful restored and releathered by the Reed-Treanor organ company. This included the entire combination action in the console and the manual relays in the church basement and the repair of the massive 25 HP DC motor that powered the Spencer Turbine blower. During the two years they cared for the organ no tonal or structural changes were made.
References
Notes
^The Pianola Institute: "The Reproducing Piano Welte-Mignon"
^Smith, Charles Davis; Howe, Richard J. (1994). The Welte-Mignon: Its Music and Musicians. Vestal Press. ISBN978-1-879511-17-0.
^Autogramme berühmter Meister der Tonkunst. Freiburg, New York, 1914 (undated), p. 57 -85
^Christoph E. Hänggi: Die Britannic-Orgel im Museum für Musikautomaten Seewen So. Festschrift zur Einweihung der Welte-Philharmonie-Orgel; Sammlung Heinrich Weiss-Stauffacher. Hrsg.: Museum für Musikautomaten Seewen SO. Seewen: Museum für Musikautomaten, 2007.
Wie von Geisterhand. Aus Seewen in die Welt. 100 Jahre Welte-Philharmonie-Orgel. Museum für Musikautomaten, Seewen (SO), Switzerland, 2011. ISBN978-3-9523397-2-5
Gerhard Dangel: The history of the Welte family and the house of M. Welte & Sons. In: The Pianola Journal, No. 18, London 2007, p. 3-49. ISSN 0952-6323
Gerhard Dangel und Hans-W. Schmitz: Welte-Mignon piano rolls: complete library of the European recordings 1904 - 1932 for the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano. Welte-Mignon Klavierrollen: Gesamtkatalog der europäischen Aufnahmen 1904 - 1932 für das Welte-Mignon Reproduktionspiano. Stuttgart 2006. ISBN3-00-017110-X
Automatische Musikinstrumente aus Freiburg in die Welt - 100 Jahre Welte-Mignon: Augustinermuseum Freiburg, Exhibition from September 17, 2005 to January 8, 2006 / [Ed.: Augustinermuseum]. With contrib. by Durward Rowland Center, Gerhard Dangel, ... [Red.: Gerhard Dangel]. Freiburg : Augustinermuseum, 2005.
Hermann Gottschewski: Die Interpretation als Kunstwerk: musikalische Zeitgestaltung und ihre Analyse am Beispiel von Welte-Mignon-Klavieraufnahmen aus dem Jahre 1905. Laaber: Laaber-Verlag 1996. ISBN3-89007-309-3
Charles David Smith and Richard James Howe: The Welte-Mignon: its music and musicians. Vestal, NY: Vestal Press, 1994. ISBN1-879511-17-7
Quirin David Bowers: Encyclopedia of automatic musical instruments: Cylinder music boxes, disc music boxes, piano players and player pianos... Incl. a dictionary of automatic musical instrument terms. Vestal, N. Y.: The Vestal Press, 1988.
Gerhard Dangel: Geschichte der Firma M. Welte & Söhne Freiburg i. B. und New York. Freiburg: Augustinermuseum 1991.
Peter Hagmann: Das Welte-Mignon-Klavier, die Welte-Philharmonie-Orgel und die Anfänge der Reproduktion von Musik. Bern [u.a.]: Lang, 1984. Online-Version 2002
External links
Complete listing of all Welte-Mignon-Rolls
A discussion of the Welte-Mignon, in English, published by the Pianola Institute, London, with many illustrations and audio examples www.pianola.org
The Player Piano Group - the UK's main Player Piano society
The International Association of Player-Piano, Roll-Playing and Automatic Instrument Enthusiasts
Musical Box Society International
(in German) German Society for self-playing instruments / Gesellschaft für selbstspielende Musikinstrumente e.V.
(in German)
Articles
(in German) Das Welte-Mignon-Klavier, die Welte-Philharmonie-Orgel und die Anfänge der Reproduktion von Musik by Peter Hagmann (1984)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Welte-Mignon.
