Finding the flute of an outstanding flute virtuoso

When it comes to antique or original instruments, it’s normally a huge bonus if we have a maker’s stamp to identify and date the instrument. New owners are then happy to know some details about the maker’s background and the properties of the instrument itself. Organology, or the study of...

Anonymity – What’s in a name?

We often come across musical instruments with no stamp and no indication as to where they were made or their makers. They remain forever unsigned, unstamped and anonymous. These instruments are often brushed aside and rejected as worthless or inferior. But are they? Why did instrument makers choose anonymity and...

The conical ring-key flute – game changer of 1832

It is known that towards the end of the eighteenth century, flutes with eight keys, or double and alternate keyed flutes were preferred among musicians. Yet things were to change drastically with the Theobald BOEHM (1794-1881)1832 invention – the conical ring-key flute. Sadly, it was to become a beautiful instrument...

Acoustical aspects of the transverse flute from 1700 to present

If you are interested in learning more about flute acoustics, we have an interesting article written by Jens Holger Rindel, a senior consultant at Multiconsult in Norway, senior researcher in Odeon A/S, Denmark, former Professor in acoustics at the Technical University of Denmark… and flutist!It was presented at the Baltic-Nordic...

Fragonard love story-courting couple motif

The terms Fragonard Courting Couple or Fragonard Love Story refer to a motif inspired by the work of the French artist, Jean Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806). Fragonard, born in Grasse, on the now French Riviera, was a painter and printmaker from the Rococo (Roccoco or Late Baroque) movement and later Neoclassical...

The unicorn

Unicorns have become all the rage over recent years and we are often confronted in our daily lives with unicorns in the form of cartoons, cuddly toys, pencil cases, hairbands and even inflatable pool loungers.A unicorn is a beast that typically looks like a horse and has one single, pointed...