REVERSIBLE MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume V, Issue 47, 22 November 1890, Page 2

REVERSIBLE MUSICAL COMPOSITIONS.

The march of improvement threatens to land us upon another invention whereby mankind may enjoy a sort of twoedged tune. While sauntering through one of the courts of the Edinburgh Exhibition, two members of the musical profession heard strange weird sounds, which seemed to have some sort of connection with a pianoforte. Turning the corner they came upon a gentleman who was in the act of stowing away a strip of perforated paper usedin mechanical pianos. Curious to hear the instrument, a request was made that he should run through it again. The piece selected was labelled ‘March from “ Tannhauser,” ’ but at the first turn of the handle the sounds produced were very unlike anything Wagner ever wrote. By the time the handle had made half-a-dozen revolutions, the cacophony was simply awful. The performer was assured that there was something seriously wrong, but he merely smiled and continued to grind for dear life. At length the end came, and it was discovered that the Tannhauser March had been played backwards. The executant, however, resented any aspersions cast upon his performance, contending that it was a truthful representation of the great composer’s work.