This A clarinet was made by the Bavarian and Munich-based master instrument maker, Benedict PENTENRIEDER (1809-1849). Pentenrieder’s life story and that of his immediate family are quite sad ones. He lived a very short life… dying at the age of just 40. He worked at the same time and location as other instrument makers, such as Boehm, but is still rather undiscovered. He learnt woodwind making from Joseph EBNER (1791-1849) and is famous mainly for the flutes and clarinets he made.

This particular A-clarinet displays one of the rare and distinctive half-moon or crescent keys that Pentenrieder employed on clarinets and flutes. He used these half-moon keys before later using circular ring keys. It is a thin, padless half-moon shaped brass touchpiece, located over the edge of a fingerhole. Similar to the later ring key, when the finger covers the hole, the half-moon key is also pressed down, simultaneously triggering a key mechanism to close or partially close at least one tone-hole elsewhere on the instrument.

The second half-moon touch piece for the right-hand middle finger is missing. This clarinet has 12 brass keys. The boxwood has a lovely honey colour. The rings are exquisitely carved in ivory. We can find maker’s stamps on all parts, except for the mouthpiece which is in great condition, but made later. There is even a beautifully crafted ivory thumb rest.

This Pentenrieder clarinet looks spectacular and we believe it was made for and used by a professional player. It is extremely rare with its half-moon or crescent-shape key – exemplifying the missing link between regular keyed clarinets and those with ring keys.