June 06, 2023
welte, mignon, welte, sons, freiburg, york, manufacturer, orchestrions, organs, reproducing, pianos, established, vöhrenbach, michael, welte, 1807, 1880, 1832, welte, concert, orchestrion, style, number, 1895, contents, overview, welte, philharmonic, organ, we. M Welte amp Sons Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions organs and reproducing pianos established in Vohrenbach by Michael Welte 1807 1880 in 1832 Welte Concert Orchestrion style 6 number 198 1895 Contents 1 Overview 2 Welte Philharmonic Organ 3 Welte Inc 4 Media 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Sources 6 External links 6 1 ArticlesOverview Edit 1862 International Exhibition London The Orchestrion by M Welte of Vohrenbach in the Zollverein division The Illustrated London News Sept 20 1862 From 1832 until 1932 the firm produced mechanical musical instruments of the highest quality The firm s founder Michael Welte 1807 1880 and his company were prominent in the technical development and construction of orchestrions from 1850 until the early 20th century In 1872 the firm moved from the remote Black Forest town of Vohrenbach into a newly developed business complex beneath the main railway station in Freiburg Germany They created an epoch making development when they substituted the playing gear of their instruments from fragile wood pinned cylinders to perforated paper rolls In 1883 Emil Welte 1841 1923 the eldest son of Michael who had emigrated to the United States in 1865 patented the paper roll method U S Patent 287 599 the model of the later piano roll In 1889 the technique was further perfected and again protected through patents Later Welte built only instruments using the new technique which was also licensed to other companies With branches in New York and Moscow and representatives throughout the world Welte became very well known One of the first Welte Mignon Pianos keyboardless built 1905 ca 1908 Steinway Welte reproducing piano 1919 The firm was already famous for its inventions in the field of the reproduction of music when Welte introduced the Welte Mignon reproducing piano in 1904 It automatically replayed the tempo phrasing dynamics and pedalling of a particular performance and not just the notes of the music as was the case with other player pianos of the time In September 1904 the Mignon was demonstrated in the Leipzig Trade Fair In March 1905 it became better known when showcased at the showrooms of Hugo Popper a manufacturer of roll operated orchestrions By 1906 the Mignon was also exported to the United States installed to pianos by the firms Feurich and Steinway amp Sons 1 As a result of this invention by Edwin Welte 1876 1958 and his brother in law Karl Bockisch 1874 1952 one could now record and reproduce the music played by a pianist as true to life as was technologically possible at the time Pianists who recorded for Welte Mignon included Anna Schytte 2 Welte Philharmonic Organ EditFurther information in German List of Philharmonie organs made by M Welte amp Sohne de Welte Philharmonic Organ From 1911 on a similar system for organs branded Welte Philharmonic Organ was produced Thirteen well known European organist composers of the era among them Alfred Hollins Eugene Gigout and Max Reger were photographed recording for the organ 3 distinguished organists like Edwin Lemare Clarence Eddy and Joseph Bonnet were recorded too The largest Philharmonic Organ ever built is at the Salomons Estate of the Markerstudy Group 4 This instrument was built in 1914 for Sir David Lionel Salomons to play not only rolls for the organ but also for his Welte Orchestrion No 10 from about 1900 which he traded in for the organ One of these organs can also be seen in the Scotty s Castle museum in Death Valley where it is played regularly during museum tours An organ built for the HMHS Britannic never made its way to Belfast due to the outbreak of the First World War It can currently be heard playing in the Swiss National Museum in Seewen 5 Welte Inc EditIn 1912 a new company was founded the M Welte amp Sons Inc in New York and a new factory was built in Poughkeepsie New York Shareholders were predominantly family members in the U S and Germany among them Barney Dreyfuss Edwin s brother in law Welte amp Sons Poughkeepsie factory building 1912 Today Central Hudson Gas amp Electric Corporation As a result of the Alien Property Custodian enactment during the First World War the company lost their American branch and all of their U S patents This caused the company great economic hardship Later the depression and the mass production of new technologies like the radio and the electric record player in the 1920s virtually brought about the demise of the firm and its expensive instruments Other companies with similar products like American Piano Company Ampico and Duo Art also began to fade from the scene at this time Welte amp Sons also built pipe organs Welte Lichtton Orgel 1936 From 1919 on Welte also built theatre organs in particular for installation in cinemas With the introduction of talkies around 1927 the demand for these also began to diminish and by 1931 production of such instruments had been severely curtailed The last big theatre organ was a custom built instrument for the Norddeutscher Rundfunk NORAG broadcasting company in Hamburg still in place and still playing today A number of other Welte theatre organs survive in museums In 1932 the firm now with Karl Bockisch as sole owner barely escaped bankruptcy and began to concentrate on the production of church