Orchestrion, Greek Confectionaires and the Intro of Mechanical Music
ORCHESTRION, GREEK CONFECTIONAIRES
AND THE INTRO OF MECHANICAL MUSIC
by Steve Frangos
published in The National Herald
July 25, 2020
The National Herald has given HellenicGenealogyGeek.com permission to post articles that are of interest to our group.
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Even the most superficial of historical reviews
clearly documents the role of
Greek immigrants in the establishment and spread of popular
entertainment forms across the
Western Hemisphere. Public entertainment venues owned and
operated by Greeks span just
about every entertainment form
in the history of the United
States ranging across midways,
carnivals, circuses, nickelodeons, vaudeville theaters,
movie theaters, dance halls,
dime-a-dance halls, hay rides,
ice skate/roller skate rinks, jazz
dance clubs like the Green Mill
– said to be the oldest continuously open jazz club in America
– bars/saloons/lounges in remote areas of the country that
furnished weekend dance
bands, the grand Aragon and
Trianon ballrooms who aside
from other singular distinctions
in must be noted that the first
time live music was heard on
American radio it was broadcast
from atop the Aragon Ballroom.
Literally the very definitions
of what we see and understand
today as distinctly American entertainment forms developed
over the decades when the 1880
to 1920 waves of Greek immigrants arrived and established
themselves. Questions of American entertainment forms aside,
the prevailing stereotypical portrayal of all immigrants not just
Greeks – is that these new arrivals owe/d everything to their
new homeland.
To be sure, on occasion, and
in individual accounts of very
specific entertainment forms
any number of immigrants are
identified as leading figures.
Nevertheless, at the end of such
accounts the individual's adaption to America is stressed over
any other considerations.
Let us rethink this entire issue of who, when, and under
what circumstances popular entertainment forms were introduced to American audiences at
large. Given that our survey
reaches into the past we must
also understand where and under what circumstances the average American might meet a Greek immigrant entrepreneur.
In the 1920, American classic
novel Main Street, by Sinclair
Lewis, the author cites the
Greek confectionery store always found on any American
town's main square.
Main Street is not the only
source we have for the presence
of the literally hundreds of
Greek-owned and operated
candy kitchens, ice cream stores,
or confectionaires all across the
nation. In point of fact many of
the locations (but regrettably
now few in overall number) of
these Greek-owned sweet shops
can still be visited. It is while
visiting one of these locations
that the current generation of
owner will proudly tell you of
the family's long tradition of
providing public music. Supporting live musical performances – in some venues, in
many or all of its various forms
– by the Greek immigrant generation in their stores is a story
for another day.
What is missing from all contemporary Greek-American histories is the immigrant Greek's
keen awareness of changing cultural and historical tastes all
across the American cultural
landscape. Greek promoters
were not simply following
trends but were frequently well
ahead culturally of the majority
of the nation. The fact that they
were, as readily available historical evidence documents,
more often than not innovators
in their chosen professions escapes contemporary academic
accounts. The boring, largely
false, and frankly fairy tale-written accounts that constitute the
present crop of Greek-American
histories are following a pre-approved dominant culture outline
rather where than what is readily available in public documents.
These new forms of public
entertainment were entering a
period perhaps more easily understood today than it times
gone past. Music became mechanized in a variety of forms that
was, for its day, compact and so
effortlessly transportable. Q.
David Bowers, compiler/author
of Encyclopedia of Automatic
Musical Instruments, attests that
“at the turn of the century, automated music machines had
reached a stage of sophistication
that was hard to imagine. Most
saloons, ice cream parlors, and
other meeting places had a coin
operated player piano, music
box, orchestrion, or some other
such instrument. Since it required a nickel to operate the
machine they were dubbed nickelodeons, a misnomer since
odeon is the Greek word for theatre, thus nickelodeon was
properly applied to the early
flicker houses where you could
view the first 'movies' for a
nickel (Daily Record (Morristown NJ) July 27, 1975).” At
this very same moment, half of
all American homes had a piano
or player piano.
Today, an Orchestrion is a
generic name for a machine that
plays music and is designed to
sound like a full orchestra or
band. Orchestrions may be operated by means of a large
pinned cylinder or by a music
roll and less commonly, by what
was then called a music book.
