Mark Hellenberg with Mike Kukral
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Listen in RealAudio to this interview,
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Collectors such as Mike Kukral are not
only collecting piano rolls but are also avidly restoring
and maintaining the reproducing pianos that have survived
to the end of the twentieth century. It was through Mike
that I was first acquainted and actually heard the
reproducing piano. I was already quite interested in
early twentieth century jazz, blues, and popular music
but had only heard scratchy old recordings or recordings of piano
rolls. I first met Mike in 1992 while he was teaching the
Cultural Geography of Europe course and I was pursuing my
degree at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He has since
earned his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of
Kentucky and is also a restaurateur, a fine piano player,
and the proprietor of the S&M Skate Shop in Athens. |
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Listen in RealAudio: (Requires the free RealPlayer, and at least a 28.8 kbps connection to the Internet.) |
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Mike's piano is a 1927 Steinway 6'2" parlor grand piano equipped with a Duo-Art player mechanism. This piano differs from the standard player piano in that it is a reproducing piano with full expression, utilizing all the pedals and reproducing an entire dynamic range from pianissimo to forte. |
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an historical perspective
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| Mark Hellenberg is a producer and hosts the afternoon classical music program and "Audiosyncrasies" on Ohio University Public Radio. |
