The music roll contained five 'hit' tunes of the day, and although individual tunes could not be selected, everything else took place automatically - even the tuning of the violin strings!
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The Violano-Virtuoso was developed by the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago and was first sold,
in its original form, in 1905-6. It was unusual among automatic instruments in that it did not
employ a pneumatic mechanism, and all the moving parts were set in motion either by electric
motors, or by electromagnets. The whole machine operated on 110 volts DC and was started by
dropping a coin into the slot The music roll contained five 'hit' tunes of the day, and although individual tunes could not be selected, everything else took place automatically - even the tuning of the violin strings! |
For more information and to hear this instrument please click here
The Phonlizst-Violina was developed by the Hupfeld company of Leipzig and when it first appeared in 1908, it caused a sensation!| cabinet. Each violin had only one operating string, the other strings in each violin were for appearance
and harmonics.
These three violins represented the three top strings, "D" (left side) violin playing open D string plus 10 fingered notes "A" (center) violin playing open A string plus 10 fingered notes "E" (right side) violin: playing open E string plus 16 fingered notes of the normal instrument, there being no fourth, 'G-string' violin. A 'bow' of genuine horsehair, cunningly mounted in a circular frame, was provided. In order to maintain the necessary expression on the violins, the speed of the bow, and the pressure could be constantly varied. The Bow speeds available were: Forte (loud-default speed): 27 R.P.M. Mezzoforte (medium): 14 R.P.M. Piano (slow/soft) : 7 R.P.M. Accent: 32 R.P.M. The Phonliszt-Violina, whilst being somewhat more realistic in sound than the Violano-Virtuoso, was much more complicated and prone to breakdown. Many of them were dismantled when they no longer functioned correctly and the pianos were then used for hand playing in the conventional manner. Very few complete Phonoliszt-Violinas survive. |
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The term Phonoliszt literally means "Sounds of Liszt." Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was born in Hungary, and became known as the World's greatest pianist. He lived in Germany for a number of years, and his daughter, Cosima, married the renowned German composer Richard Wagner.
Click Short film of the Hupfeld Phonolizt-Virtuoso in action. (MPG File 10.5MB)
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