Pauline Alpert
Pauline Edeth Alpert Rooff (December 27, 1905 – April 11, 1988) was a pianist who performed, composed, recorded, and produced Duo-Art piano rolls in the United States. Known by her fans as the ‘Whirlwind Pianist’,[1] she performed in several films and made recordings with a few record labels. She did radio shows in New York City and toured.[2]
Career
[edit]She made numerous Victor Records recordings.[3][4] She recorded the album Sparkling Piano Melodies on Sonora Records. She sometimes recorded under the pseudonym Peggy Anderson.[2] She produced more than 500 piano rolls for the Duo-Art.[5] She toured across the United States, Canada, and South America. She played in the White House three times, performing for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.[5][6][7]
She performed during the intermission of the Broadway show Rufus LeMaire's Affairs in 1927.[8] She featured in two Vitaphone Varieties short film episodes dated March 1927. This included What Price Piano,[9] a collection of popular songs.[10][11] She later performed in 1935 in the Vitaphone Varieties short film Katz' Pajamas with Fifi D'Orsay, directed by Joseph Henabery.[2][12]
The collection Pauline Alpert's folio of modern piano songs includes her compositions:
- Night of Romance (1927)
- Perils of Pauline (1927)
- Dream of a Doll (1934)
- March of the Blues (1935)
- Piano Poker (1935)
- The Merry Minnow (1935)
- Ivory Tips (1937)[13]
Her later compositions include A Million Stars Just Can't Be Wrong (1937), Mindin' the Baby (1938), A Happy New Year to Love (1938), and Tut Tut (1944).[2]
She performed for NBC and CBS, including in guest solo spots with Paul Whiteman, Rudy Vallée, and Fred Allen.[1] She had her own semi-weekly program for the WOR Radio Network in New York City.[1][5]
A recording of her playing Doll Dance is on the 1981 album Ragtime Piano Novelties of the 20's.[14]
Discography
[edit]Pauline's known discography is listed below.[2][3][15]
| Year | Title | Composer | Matrix number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Valencia[16] | José Padilla | Victor Trial 12-14-01 |
| 1926 | When You and I Were Young, Maggie[17] | George W. Johnson, James Austin Butterfield | Victor Trial 12-14-02 |
| 1927 | Tonight You Belong to Me[18] | Lee David | Victor BVE-37525 |
| 1927 | The Little White House (At the End of Honeymoon Lane)[19] | James F. Hanley | Victor BVE-37526 |
| 1927 | Night of Romance[20] | Pauline Alpert | Victor BVE-06-03-01 |
| 1927 | Perils of Pauline[21] | Pauline Alpert | Victor BVE-06-03-02 |
| 1927 | Hallelujah[22] | Vincent Youmans | Victor BVE-38858 |
| 1927 | Magnolia (Mix the lot - what have you got?)[23] | Ray Henderson | Victor BVE-38859 |
| 1927 | Dancing Tambourine[24] | William Conrad Polla | Victor BVE-40541 |
| 1927 | Doll Dance[25] | Nacio Herb Brown | Victor BVE-40542 |
| 1932 | Saint Louis Blues[26] | W. C. Handy | Victor BRC-72210 |
| 1932 | Song of India[27] | Rimsky-Korsakov | Victor BRC-72211 |
| 1944 | Where or When[28] | Rodgers and Hart | Sonora SR1516 |
| 1944 | Dream of a Doll[28] | Pauline Alpert | Sonora SR1517 |
| 1944 | The Parade of the Wooden Soldiers[28] | Ballard MacDonald, Leon Jessel | Sonora SR1518 |
| 1944 | Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2[28] | Franz Liszt | Sonora SR1519 |
| 1944 | Toy Trumpet[28] | Raymond Scott | Sonora SR1520 |
| 1944 | Chopsticks[28] | Euphemia Allen | Sonora SR1521 |
| 1944 | Sweet Sue[28] | Victor Young | Sonora SR1522 |
| 1944 | In a Country Garden[28] | Percy Grainger | Sonora SR1523 |
| 1944 | The Donkey Serenade, The Very Thought of You, The Piccolino | Allan Jones; Ray Noble; Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire | Muzak 61-081 |
| 1946 | Minuet | Ignacy Jan Paderewski | Pilotone 5033 |
| 1946 | March Militaire | Franz Schubert | Pilotone 5034 |
| 1946 | Humoresque | Antonín Dvořák | Pilotone 5035 |
| 1946 | Blue Danube Waltz | Johann Strauss II | Pilotone 5036 |
| 1946 | La Cinquantaine | Jean Gabriel-Marie | Pilotone 5037 |
| 1946 | Song of India | Rimsky-Korsakov | Pilotone 5038 |
| 1946 | Dancing Doll | Ede Poldini | Pilotone 5039 |
| 1946 | The Minute Waltz | Frédéric Chopin | Pilotone 5040 |
