The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1877-04-25

The Telephone Concert I'm New York,
and How a. Was Sent from PhiIadeI-
Dhia.
New York TImes.1

phia.
New York TImes.l
Mr.. Strakosch has struck bonanza"
The rush to Steinway hall last evening was
unparalleled. The stairways, previous to
the hour of beginning were blocked, so that
entrance matter of DISAGREEMENT and
ruffled temper. At o'clock every seat was
occupied and standing room was scarce. 1t
was paying audience, too, and very mis-
cellaneOus one. All classes were represent
ed, from the man of science to the mere
curiosity seeker, though these last were by
far in the majority. They were evidently
bound to have the worth of their money and
encored everything Unfortunately. Mr..
Strakosch had provided, in addition to the
feature of the evening, very excellent con-
cert programme, including vocal selections
by the Young Apollo club, Miss Sallie C.
Reber, Signor Tagliapietra and Miss Fannie
kellogg and arias on the piano by Nine.
Carreno Sauret. The telephone exhibition
was sandwiched between the two parts
of the concert, and owing TO
the enthusiasm of the audience and the
graciousness of the performers, it was $50
before Professor Elisha Gray, the inventor,
appeared. There were two grand pianos on
the stage, and on the one that had not been
in use stood what afterward turned out to
be the receiving sounding board of the new
wonder. II consisted of doubly graduated
series of rectangular hollow wooden tubes,
Joined by wooden bars, to which they were
attached in the middle by pivotal brass keys.
They ranged from two feet to six inches and
under in length, and were of corresponding
breadth. To the center of one bar at
tached an electro magnet. out of which ran
two ordinary covered wires. One of these
continued up and out through an aperture
on the left of the back of the stage, near the
top, and the other through a corresponding
on the RIGHT A table with an or
binary telegraph instrument was placed on
the left OF the stage. The operator was loud
ly applaaded when he took his place. as was
also the supe who followed him for the pur-
pose of arranging the pianos.
The third outburst greeted the professor,
who stepped forward and made neat little
preliminary speech. He said that he pro-
posed to show, not a musical instrument
merely, but something wonderful in cleo
tricity. The audience would hear music.
not as good as had already been performed
before them, but coming from much great
er distance. He would ask their indulgence
on account of the weather, as the rain had a
tendency to permit the electricity to escape
from the wires, so they must not expect
very full sounds He did not know wha,
they did expect. Some, he supposed, had
come to hear a full orchestra, and others
nothing. Laughter Both would be disap-
pointed. In the brief time allowed him he
would not be able to give an adequate de-
scription of the principle upon which the
instrument worked, but he would say that
it came under three general heads: The
transmission of simple melody; the trans
| mission of composite tones, of which eight
or ten might be sent over the same wire by
the same instrument and analysed into
distinct sounds on the receiver, and
the transmission of the human
voice. The latter result was pro-
duced on different instrument from that
on the stage-one which was the invention
of Professor Bell, who was in the audience
In an upper room of the Western Union
telegraph Office, at the corner of Tenth and
Chestnut streets, Philadelphia, was seated
Professor BoscovitZ, the pianist, with a
sounding-board before him, fitted with keys
each capable of making an electro-tone cor
responding to that of one of the reeds in the
receiving sounding board. The least de-
preston of any of the keys would cause an
electro magnet to vibrate as many timce a
second as the sound produced. This vibra-
ton would be sent through the wire by
electricity, and would be communicated to
the air in the hollow tubes through the mag
net on the bar. A corresponding sound
would be developed. The tubes were on the
principle of the reeds of an organ, and Were
capable of sounding both the upper and the
| lower octaves. The professor said that he
| and his colleague had spent very little time
| in developing the telephone as a musical
| instrument. In conclusion. he wished to
| call the audiences attention to the fact that
the music would pass under three rivers
and through the downtown Western Union
office before reaching them
The operator on the stage was then d.
rected to telegraph to Philadelphia that all
was in readiness, the professor removed the
| sounding board from one piano to another,
and dead silence fell over the audience.
| Presently the familiar tones of Home,
| Sweet Home" we're heard proceeding from
| nowhere in particular. The general sound
was much subdued, but every individual
tone was quite distinct especially the lower
notes. The higher notes were very faint.
| yet audible. Not note was missed. The
| music bore no resemblance to that of a
piano. 1t had rather the sound of an organ.
| The applause was very hearty, and that fact
| being telegraphed to Philadelphia, Professor
| Boscovitz sent back message to the effect
that he was much gratiied. Come, Gentil, y
and You'll Remember Me-" were
also successfully reproduced, so far
the transmission of the variations in the
latter air being especially worthy of men
| ton Professor Gray here removed the
sounding board to the floor, lest, he said, the
audience might think the pianos had some
thing to do with it. While in this position
the Last Rose of Summer was given, but
| in this and the subsequent performances the
sounds were much fainter. In this tune one
high note was completely missed. Map
pari," from Martha, the Carnival of We
| NICE" and yankee Doodle" the latter in
response to an encore concluded the tele-
phonic portion of the entertainment, which,
as a novelty, was highly entertaining,
| though, unless an almost incredible improve
ment be effected, it is difficult to see how
the transmission of music over the new in
strument can be of permanent or practical
value, the inferiority of the reproduction in
contrast with the performance being very
great.