Musical theorists have attempted to determine what comprises a good musical performance for over two centuries. It wasn’t until a hundred ago, however, that engineers believed they identified the parameters of artistic playing and invented player pianos. The resulting machines and their digital paper rolls have become a treasure trove of information about artistic playing, piano technique and even recovery of lost musical compositions. Dr. Stephen Husarik will perform live comparisons on the piano and play recording of mechanical instruments to illustrate the amazing information that has been retrieved from this digital medium.