{"id":2837,"date":"2013-10-14T08:35:21","date_gmt":"2013-10-14T08:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/faujsa.fau.edu\/blog\/?p=2837"},"modified":"2026-02-12T14:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:47:25","slug":"can-boardwalk-empire-era-jewish-piano-rolls-still-find-an-audience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rsa.fau.edu\/blog\/events-general-interest\/can-boardwalk-empire-era-jewish-piano-rolls-still-find-an-audience\/","title":{"rendered":"Can “Boardwalk Empire” era Jewish piano rolls still find an audience?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Vintage<\/a>
Vintage Jewish piano roll boxes<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Player pianos, pianolas and piano rolls were all the rage during<\/strong> Prohibition. <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By the early 1920’s new advances in piano-roll technology gave rise to a complex, performance-oriented style of music that became the soundtrack of an era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All types of music were recorded on piano rolls, from Ragtime  to folk songs; from Jazz to Cantorial masterpieces. So\u2026.can these \u201cBoardwalk Empire\u201d era Jewish piano rolls still find an audience in today\u2019s  fast-paced electronic world?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can these relics of another age resonate with a modern audience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Page<\/a>
Page out of Country Life in America Celebrity endorsement of the pianola by Alessandro Bonci, operatic super-star of his day, <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Judaica Sound Archives at FAU Libraries invited Bob Berkman<\/a><\/strong>, one of the last great piano roll aficionados, to demonstrate his skills before a live audience….and…..his appearance was a huge success!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, relatively few people have ever had the pleasure of  attending  a live pianola concert featuring Bob Berkman and his authentic piano rolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wonderful opportunity<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Bob<\/a>
Bob Berkman Standing by Player Piano<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Now the JSA is giving you the chance to peek behind the scenes, get a front row seat and enjoy the experience of a <\/strong>by-gone era.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

These clips were created from video taken at Bob Berkman\u2019s performance during FAU Library\u2019s 2013 kultur festival by Alethea Perez, FAU Recorded Sound Archives operations coordinator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1) Bob Berkman explains how the pianola works<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2) Bob Berkman sets up the pianola<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) Bob Berkman shares some historical facts about the pianola and plays some tunes<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related Links:  Bio<\/a>     Online Collection<\/a>
<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Pianola<\/a>
Pianola pushed up to piano and ready to play.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you enjoyed this blog post be sure to like us on Facebook<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Player pianos, pianolas and piano rolls were all the rage during Prohibition.  By the early 1920’s new advances in piano-roll technology gave rise to a complex, performance-oriented style of music that became the soundtrack of an era. All types of music were recorded on piano rolls, from Ragtime  to folk songs; from Jazz to Cantorial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[91,233,293,294,295,416,301],"class_list":["post-2837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events-general-interest","tag-bob-berkman","tag-klezmer","tag-piano-rolls","tag-pianola","tag-player-piano","tag-popular-entertainment-2","tag-ragtime"],"yoast_head":"\nCan "Boardwalk Empire" era Jewish piano rolls still find an audience? - Recorded Sound Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore Jewish piano rolls from the Boardwalk Empire era and whether they still find an audience \u2014 historic recordings and cultural insights from the RSA.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rsa.fau.edu\/blog\/events-general-interest\/can-boardwalk-empire-era-jewish-piano-rolls-still-find-an-audience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can "Boardwalk Empire" era Jewish piano rolls still find an audience? 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