Samuel Siegel

American mandolin virtuoso and composer

Samuel Siegel, from a 1918 tour with William Foden and Frederick J. Bacon

Samuel Siegel (born 1875, Des Moines, Iowa — died January 14, 1948, Los Angeles, California) was an American mandolin virtuoso and composer who played mandolin on 29 records for Victor Records, including 9 pieces of his own composition and two that he arranged.[1][2][3][4][5] Siegel was the first mandolinist to record on Emile Berliner's phonograph disk-records.[4] He was labeled "America's Greatest Mandoline Virtuoso" and "The King of the Mandolin" in the May 1900 Banjo World.[4]

Siegel performed both in vaudeville, as well as in concert halls.[4] He had no formal training in music, but saw that the mandolin needed original music, rather than relying on the transcribed violin music.[4] His compositions and arrangements were well known in his day.[4]

He was the author of Siegel's Special Mandolin Studies, published by Joseph W. Stern & Co., 1901, in which he covered left-hand Pizzicato and harmonic duo style.[6][7]

## Recording partners[edit]

Siegel recorded with Roy Butin in 1908 on four Victor records, the tunes: Southern Fantasy, Estellita Waltz, American Valor March, and In Fairyland.[8]

Samuel Siegel and Roy Butin play Gavotte

A 1909 Edison Amberol recording of Samuel Siegel on mandolin and Roy Butin on guitar

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He recorded Edison Diamond Disk record Ragtime Echoes in 1918 with Marie Caveny, with her on ukulele, and also Dance, Mouse Dance, and Medley.[9][10] Marie and her husband James Frank Caveny lived with Siegel as lodgers in Chicago during the 1910 United States Census.[11] They were performers or lecturers in the Lyceum movement.[12] James Franklin was a cartoonist and Marie sang soprano in their performance.[12]

Samuel Siegel and Marie Caveny play Ragtime Echoes, one of Siegel's compositions, recorded on an Edison Diamond Disk record

A 1918 recording with Samuel Siegel on mandolin and Marie Caveny on ukulele

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## Victor recordings[edit]

1911 advertisement from The Cadenza for a class taught by Samuel Siegel 1902 advertisement for Samuel Siegel

Recorded for Victor records between October 20, 1900 and December 28, 1918.[1]

* The foxhunters two-step
* Espagnole waltz
* Hawthorne club
* Remembrance of thee
* Medley of coon songs
* Ma lady Lou
* Volunteer patrol
* American valor march
* La bonita waltz
* Romance
* In olden times
* Nearer my God to thee
* Manzanillo
* An autumn evening
* A-sa-ma
* Maritana mazurka
* Navajo medley
* La cinquantaine
* Träumerei
* Intermezzo
* The whirlwind march
* Boston Ideal march
* Estellita waltz
* American valor march
* In Fairyland
* Medley, (December 28, 1918) with Marie Caveny (ukulele)
* Dance, (December 28, 1918) with Marie Caveny (ukulele)
* Ragtime echoes, (December 28, 1918) with Marie Caveny (ukulele)
* Mouse dance, (December 28, 1918) with Marie Caveny (ukulele)

## Columbia Records[edit]

He made records for Columbia Records.[13]

* La bonita waltz (1901), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)
* Zenda waltz (1901), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)
* Hawthorne Club (c 1904-1909), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)
* Ivanhoe Intermezzo with Geo. Stehl & Hans Von Wegern
* Mazurka Brillante

## Edison recordings[edit]

He recorded for Edison Records on their Blue Amberol, Gold Moulded, and Diamond Disk albums.[10][13]

### Gold Molded[edit]

* Home, sweet home (1902), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)
* Manzanilo (c. 1902), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)
* The story teller waltz (1903), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)
* My Old Kentucky Home (1903), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)
* Just One Girl (1904), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)[14](Music written by Lynn Udall, 1898)
* An autumn evening (1905), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and M. Loyd Wolf (guitar)
* Evening on the plaza (1905), Samuel Siegel (mandolin)

