Emil František Burian - Suite Americaine

The Suite Americaine op.15 was originally written for two pianos, but within a month of its completion in December 1926 he had made an alternative version for a mixed instrumental ensemble, with a main role for the violophone, which gave an extra accent to the stubborn character of the music. The violophone (also known as Stroh-Geige or Violine à defaut) was invented in England in the late nineteenth century for the first gramophone recordings. The sound of the strings is amplified by a membrane rather than a resonance chamber, and projected in a certain direction by a trumpet-like metal bell. From the 1920s the violophone was popular in street and jazz bands.