and other speciality organs The last project of Edwin Welte was an electronic organ equipped with photo cells the Lichttonorgel de or Phototone Organ This instrument was the first ever to use analogue sampled sound In 1936 a prototype of this type of organ was demonstrated at a concert in the Berliner Philharmonie The production of these organs in cooperation with the Telefunken Company was halted by the Nazi government because the inventor Edwin Welte was married to Betty Dreyfuss who was Jewish The business complex in Freiburg was bombed and completely destroyed in November 1944 This event seemed to obliterate the closely kept secrets of the firm and their recording apparatus and recording process appeared lost forever But in recent years parts of the recording apparatus for the Welte Philharmonic Organs and documents were found in the United States It was then possible to theoretically reconstruct the recording process The Augustiner Museum of Freiburg keeps the legacy of the company all that survived the Second World War Media EditOssip Gabrilowitsch plays for Welte Mignon on July 4 1905 Johannes Brahms Intermezzo in C major Op 119 No 3 listen help info Arthur Nikisch plays for Welte Mignon on February 9 1906 Johannes Brahms Hungarian Dance No 5 listen help info Gabriel Faure plays his Pavane Op 50 1913 6 See and hear a Welte Mignon piano roll play Mon Reve by Hanna VollenhovenWelte Mignon made several organs for important churches as did Welte Tripp One of the last surviving instruments is in the Church of the Covenant Boston Mass This was restored by Austin several years ago supposedly to the original state It was altered by an organist in 1959 or 1960 Until that time it has been careful restored and releathered by the Reed Treanor organ company This included the entire combination action in the console and the manual relays in the church basement and the repair of the massive 25 HP DC motor that powered the Spencer Turbine blower During the two years they cared for the organ no tonal or structural changes were made References EditNotes Edit The Pianola Institute The Reproducing Piano Welte Mignon Smith Charles Davis Howe Richard J 1994 The Welte Mignon Its Music and Musicians Vestal Press ISBN 978 1 879511 17 0 Autogramme beruhmter Meister der Tonkunst Freiburg New York 1914 undated p 57 85 WELTE restored Royal Academy of Music 2011 Christoph E Hanggi Die Britannic Orgel im Museum fur Musikautomaten Seewen So Festschrift zur Einweihung der Welte Philharmonie Orgel Sammlung Heinrich Weiss Stauffacher Hrsg Museum fur Musikautomaten Seewen SO Seewen Museum fur Musikautomaten 2007 Faure Gabriel 1913 Gabriel Faure plays Pavane Op 50 1913 Welte Mignon recording YouTube Sources Edit Wie von Geisterhand Aus Seewen in die Welt 100 Jahre Welte Philharmonie Orgel Museum fur Musikautomaten Seewen SO Switzerland 2011 ISBN 978 3 9523397 2 5 Gerhard Dangel The history of the Welte family and the house of M Welte amp Sons In The Pianola Journal No 18 London 2007 p 3 49 ISSN 0952 6323 Gerhard Dangel und Hans W Schmitz Welte Mignon piano rolls complete library of the European recordings 1904 1932 for the Welte Mignon reproducing piano Welte Mignon Klavierrollen Gesamtkatalog der europaischen Aufnahmen 1904 1932 fur das Welte Mignon Reproduktionspiano Stuttgart 2006 ISBN 3 00 017110 X Automatische Musikinstrumente aus Freiburg in die Welt 100 Jahre Welte Mignon Augustinermuseum Freiburg Exhibition from September 17 2005 to January 8 2006 Ed Augustinermuseum With contrib by Durward Rowland Center Gerhard Dangel Red Gerhard Dangel Freiburg Augustinermuseum 2005 Hermann Gottschewski Die Interpretation als Kunstwerk musikalische Zeitgestaltung und ihre Analyse am Beispiel von Welte Mignon Klavieraufnahmen aus dem Jahre 1905 Laaber Laaber Verlag 1996 ISBN 3 89007 309 3 Charles David Smith and Richard James Howe The Welte Mignon its music and musicians Vestal NY Vestal Press 1994 ISBN 1 879511 17 7 Quirin David Bowers Encyclopedia of automatic musical instruments Cylinder music boxes disc music boxes piano players and player pianos Incl a dictionary of automatic musical instrument terms Vestal N Y The Vestal Press 1988 Gerhard Dangel Geschichte der Firma M Welte amp Sohne Freiburg i B und New York Freiburg Augustinermuseum 1991 Peter Hagmann Das Welte Mignon Klavier die Welte Philharmonie Orgel und die Anfange der Reproduktion von Musik Bern u a Lang 1984 Online Version 2002External links EditThe Welte Mignon portal for reproducing pianos Complete listing of all Welte Mignon Rolls A discussion of the Welte Mignon in English published by the Pianola Institute London with many illustrations and audio examples www pianola org The Player Piano Group the UK s main Player Piano society The Pianola Forum online discussion group The International Association of Player Piano Roll Playing and Automatic Instrument Enthusiasts Musical Box Society International The Welte Organ at Salomon Campus Canterbury Christ Church University College The Restoration of Sir David Lionel Salomons Organ in Royal Tunbridge Wells in German German Society for self playing instruments Gesellschaft fur selbstspielende Musikinstrumente e V in German Welte Wireless Organ HamburgArticles Edit in German Das Welte Mignon Klavier die Welte Philharmonie Orgel und die Anfange der Reproduktion von Musik by Peter Hagmann 1984 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Welte Mignon Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Welte Mignon amp oldid 1136389029, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
