As the record gained popular appeal, labels such as Columbia, Edison and Victor sought artists in order to grow their ever expanding catalog of musical offerings. Records produced here in the US included numerous zither selections by musicians with roots in German-speaking countries. In this article, we explore these early zither recordings.

In 1877, Thomas Edison brought together the components of the first practical recording device. The beginning of the record industry was ushered in innocently with a recital of the nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” recorded on a tinfoil-wrapped cylinder.

At first, Edison's phonograph was a novelty whose commercial potential was not immediately fulfilled. After his initial experiments, several years passed until he once again focused on improving his invention. With time, the phonograph began to gain popular appeal as its practical applications were realized. Now, folks could enjoy hearing recorded music in their home, whenever they wished. Edison's early catalog of music offered selections by Kitty Berger, the renowned zitherist from Austria, as well as a number of zither solos performed by David Wormser, a long-time resident of New York, who had moved to the United States from Landau, Germany, in 1874.

Heimweh
David Wormser zither solo recording, 1903.

Courtesy of University of California,
Santa Barbara Library.

As Edison's phonograph gained success, competing businesses and technologies naturally entered the marketplace. Two prominent competitors of Edison's, that also featured zither artists, were the Victor Talking Machine Company and the Columbia Phonograph Company. Whereas Edison focused his early efforts on the cylinder, these labels offered selections on disc records, a competing product to Edison's cylinder. The catalog for each included a multitude of zither soloists, ensembles and groups. Zither artists who had previously recorded with Edison could also be found on these labels.

Like other early recording artists of ethnic music, zitherist Constantine Wunderle had emigrated from Germany. Born in Munich, he came to the US to provide entertainment for an audience with strong ties to German-speaking countries, or those with a curiosity for Alpine culture. As a member of Fiechtl's Yodlers, he toured and could be heard on their recordings of “Im Zillerthal” and “Die Gamserl'n.”

With this new medium, zither clubs also found an opportunity to preserve their performances. Under the “Radiofunken” label of New York, the Brooklyn Zither Club “Harmonie,” created a number of early 78RPM records. With Hans Durst as conductor, their selections included several German favorites of the period, such as A. Stelzl's "Blumen aus Florenz," G. Freundorfer's "Das Veilchen Vom Kochelsee" and G. Lechner's "Auf Ins Chiemgau."

Over time, sales of disc records began to overtake the cylinder. Edison was not unaware of this trend and had created a competing disc product, which was marketed as the Edison Diamond Disc Record. Recording technology continued to evolve however and in the end, Edison Records folded in 1929. Other record companies went through a predictable series of mergers and acquisitions. What remains is a wealth of early recorded zither music.

Thanks to the preservation work of others, many of the zither artists mentioned in this article can now be heard online. The Library of Congress's National Jukebox (www.loc.gov/jukebox) provides many early zither recordings once offered by the Victor Talking Machine Company. In addition, the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project of the University of California, Santa Barbara (cylinders.library.ucsb.edu), provides a multitude of early cylinder recordings for our enjoyment.

The following table presents a listing of early zither recordings produced in the US.

Do you have zither-related materials of interest to share with the community? If so, email dave@zither.us or use the provided contact form.