Blog thumb

From engine roars to musical scores

Cynthia Wolf Posted on 2017-12-19

1927 steinway grand piano brian grams

Volo Auto Museum debuts music machine collection 

 

VOLO — With their hand-carved, ornate cabinets — some bearing backlit stained glass and others art deco styling — the machines are as beautiful to see as they are to hear.

 

What they are isn’t tough to guess: They’re self-playing music machines. But where they are might surprise. This collection of Steinways, Mortiers and more — a grouping easily worth hundreds of thousands of dollars — is among the newer facets of the ever-evolving Volo Auto Museum, where the trip from engine roars to musical scores is now a waltz across a marble floor.   

 

In the museum’s Duesenberg Room, featuring the automotive stylings of 1930s-era wealthy elites, a newer addition is a 1927 Steinway Duo Art player piano, which in its day was of roughly equal value to the magnificent cars now bookending it. Featured nearby are a 1940s Mortier dance hall organ, a 14-foot-tall Link player piano, an Otto Accordion, a Hohner Soprani accordion, an Accordeo Boy and more.

 

“During the last couple of years, we’ve brought in some amazing self-playing music machines,” said Brian Grams, director of the museum at 27582 Volo Village Road. “We’re celebrating them with a music room grand opening the day after Christmas.”

 

Each machine has a story, Grams added. The Accordeo Boy is a ’20s-era attraction whose eyes, eyebrows and head move as he “performs,” just as he did against his original French bistro backdrop. The Mortier dance organ is a towering, 15-foot-wide gizmo that plays everything from drums to accordions and saxophones. 

 

“This is very rare,” Grams said of the dance organ, noting that a previous owner spent $350,000 restoring it. “It came out of the Crystal Palace in Belgium ... the first time this machine played in the United States was here at the Volo Auto Museum.”

 

Those visiting on the 26th will have the opportunity to hear and see all of the music machines. Visitors also may enjoy a wine- and cheese-tasting from noon to 3 p.m., and live performances by pianist Ronald Vaughan Sr. from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

 

The Volo Auto Museum features hundreds of Hollywood, classic and muscle cars — and much more. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Admission is $15 for adults, $9 for children ages 5 to 12 and free for children 4 or younger. For other information, call 815-385-3644, visit volocars.com or find Volo Auto Museum on Facebook.

 

###

 

Photos attached, by Cynthia Wolf

Suggested captions

 

Steinway: Volo Auto Museum Director points out some of the carved detailing on a 1927 Steinway Duo Art Grand Piano. The piano can be set to self-play or may be played manually and was, when new, worth the equivalent of a luxury Duesenberg. Restored for exquisite sound, it will be featured at the museum's music room grand opening Tuesday, Dec. 26, when pianist Ronald Vaughan Sr. will perform. 

 

Link: This 14-foot-tall Link player piano built in Binghamton, New York, features an "endless" music roll. It is one of several vintage music machines to be featured and demonstrated during the Volo Auto Museum's music room grand opening Tuesday, Dec. 26.

 

Mortier: With its drums, accordions and horns, the Mortier dance hall organ is akin to a self-contained band. And in the '40s, that's precisely how it functioned, as revelers marveled at the machine's light show while they danced the night away to its sounds. This one played in the Crystal Palace in Belgium in its heyday. Volo Auto Museum visitors checking out the music room grand opening on Tuesday, Dec. 26, can see and hear this and several other vintage music machines newly added to the museum's collection.