Chris Goertzen
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781496814272
- eISBN:
- 9781496814319
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Mississippi
- DOI:
- 10.14325/mississippi/9781496814272.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, History, American
This chapter discusses George P. Knauff's music business. When versatile musician and entrepreneur Knauff heard a fiddler playing the Virginia Reels melodies for dancing at social events held at the ...
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This chapter discusses George P. Knauff's music business. When versatile musician and entrepreneur Knauff heard a fiddler playing the Virginia Reels melodies for dancing at social events held at the home of his wife's parents, he sensed a similar chance to enhance his income. It is not clear exactly when he launched into composing and arranging music for profit because a few of his publications lack dates and plate numbers; this includes the first printing of the first two volumes of the Virginia Reels. This suggests an alternative scenario: that his activity as a composer and arranger started after his home and business burned and piggybacked on his next focus for earning a living, which was teaching. Whether initially part of his brick-and-mortar business or coupled with his subsequent stint teaching, Knauff's choosing to compose, arrange, and publish music was nothing startling as it was a natural ingredient of any music career at that time.Less
This chapter discusses George P. Knauff's music business. When versatile musician and entrepreneur Knauff heard a fiddler playing the Virginia Reels melodies for dancing at social events held at the home of his wife's parents, he sensed a similar chance to enhance his income. It is not clear exactly when he launched into composing and arranging music for profit because a few of his publications lack dates and plate numbers; this includes the first printing of the first two volumes of the Virginia Reels. This suggests an alternative scenario: that his activity as a composer and arranger started after his home and business burned and piggybacked on his next focus for earning a living, which was teaching. Whether initially part of his brick-and-mortar business or coupled with his subsequent stint teaching, Knauff's choosing to compose, arrange, and publish music was nothing startling as it was a natural ingredient of any music career at that time.
