Piano in the 1900s

Mixing traditional and more contemporary styles

 

“Our Volunteers Quickstep”  by Harold Orlob starts our 20th century selections.  The title is likely referring to the Spanish American War of 1898, a situation that was then a major news story. “Volunteers” was a term applied to the 350 men who volunteered (or were recruited) from Utah to serve as soldiers for military activity in the USA’s successful campaign to reduce the Spanish government’s influence in Central America and the Caribbean.  This piano solo was published in an LDS church magazine when Orlob was just 17 years old, but even at that tender age he was already a member of several professional orchestras in Salt Lake City.  He later specialized in writing and producing “Broadway” style musicals in NYC, one example of which you can hear on the “Ensemble” page of this site .   (Audio only – click below to play.)

 

“Ode to Irrigation” is an amazing oddity of local musical history. Composed in 1903 by John J. McClellan as a cantata/oratorio celebrating the history and impact of Irrigation in Western America, this was commissioned for a national convention of water works industries held in Ogden, Utah. Written for orchestra, chorus and solo singers, the piece is long and passionate, but for now we present only the first page of the 20+ page score, which is a piano reduction of the instrumental introduction. More later? Drink deeply. (Audio only, click to listen.)

 

College March – All Hallows College  by composer Anton Pedersen from 1903.  The college, operating as a school for boys and young men, was founded in the 1880s by the local Catholic Diocese.  It occupied a prime spot in downtown SLC at 200 South and 300 East.  Pedersen was the head of their music faculty, and his son Arthur was a star student on violin who also has compositions at this site.  A bright, swaggering tune symbolized the optimism of youth in a rapidly growing city.   (This one has a video – click the title to play.)

Laughing Waves – Ragtime adjacent (?) piano solo from 1904 by Herbert W. Lawrence. He was a music student during his college days in Utah, but later concentrated on a career in mining. Proof that there was fun to be had with music in early Utah.  Is this another piece inspired by the Great Salt Lake?

(Oh What) Songs of the Heart March – 1904. This one has a bit of a twisted history. The tune was originally composed in the 1870s as one of several hymns in which William Clayson, a self-taught composer, teamed with Joseph L. Townsend’s lyrics as both were residents of Payson, Utah. The pair crafted several upbeat songs, and this one is a positive, joyful song celebrating the LDS lifestyle. In some ways an antidote to the more famous but arguably depressing standard “Come, Come Ye Saints”, which emphasized the need to go through many troubles on Earth for expected rewards hereafter. But THIS selection adds yet another chapter to the story. In 1904 Thomas McIntyre adapted the brisk melody to craft this instrumental march version of the tune, which appeared in an LDS/Mormon magazine. ( Audio only – click to play. )

 

Theme and Variations of 1905 by Arthur Shepherd, who might have been the most well known Utah composer of his day if measured by national attention. This is a short excerpt only, because this complex music is poorly served by the limitations of a synthesized recording. Rhythms, harmonies and dissonance all foreshadow musical trends coming in later decades. Many of his works have had commercial recordings and can be enjoyed more in those offerings. This brief introduction includes only the opening Theme, and Variation #1 instead of the full 10 variations of the original score. Note that this is designated as his “Opus 1” meaning he identified it as his first completed work that he wished to be known by. (Audio only – click to play.)

Bonus entry! Of related interest, (see what I did there?), Arthur Shepherd’s father was also musical. He had at least one song published in an LDS hymnbook in 1905, but I’m not sure of the actual date of composition. Paris, Idaho on the shores of Bear Lake in Southeast Idaho is close enough to be included here with “Give Us Room That We May Dwell” by W.N.B. Shepherd.

 

Nephite Lamentation by Thomas Durham of Parowan (in SW Utah) appeared as an instrumental organ solo published in several LDS hymnbooks from 1905 to 1930. Durham was known for seeking inspiration in and out of the usual musical channels, and in at least one composition he claimed to have been aided by “receiving” a musical message of sorts from ancient Native American sources, specifically the ancient Nephite people chronicled in the Book of Mormon. Perhaps this one also worked that way? However he made his music, his legacy also includes generations of talent still working in classical music circles in several Utah Universities to this day. This *may* be an adaptation of his version of “Oh, My Father.” (Audio only recording – click below)

 

The Russo-Jappo Waltzes by Moses Samuel Gudmundson from 1906. Story time. The title was almost certainly inspired by a very real conflict between Russia and Japan which was major news in 1904 and 1905. It was the first time an Asian Country had been considered to have “won” a war with a European power. The music is loaded with what are now stereotypical Russian harmonies of the romantic-era type, but little to no Japanese touches. The composer worked in education as the director of music in the Springville (near Provo) public schools, then later as a violin instructor at BYU. He seems to have been a man who very much loved his own ideas, as this piece runs over 10 minutes with all the repeats. But he also felt inspired to make some personal adjustments to his Mormon faith, and convinced several friends and associates to form a colony on the edge of the desert near the Jericho Sand Dunes, 50 miles SW of Provo, where his revelations included the doctrine of “Wife Sacrifice”, meaning that he could and would re-assign the wives of any follower to be partnered with another man instead. (Apparently not Polygamy – just shifting the ties.) This sheet music was published by a New York music company unlike so many others on this site which were locally published in Utah. Found in the Special Collections holdings at BYU’s Lee Library, which shared it with us. (Audio only – click below to play.)

