Piano Lessons
GenreMusic education
Presented byG. Aldo Randegger
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Production locationsNew York, New York
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time30 minutes (originally)
15 minutes (later-on)
Original release
NetworkW2XAB
ReleaseOctober 8, 1931 (1931-10-08) –
1932 (1932)

Piano Lessons is an American music education television series featuring piano lessons from G. Aldo Randegger. It originally aired in New York City on W2XAB (now WCBS-TV), a then-experimental television station of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), from October 8, 1931, to 1932. Piano Lessons is among the earliest regularly scheduled television programs. Due to a lack of any preservation the entire series is widely accepted as being completely lost.

Production and broadcast

The series consisted of piano lessons given by Professor G. Aldo Randegger, and aired on mechanical television. The first episode aired October 8, 1931, as announced in the Radio News section of The Daily Star newspaper.[1] Originally a 30-minute series, it later aired in a 15-minute time-slot. It aired without commercials, as American television was not yet a commercial service, due to the highly experimental nature of early television broadcasting.

In a television listing from 1932, the series is listed at 8:15PM on Mondays, preceded by The Television Ghost and followed by ukulele player Jack Peterson.[2] In an earlier television listing from the same year, it is listed as airing at 9:00PM, preceded by songs by Doris Sharp and followed by songs by the Shannon Brothers.[3]

Randegger

G. Aldo Randegger also appeared in vaudeville and was also a composer. A picture of him appears on the University of Washington website in their digital collections.[4] He was born circa 1874 and died in Manhattan on November 30, 1946, at the age of 72.[5]

Reception

The November 19, 1932, edition of The Sun featured a section called The Picture Gallery with letters from viewers. A letter writer named Allen Polner in Brooklyn said "television programs are improving, especially from W2XAB" and "last week I looked in and was more than pleased with the results", citing both Piano Lessons as well as segments with Gladys Kahn and Kane Whitney. The same viewer was not impressed with programs by stations W2XR and WIXAV, and felt television needed longer programming hours.[6]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fultonhistory.com/Newspaper%2015/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Star/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Star%201931/Brooklyn%20NY%20Daily%20Star%201931%20-%202614.pdf
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.fultonhistory.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.fultonhistory.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "G. Aldo Randegger, vaudeville actor". University of Washington. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  5. ↑ "G Aldo Randegger (1874 - 1946)". AncientFaces. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  6. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.fultonhistory.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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