These mechanical musical instruments, automatically played
by means of revolving cylinders.
First invented in 1851, by F. T.
Kaufmann, the orchestrions
were intended to possess the
combined power and variety of
a full orchestra with a complete
wind orchestra, the addition of
kettle-drums, side drums, cymbals, tambourine, and triangle.
These machines were meant to
be seen as well as heard. A wide
variety of Orchestrions can be
seen and heard on YouTube. Another point, not usually discussed in the historical accounts
is that the orchestrions – of
whatever variety – are incredibly loud!
This 'new musical technology' and the role Greek immigrants played in their presence
all across the nation even into
the most remote of hamlets can
be effortlessly documented in
public advertisements. Let's survey just a few local newspaper
advertisements. During the
summer of 1898, the Richmond,
Indiana Greek Candy store was
first opened and became an instant sensation. Stopping at
“'The Greeks' after the theater,
or while downtown for other
purposes, was a popular pastime
(Palladium-Item January 5,
1956).” And for our concerns
here, “The Greek Candy Store
has just received seventeen new
pieces of music for the Orchestrion. Most of them are
from the masters of musical
composition, while there is variety enough to please all (Palladium-Item (Richmond (IN)
June 14, 1904).”
And now three additional
short entries, this time from
Rushville, Indiana: “the Greek
Candy Store is an attractive
place to go for delicious ice
cream, fine candies and sweet
music (Palladium-Item (Richmond IN) October 1, 1905).”
“The Greek Candy Store has a
set of new records for its Orchestron (Richmond Item (Richmond IN) November 28,
1906).” “Hot Chocolate and ice
cream are delicious. The Orchestrion plays the latest music
continuously at the Greek
Candy Store (Palladium-Item
(Richmond IN) November 29,
1906).”
The presence of Greeks in the
confectionery trade across the
nation began in the 1870s and
1880s. By 1905, Greek piano
rolls for sale as well as music
rolls for a Self-Playing Orchestrion were also readily
available. As time went on many
Greek confectioneries sought piano rolls and belt-organ musical
selections that were based on
traditional Greek music. The
noted Greek musician L. (Lucian) Cavadias performed many
of these 'traditional' Greek musical selections. But, numerous
as these news accounts and advertisements are, they are not
the only historical source material we have on Greek confectioners and orchestrions.
Aside from the daily press we
need cite from just one promotional industry publication used
by Orchestration salesmen, during the late 1900s to mid-1920s,
known as 'Evidence of Music
Profits', a thick binder the salesmen offered prospective buyers.
It contained a series of letters,
not all written in English, from
satisfied customers stating in
their own words how effective
the new music machines (they
offered a wide variety) proved
in their places of business. As
this early form of public music
reports indicates, none of the
new music technology was produced for mere pleasure but
rather clear profit. Orchestration
salesmen did not just visit Greek
immigrant confectioners. Numerous and various public
venue outlets also sought the latest in public music technology.
Along with typed and signed
letters in English handwritten
letters in Greek, Japanese and
other languages also appear in
'Evidence of Music Profits.' To
emphasize the typical nature of
the businesses that purchased
an Orchestration model, photographs of the specific model
owned by these various establishments are scattered throughout.
Various letters detail the Orchestration model in the store
as well as the profits incurred.
Three Greek examples (and
many others are present) includes the Gotsopolus brothers
in Keokuk Iowa (population
15,239) six months profit
$528.62; Alex Grizanes of Peoria Illinois (106,000) total for 5
months $361.00 or $72.20 per
month and then as Nick Leezos
and Peter Kutrumanes owners
of the Maywood Confectionery
in Illinois report in their September 1, 1926 letter: 'Competition is keen in our neighborhood and we cater to a good
class of trade. We get fully 25%
more patronage than we would
without the Violano as the
young people and those with
money to spend come several
blocks further to our store in order to have the music.”
As even this all too brief report conveys Greek-Americans
directly influenced as well as introduced new entertainment
forms to the American public. It
is a complex tale with many
unique venues, that wait to be
fully told.
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