Agostino RAMPONE and his metal, double-wall woodwind instruments
Quarna Sotto beginnings Quarna Sotto is a tiny village hidden way in the forested hills above Lago d’Orta in the Italian Piedmont region. It is where the story of the Rampone family began and still continues today. Long before Agostino Rampone was born, in the early 1800s, Francesco Bonaventura RAMPONE and his…
Five-keyed boxwood flute – LEONHARDT
Here is a five-keyed flute by LEONHARDT. Some initial research has led us to a flute made by the same maker at the Michaelstein Abbey collection in Germany. A boxwood clarinet by Leonhardt with the same stamp was also recently sold at auction in the UK. This instrument is crafted in…
Antonio CANELLA – Ferrara’s mysterious ocarina maker
Giuseppe DONATI (1836-1925) was the ‘inventor’ of the ocarina. His hometown was Budrio in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, about 15 kilometres east of Bologna, where today there is even an ocarina museum. Other makers sprung up and are known as the Budrio makers. They include Ercole MEZZETTI (1841-1918) & Alberto Napoleone MEZZETTI…
Ten-keyed romantic flute – Stephan KOCH
This is a fabulous ten-keyed flute made in Vienna in 1851 at the workshop of the family of Stephan KOCH (1772-1828). Stephan Koch made all kinds of woodwind instruments, including bassoons, csakans and clarinets in his workshop in Vienna. However, he is most known for his improvements to the design…
Seven-keyed cocuswood flute – MONZANI, Tebaldo
This is a nice and typical example of a Cocuswood flute made by the famous Italian-born, turned Englishman, Tebaldo MONZANI (1762-1839). It is a three-piece construction. Two head joints are supplied, rather than just one head joint with a tuning slide. [Tuning slides often cause cracking in the wood.] There…
Reform flute – SCHWEDLER-KRUSPE
This reform flute was made by Carl KRUSPE Junior (1865-1929) when he was active in Leipzig between 1893 and 1929. He was the eldest son and successor of the Kruspe company founder Friedrich Wilhelm Kruspe. It was the result of a cooperation between the flutist Maximillian SCHWEDLER and KRUSPE. SCHWEDLER…
Conical ring-key flute – Julius Max BÜRGER
This sensational conical ring-key flute was fully restored by master woodwind instrument makers. The instrument is crafted in gorgeous Cocuswood with nickel/German silver ring keys and rings. It plays at a pitch of a=440Hz. Furthermore, it was supplied in a brand-new, leather-covered wooden case which was designed especially for this…
Nickel silver – does it really contain silver?
Does nickel silver really contain silver? The simple answer is ‘No’. It’s a copper alloy that normally contains about 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. It is called nickel silver because it does really look like silver in terms of colour and shininess. Sterling silver, in contrast, is an…
