A good meeting was held this September at Evola Music in Sylvania, Ohio just outside of Toledo. For most of us it was a long drive, but the meeting was ample reward for the effort. Zen Reinhardt, RPT presented the Delegates? report of business conducted at the Annual Convention held this year in Reno, Nevada. Many tips were presented by Chapter members who attended various classes offered at the Technical Institute, whose instructors are nationally known and widely respected. Al Smith attended his first convention and was inspired, if not taken aback, by the course offerings. Bill Edwards, RPT, was inspired by books about pianos and temperments and shared a list of them. Clark Sprague, RPT, tuned three different temperments on three Yamaha Disklaviers and demonstrated one composition played on each in turn. Mark Haas highlighted his experiences of this year and plans for next convention. All these folks were inspired by the experience! Regional seminars are listed in the PTG Journal. The next National Convention will be held nearby in Chicago next summer. I enjoyed the fall color tour on the way to the North Carolina Conference last year and learned a great deal from instructors to regularly teach at the National Convention. I have put to use most of what I have seen and heard at the classes I?ve attended. Dave Anderson, RPT, bid farewell and shared his impressions of his first meeting of the Milwaukee Chapter: a ten minute question and answer period amongst attending technicians allowed for an exchange about problems experienced during the course of the month. We are our own source for solving problems we encounter. Bring your questions and ask other technicians at our next meeting. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting. Rick Bowen, RPT President

Pianomaking has a long tradition in the German province of Saxony, especially in Leipzig, where the citizens have always cared about musical culture. The St. Thomas choir has existed since the 12th century, the Gewandhaus orchestra was founded in the 17th century, as well as the Leipzig Opera, and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy initiated a conservatory that soon became famous. One of the best known pianomakers of that time was Breitkopf & Hartel, still known today as a prominent music publisher. These were strong reasons for Julius Blüthner to start his piano making in Leipzig after having spent several years wandering from one piano maker to another to improve on his knowledge of the craft. In November 1853 he began with three men, and his instruments found immediate acclaim among the musical bourgeoisie. Production grew quickly. Soon his premises had to be enlarged and in articles printed in newspapers and journals of these days Julius Blüthner talks with pride about new machines that were added to his production facilities or the fact that production was changed to steam-driven machinery. Marketing in those days consisted of exhibiting instruments at fairs and exhibitions and to participate in competitions for highest quality. Blüthner's first fair was in Merseburg, a town in the neighborhood of Leipzig, but soon he participated in many foreign competitions, where his instruments won the highest praise. It was also essential to furnish instruments to the royal courts and Blüthner took great pride in being appointed as official supplier to the royal court of many European countries, among which were the German Kaiser, Queen Victoria, the Russian Tsar, the Danish King, the Turkish Sultan and of course the King of Saxony. Export was an early goal of Blüthner. Considering the fact that Germany and many other European counties were still young political structures, concentrated mainly on their home market, protected by customs barriers, it speaks for the foresight of Julius Blüthner to have created a distribution network spanning the whole world. Many distributors are still flourishing, as for example the agency in Great Britain, founded in 1876 with which very strong ties still exist. Conforming with the wisdom that only thorough knowledge of the product assures excellence it was considered a necessity for the sons of Julius Blüthner to learn the trade from scratch. So one of his sons, Bruno Blüthner, was sent to the USA to work with Chickering to gather information about modern production techniques. His brother, Robert Blüthner, was to study jurisprudence, and Hans Blüthner worked with his father in the Leipzig factory. The first World War did only slight harm to Blüthner, as also did the great economic crisis in 1929. In 1936 Blüthner scored tremendous public interest when the famous airship Hindenburg crossed the Atlantic for the first time with a Blüthner grand on board. For reasons of weight this instrument was made of aluminum, the outside covered with parchment and it served for the first broadcast of a piano recital from the air. In 1932 Dr. Rudolf Blüthner-Haessler, the son-in-law, joined the firm and it was his difficult task to maneuver the firm through the turmoil of the Second World War. In 1943 the factory was hit by an air raid and burned down and it was not until 1948 manages the firm together with his two sons Christian and Knut. By their work they ensure that the tonal character of the instruments and the excellence of their hand-crafted manufacturing, numbers Blüthner instruments with the best on the market.

Evola Music, Sylvania, OH
Pre-Glow food supplied by
Evola Music.

Business Meeting:

Meeting called to order
at 7:30 p.m. by
President Rick Bowen, RPT

Attended by:

13 RPT's, 7 associates, 3 guests.
A quorum was established.

Minutes of last meeting were
accepted as printed in newsletter.

Treasurer's report:

Balance as of 9/10/01
Submitted by Treasurer,
Ken Miller, RPT

Membership report:

Richard Bittner, RPT reported that
Clark Sprague has passed the
technical exam and is now RPT.

Social Chair:

Zen Reinhardt, RPT, reports the picnic was great, but attendance was low. Possible Spring Dinner sites, Grosse Pointe War Memorial or the Detroit Century Club.

New Business:

Dave Anderson, RPT, has moved to Wisconsin vacating the vice-president post. Motion by Jan Otto Bittner, RPT, to nominate Ken Miller as VP and a motion by Ken Miller to nominate Dave Foster as Treasurer. Election approved by unanimous vote.

Technicals:

Zen Reinhardt, RPT, October meeting to be held at King's Keyboard, Ann Arbor by Bluthner Pianos. November meeting at Steve Gratten's Lost Chord, Port Huron: Quick fixes and everyday voicing. Steve Gratten and Dale Harris, RPT.

Convention Report:

Member voiced impressions
of the Reno Convention.

Meeting ended 8:10 p.m.
Mini-Technicals presented.

Respectfully submitted by
Ted McGuire, Secretary