Hyacinth Rag (1911) - Played by the Composer
"Hyacinth Rag" was composed in 1911 by George Botsford, and he plays it here for you in a 4-hand duet with another well-known ragtime composer, Albert Gumble. The roll was originally recorded for the American Piano Company in 1912 or 1913, and a couple of years later was issued as one of the very early rolls for the American Piano Company's AMPICO reproducing piano.
The AMPICO could play back performances with not only the notes reproduced (as normal player pianos do) but also the dynamics (louds and softs), resulting in an almost perfect reproduction of the pianist's playing.
Although the potential certainly existed for performances to be 'polished' and corrected prior to the roll being released, you'll hear that this roll is undoubtedly a genuine handplayed duet that has had very little post-performance editing done to it - at certain points the two pianists are slightly out of sync, which just adds to the charm. The entire performance is done with a very humorous and good-natured style - love the exaggerated rubato in the introduction!
For more historic piano roll performances, visit my website - http://www.pianola.co.nz