 

A Romance in D  by Anton Pedersen Freber of the music faculty at the U. of Utah.  The son of Anton Pedersen who also has works on these lists.  (He added “Freber” to his last name in honor of his traditional family name in Europe.)  A top young violinist in the area, he moved to NYC for advanced studies, and even played a few seasons with the New York Philharmonic.  The 1906 publishing date was around the time he was finishing high school, and put this in the musical world around the time that Rachmaninov was in mid-career, and Prokofiev was getting rolling.  The sound and feel of this one makes Freber an “honorary Sergei.”  The title also deserves some historical context, for in that era the term “Romance” in the title of a book or piece of music usually meant it was designed to be extra imaginative and larger-than-life, or a step beyond the usual works in the genre. Not so much the current usage suggesting affection and love.   I’m tempted to make a video showing this score as it plays, since the rolling arpeggios just keep on rolling throughout the piece.  (Audio only click to hear this 5-minute selection.)

 

(**  NEW !! *** )

Wandamere March & Two-Step 1906 by William C. Clive.  Showcasing the fun to be had at “Wandamere,” a small amusement park just a few miles south-east of downtown Salt Lake City, making it a bit more convenient than a trip out to Saltair for many. It drew thousands of revelers each day during warm weather to enjoy concerts, amusement park style rides, a lake with boats, bicycle races on a steep-banked oval track, etc. The park specialized in various themed days for groups, such as “German Day”, where thousands of people who identified with a group might attend. This music was transcribed from the hand-written original score by the composer, found in the Special Collections archives of Utah State University in Logan. The score uses the title “Wandamere March or Two-Step by Piano”, but newspaper mentions of this music from the time it was first played referred to it as “Wandamere Two-Step.” The composer was also the designated leader of the resident orchestra/band which played at the major events for the park. There are indications in the score that the piece was sometimes played as a piano solo, and sometimes as part of a band, with instructions for performing it each way.  Transcription and recording took a while due to the hand written notation of the manuscript, but here is the full piece posted in June 2026.  (Click the title above to play this one and see the park depicted in vintage postcards.)

Three Tone Stories – Spinning Song & An Elfic Tale  for solo piano by Charles Frederick Carlson. Written/published in 1907.  Carlson was a Utah native, educated back east where he composed several full operas, many songs and some solo piano selections.  Another piece by Carlson is on a different section of this site.  He returned to the West and was on music faculties at colleges first in Colorado and later in Utah.  The sheet music for this recording came from the Special Collections depart of the Marriott Library on the University of Utah campus. (The first two movements are included in a video – click the title to play. The 3rd movement may be posted later.)

Solita (Lonely) from 1908 by Jack Hangauer is one of several compositions where he combined Latin-influenced dance forms with classical music. It was a clear trend in those years as other composers such as Joplin, Gershwin, Copland, and Lecuona also wrote crossover works.  Hangauer was mostly based in Montana, but spent a lot of time in the Salt Lake City music scene in the years around 1910, and even had sheet music published there.

 

“Dolorosa Waltzes” is another offering in a similar light classical style from Hangauer in 1910 , translated on the sheet music as “Sorrowful Waltzes.”  It was printed in Utah, and the sheet music bears a dedication to a lady named Helen Dolores so the title may have been wordplay.  This demo is just a teaser (like Helen was?) including the intro and the first waltz.  The full piece is divided into sections or movements totaling four waltzes.  (Audio only – click below to hear Dolorosa Waltz part 1)

 

 

Saltair March  by Godfrey Buglione – This was composed to be played by concert bands in the 1910 time frame, but there was also a solo piano version of sheet music available for this piece. Now a professional recording by a “live” player is finally available! (Thanks to Tim at Fiverr, who is available for quality recordings and demos.) Click the link below this paragraph to hear it. However, I will also try to post a recording with a video in early 2026, since the visual possibilities are endless for this subject. For additional artsy interest, the cover image for one edition of the commercial sheet music of this piece was by the famous Utah-born artist John Held, Jr, whose father was leader of an active concert band around the same time as this was composed. For further background notes, please see the list of music for ensembles on a different page of this site for the “band” version.

