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Mr. Ralph W. VanGennip, who lives in the St. Louis area, was
kind enough to send me pictures of an actual T. Bahnsen piano.
What a gorgeous instrument! He bought it 25 years ago, he
said, primarily because it was so beautiful. There can't be too
many of these around anymore.
For the longest time, Bethena (published by Bahnsen) was a "holy grail" piece in our
Joplin collection, as most of the sheets he published through
smaller houses (or, in this case, a piano manufacturer) are
extremely rare. Someone should record Bethena, Binks, and Sarah
Dear (all published by Bahnsen) on a piano like this. Thanks again, Ralph, for sharing these images!
I should also add that Ralph
agreed to donate this piano to the Scott Joplin Historical site
in St. Louis. Many people deserve thanks for making this happen,
including most notably Ralph (of course) and Perfessor Bill
Edwards. Others, I understand, donated assistance with moving
the piece to its new home. Someday, in return for the small role
I played in this, I hope someone will let me sit and play
Bethena during a visit.
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Since publishing these pictures, another person has contacted me
with pictures of another Bahnsen piano.
This one, as of December 2007, is sitting in a thrift store
somewhere (not sure where, yet), for a steal. |
