GERMAN PIANOS.

AN ACTIVE PROPAGANDA.

By Lieut-colonel R. H. Tatton (Organising Director, The Federation Of British Music Industries). Numerous references have appeared in the Press during the last few months as to the revival of activity on the part of German piano makers, particularly as to their export of pianos to this country and the Overseas Dominions.

Naturally, the German makers are anxious to revive their trade. They are making strenuous efforts to place German pianos in British homes. That trade was built up upon propaganda commenced in the Victorian era, which created a fetish that pianos of German make were alone worthy of the use by great pianists. The war destroyed that fetish and firmly established the reputation of British pianos. Even before the war there were many German instruments sold which were destitute of any maker’s name and carried no maker’s reputation. A frequent practice was to “transfer” to these instruments any name which an importer specified. Thus were British proprietary names freely travestied – by the alteration of an initial – the spelling of a name – the adoption of some famous musician’s name as a piano name – and so on. These methods are being repeated and worse. I have before me a circular letter which has been addressed to a number of pianoforte dealers and manufacturers in this country by a piano maker in Hamburg. He refers specifically to British Dominions, including Australia. Now, in Australia there is still in force the war restriction under which German goods are totally excluded. Does that deter the German? Not at all. He gets over it in this way: “I am in a position to deliver these instruments, if I wanted, either neutrally made up or with an English firm (i.e., name) suitable for the above-mentioned countries.”

Thus is the cloven hoof disclosed. Not merely is it a reversion to pre-war methods of exploitation, but a deliberate and non-moral attempt, by chicanery, to evade regulations for the imposition of which his country’s militarist blunders were alone responsible.

A few days ago a letter was made public which had been addressed by an importer of pianos in Cape Town to British piano-makers. That letter contained this: “In this port alone there are several thousands of German pianos waiting buyers.” What are the actual figures? During the year 1918, two German pianos were imported into the Union of South Africa. In the whole of 1919 there were 42. In the first six months of 1920 there were 264. That is a total of 308 since the war up to June 30 of this year for the whole of the Union of South Africa. And yet on Aug. 8 this alarmist makes the statement, which has now broadcast through the world, that “thousands of pianos, principally German, have been pouring into this port (Cape Town).” The letter follows on with a word of advice to British makers not to ship any more pianos to South Africa at present.

AT HOME.

Since the armistice and up to Dec. 31, 1919, there were 168 German pianos imported into this country. In August of this year there were imported 444. Of course, some of these came in the ordinary course of business, but many were brought as the result of abnormal conditions. In the first place, undoubtedly some officers and men in the Rhine Army, obsessed with the unnatural rate of exchange, took the opportunity to purchase pianos at exceptionally cheap rates. Many of these pianos have arrived at our own docks, only to be abandoned, as the purchasers have found that the costs of clearing from the dock and of transport are out of proportion to the value of the instruments.