 

“Brigham Young University” March – A 1909 work composed by Robert G. Sauer in his first few years as BYU Director of Bands. This recording is from the piano reduction published by the student body at the school. Found in the sheet music section of the BYU Lee Library Special Collections, which has several other interesting works by him, including a few more titles written as BYU theme songs. (But they may or may not have ever been the “official” school songs or fight songs.) This new recording presents only the first half of the piece since a vocal chorus gets added for the conclusion of the work. (Audio only – click below to play.)

 

Salt Lake Beauties Waltz –  by Antonio de la Mora, who’s personal story is likely even more interesting than his music.  Born in Mexico where he was a versatile performer, he relocated to the USA and became the leader of the military band at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City, Utah, and other forts in other cities as assigned.  But his military duties were not limited to music, as it was reported that at one point he and his musicians were activated and saw live-fire combat in skirmishes along the US/Mexican border.  He also seems to have been what was then called a stereotypical “Latin Lover”, with multiple marriages, including some in SLC.  This selection, published in Salt Lake using his Ft. Douglas address,  was composed as an extended instrumental for piano solo and includes around six different themes or movements, so we have only recorded the first three here as an introduction to his style, and to move things along.  The full recording will be posted here someday when the stockpile of other composers and works we still have on hand dwindles.   (Audio only – click to play, mi amore.)

 

THREE piano solos in quite contrasting styles by Gustav Schuster (a.k.a. Edw. Herman):

~~  Broncho Buster March and Two-Step was the theme music for the huge annual Rodeo and Horse Show in Denver, Colorado.  Composed and published with various dates and editions from 1902 to 1913, the march was surely designed to raise the energy level at an already busy event.  Schuster had an active private music school and studio in downtown SLC for decades, yet still composed in various styles from piano and violin solos to works for bands and orchestras.  (Click the title to hear it in a video.)

~~ Wizard of the Wasatch March by Gustav Schuster – Composed around 1913 for a short-lived festival in Salt Lake City that included Mardi Gras style parades and many other features, but with local and pseudo Native American themes. The festivities were designed both for fun and funds, with the stated goals of stimulating local tourism & shopping — until the onset of WWI put a damper on this and many other non-essential events. But while it lasted, the festival was heavily promoted, and the sheet music for this frisky “circus band” style march was even printed in local newspapers. He also composed a march titled “Broncho Buster” which was the theme song for a big annual rodeo event in Denver. (This has been recorded, and will be coming someday with a video.) Here is the “Wizard” recording from my YouTube channel.

~~ Meditation “Oh, My Father” an instrumental (piano only) selection published around 1914, but based on a well-known Mormon (now LDS) hymn tune from the late 1800s. However, it is not that simple. This music has a multi-faceted origin, starting as a tune in the British Isles in the mid 1800s, (sources differ as to whether it was Welsh or Scottish), then the melody was adopted by James McGranahan into a hymn tune titled “My Redeemer” with different lyrics. It migrated into the world of Utah/LDS music when it was reworked yet again in the late 1800s with lyrics from prolific poet Eliza R. Snow, whose poem is notable for raising the question that since God is a Father in Heaven, doesn’t that also mean that there is a Mother in Heaven? This page often presents piano solos rendered by synthesized keyboards, but for this selection it is a pleasure to link to a video on YouTube by the talented player and teacher Stefanie Struhs Kiester of the Denver, CO. area, who had already posted her solo piano recording of this piece a few years ago. Link shared here with her permission. (In addition to performing, she is a sometimes composer, and is available as a piano teacher.) Note on the composer’s name — Gustav Schuster composed these variations, but for some of his published sheet music, including this one published by his own company, he opted to use the pseudonym Edw. (Edward) Herman. Sheet music for this one shows up occasionally on EBay, but is also free online on at least two sites — one at BYU, and another in a century old LDS Church magazine archived at Google Books.

Camp Fire March  by Ida Horne White.  Sadly, I’m not finding much background information on this composer, but her music proves that she was  skillful and ambitious.  The title may be a nod to the “Camp Fire Girls” program which was akin to Boy Scouts.  This first selection from 1915 presents an upbeat tune in standard march form (Click to play the audio.)

 

The Opened Door  by Ida Horne White is her second piece we include, and the contrast could hardly be more complete.  Something like a cantata in musical form, but more like a historical pageant in staging, with major elements of philosophy in content.   We give you only the instrumental opening, suggesting a world in “Spiritual Darkness” but hoping for an awakening.  The full work continues with several tableau recounting pivotal events in recent history, especially in Utah history, where women played key roles in moving society forward.  Various sections featured speakers & actors, dancers, and a women’s chorus.  Hints of the Women’s Suffrage movement that was so big in Utah in the transitional period around 1900.   The composer, lyricist, story/text and seemingly the full creative team were Women.  This was produced by the Women’s group, the Relief Society, of a local “Stake”(a cluster of smaller congregations in an area) in the Salt Lake Valley in 1917, and they even published a vocal score to allow for additional staging.  (Audio only, so click below to hear it.)