### Blue Amberol[edit]

* Castilian Echoes (1908), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and William Smith (guitar)
* Waltz (1909), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and Roy H. Butin (guitar)
* Gavotte (1909), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and Roy H. Butin (guitar)
* Waltz (1913), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and Roy H. Butin (guitar)
* Kuu ipo i ka hee pue one medley (1919), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and Marie Caveny (ukulele)

### Diamond[edit]

* Ragtime Echoes (1918), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and Marie Caveny (ukulele)

## Indestructible Records[edit]

He made records marketed by the Indestructible Record Company.[13]

* Estellita waltz (1908), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and Roy Butin (guitar)
* Southern fantasie (1908), Samuel Siegel (mandolin) and Roy Butin (guitar)

## See also[edit]

* List of mandolinists (sorted)

## References[edit]

A 1902 advertisement for a concert tour for Samuel Siegel, from The Cadenza

1. ^ a b Victor: Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings. "Samuel Siegel (instrumentalist: mandolin)". Retrieved 2014-07-07.
2. ^ Victor: Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings. "Samuel Siegel (composer)". Retrieved 2014-07-07.
3. ^ Victor: Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings. "Samuel Siegel (arranger)". Retrieved 2014-07-07.
4. ^ a b c d e f Sparks, Paul (1995). The Classical Mandolin. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 123–125, 223. ISBN 978-0-19-517337-6.
5. ^ J. Garber. "Rootsweb, Siegel-L-SamuelSamuel". Retrieved 2014-07-08.
6. ^ Mair, Marilynn (2011). Complete Mandolinist. Mel Bay Publications. p. 4\. ISBN 9781610653213.
7. ^ Dalton, Jim (2006). Duo Style Mandolin (PDF). Sining String Music Publications. p. 3.
8. ^ Gregg Miner. "Roy Butin, Revealed!". Retrieved 2014-07-20.
9. ^ Victor Records, Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings, Miss M. Caveny (instrumentalist: ukulele)
10. ^ a b National Park Service, Thomas Edison National Historic Park, New Jersey, Popular Instrumental, Ragtime
11. ^ United States Census, Year: 1910; Census Place: Chicago Ward 25, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T624_268; Page: 3A; Enumeration District: 1057; FHL microfilm: 1374281
12. ^ a b The Lyceumite Art and Talent, Their Art Appeals to Eye and Ear, Why J. Franklin Caveny Has Been Thirteen Years on the Platform and How Mrs. Caveny Completes the Pictures. A Glimpse of Two Artists in the Art of "Making Good"
13. ^ a b c Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project, Department of Special Collections, Donald C. Davidson Library, University of California, Santa Barbara
14. ^ YouTube video of Just One Girl by Samuel Siegel, showing the recording case and label

## External links[edit]

* Works by Samuel Siegel at Project Gutenberg
* Works by or about Samuel Siegel at Internet Archive
* Samuel Siegel recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
* Library of Congress record listing digitized recordings in their collection by Siegel
* Library of Congress record and online stream of Navajo Medley, arranged and played by Siegel
* Library of Congress record for a recording Siegel made of his arrangement of Nearer My God to Thee
* Mandolin Cafe thread with pictures of a program of music in which Siegel played
* Cylinder preservation and Digitization Project, University of California, has digitized Siegel public-domain recordings and made available to download.
* Advertisement for Siegel's mandolin method
* Mandotopia page, has links to public domain book of mandolin music, arranged by Siegel
* A recital program cover for Samuel Siegel
* Website for a mandolin teacher which contains one page of Siegel's method book
* Endorsement by Samuel Siegel of Regal mandolins. also details of one of his transcontinental tours
* Advertisement for Siegel's music school, the Siegel–Myers School of Music (then also named University Extension Conservatory)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

Artists|

* MusicBrainz