| 1955 | Piano Moods[29] | Waldorf Music Hall MH 33-115 | |
| 1955 | Piano Moods[30] | Sparton 33-4919 |
Personal Life
[edit]Pauline was born in New York and spent her childhood in Rochester.[6] Her father was Samuel Alpert, a Russian immigrant and painter, and her mother was Anna Rosk, a native New Yorker and skilled musician.[2][6] To support her family's poor finances, as an 11 year old, she would give piano lessons for 25 cents.[6] She won a four year scholarship to the Eastman School of Music and received training as a classical pianist,[6][31] where her primary instructor was Selim Palmgren.[5]
Pauline married Dr. Sidney Rooff in 1940. They had no children.[6]
Legacy
[edit]Pauline's work is included in the 2014 book by Peter Mintun compiling popular piano roll and novelty song artists from the 1920s and 1930s, Novelty Masterpieces of the Gershwin Era: The Music of Zez Confrey, Pauline Alpert and Rube Bloom.[32]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Pauline Alpert Collection – Sibley Music Library". Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ a b c d e f "Pauline Edeth Alpert Rooff". RagPiano.com.
- ^ a b "Alpert, Pauline - Discography of American Historical Recordings". adp.library.ucsb.edu. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021.
- ^ "| RSA". rsa.fau.edu.
- ^ a b c d Mize, J. T. H. (1951). International Who's Who in Music (5th ed.). International Biographical Centre. p. 20.
- ^ a b c d e f Wilkes, Galen (May 1988). "Pauline Alpert Remembered" (PDF). The AMICA News Bulletin. pp. 139–141. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 11, 2024. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "Now At State". The Centralia Enterprise and Tribune. 1897-10-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ "Pauline Alpert – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
- ^ What Price Piano (1927) at the Wayback Machine (archived 2021-11-15)
- ^ St. Joseph News-Press. St. Joseph News-Press.
- ^ Reading Eagle. Reading Eagle.
- ^ "Pauline Alpert | Actress, Soundtrack". IMDb. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ Pauline Alpert's folio of modern piano songs. November 15, 2021. OCLC 39792230 – via Open WorldCat.
- ^ "Doll Dance | Smithsonian Folkways Recordings".
- ^ "Pt's Historic Recordings". NPR.org.
- ^ "Victor matrix [Trial 1926-12-14-01]. Valencia / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix [Trial 1926-12-14-02]. When you and I were young, Maggie / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-37525. To-night you belong to me / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-37526. The little white house (At the end of Honeymoon Lane) / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-[Unnumbered 1927-06-03-01]. Night of romance / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-[Unnumbered 1927-06-03-02]. Perils of Pauline / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-38858. Hallelujah / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-38859. Magnolia (Mix the lot, what have you got?) / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-40541. Dancing tambourine / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BVE-40542. Doll dance / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BRC-72210. St. Louis blues / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Victor matrix BRC-72211. Song of India / Pauline Alpert - Discography of American Historical Recordings". 2021-11-15. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Sonora Records 78rpm numerical listing discography". www.78discography.com. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
- ^ "Pauline Alpert – Piano Moods". discogs. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Pauline Alpert – Piano Moods". discogs. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
- ^ "Article clipped from Detroit Free Press". Detroit Free Press. 1927-11-27. p. 56. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
- ^ Mintun, Peter (2014). Novelty Masterpieces of the Gershwin Era: The Music of Zez Confrey, Pauline Alpert and Rube Bloom. Dover Publications (published November 19, 2014). ISBN 978-0486490922.