 

Butterfly Dance was one of many compositions by Mildred Tanner Pettit, this one written for a series of performances in 1916 and 1917.  She and her collaborators created a series of productions for youth to dance to in local amateur shows.  When each of their works was published they came with complete instructions for choreography, costuming and staging.  In some later works, they even added full scripts to upgrade (?) from a dance recital to a mini-musical.  See one of those later in this list.  This one was suggested for youth at grade 3 to grade 5 age levels.  (Audio only – click to play.)

 

Watchword – Preparedness  (A Military March)  from 1916 by Harry A. Montgomery.   Solid information is lacking on Harry, but there is a record of a Harry Arthur Montgomery from the Midwest who lived in SLC from around 1915 to 1920, and even married in Salt Lake City.  This march is true to the title and full of martial pomp, with the incorporation of several sets of bugle calls scattered throughout.  This is a piano solo, and possibly a reduction from a band version since the sheet music, which was published in SLC, suggests that a few passages were open to adding trumpets and drums.  (Audio only – click below to play.)

 

Overture to the Restoration, an Oratorio from 1917.   Composed by B. (Brigham) Cecil Gates with libretto by his mother Susa Young Gates.  This ambitious work for choir, soloists and orchestra was a musical celebration for the LDS faithful.  The entire work was a major undertaking to produce, so a “vocal score” version was printed to allow choirs from local congregations to perform it with just a piano or organ instead of a full orchestra.  A few passages in the score are identified as being designed for other instruments, such as the opening bars on clarinet, and trumpet fanfares late in the piece. From that score, we present the overture, which starts by depicting a world in turmoil and spiritual darkness, gradually transitioning to light.  This recording is only the extended instrumental opening, but still has strong personality and foreshadows the rest of the lengthy work.  (Audio only – click below to hear it.)

 

Prelude and Postlude by Leroy J. Robertson, one of the best known and respected composers in Utah history. Most of his mature works came after 1930, making them still likely in copyright status and thus unavailable for this site. But this very short pair of piano solos, designed to open and close a religious service, was published in an LDS Church magazine in the 1920s during a period when various composers contributed a set almost every month. (Published for piano rather than organ, but playable on both instruments.) Robertson had a wide-ranging influence as a composer, including the landmark “Book of Mormon Oratorio”, and also as the head of the music departments at both BYU and at the University of Utah in mid-century nurturing dozens of talented musicians of the future. (Click to hear the audio – less than a minute total.)

 

Three Pieces for Children’s Dance by Mildred T. Pettit, 1927. This composer specialized in writing music for dance by young performers. This mini-suite, only five minute long, includes three short piano solos. Published together in an LDS Church (Mormon) magazine called “The Children’s Friend” to encourage additional amateur performances, and including detailed tips on choreography, costuming and staging. The pieces are festive, and require some serious piano skills. The sections include 1) At the Fair, 2) Rag Rug Dance, and 3) Dance of the Pop-corn Balls. The same composer also produced several even more ambitious and elaborate dance music scores which included theatrical elements. (Those may be posted later.) This entry is on video, so just click the title and hear it on YouTube.

Along the Navajo Trail by Seldon Heaps – This entry sees a style change to a much more modern sound. Impressionistic piano solo from around 1937 by a versatile composer who worked in classical, popular and religious music. There was likely an orchestral version as well, since the composer used the same title for one movement of his “Bryce Canyon Suite” for orchestra. (This piece also shares a name with an unrelated classic “Western Swing” song, but this local one is in a very different style.) This solo piano recording is by Tim via Fiverr. He is available for music projects and demo recordings and is great to work with.

Handcarts West! – Snippets from a 1958 musical theatre production written to be performed by teens. Listed on this part of the site because we are presenting only the solo piano parts of the play. This sheet music was included in the printed script that performers worked from. ( I know, I know … FROM WHICH performers worked…) The “Book” (story/script) was by Ruth Hale, a major figure in LDS/Mormon community theatre circles, and a co-founder of the popular Hale Center Theater. Music was composed and/or arranged by Samuel O. Pratt, who was probably related to the family central to the Lyon & Healy Harp Company. My personal opinion is that some of the piano music here requires abilities beyond that of an average teen performer, which may have limited the reach of this production. Hear a few excerpts at my YouTube page, where you may also stumble onto other videos on similar topics.

 

Which reminds us to list Grant Johannesen playing his variations on “Come, Come, Ye Saints”

 

... also looking for a few vintage “Utah related” pieces by non-local composers …

Note that there are additional recordings of piano music in the lists/pages as long as a piano is included in the group. Or even if it is an ensemble or theatre piece recorded in a version available only as a piano reduction.