Luigi Vanotti – made in Milan
Luigi VANOTTI worked for the company Rampone & Cazzani before setting up his own business in 1909 in Milan, at Via Solferino 46. He specialised in making Boehm flutes, but also constructed several non-standard experimental models. He was clearly an innovator.
One innovation was the Albisiphon, which he built and patented in partnership with Abelardo ALIBISI (1872–1938). The Albisiphon was a vertical bass flute which would go on to be employed by several composers, including Puccini and Zanonai. He also made other special flutes for Albisi. These were the high F and G (a piccolo in G called the Nightingale) or the flute for the left hand only, for which Albisi wrote several pieces. Examples of these flutes can be found in the Dayton Miller Collection in the USA.
The flutes he made that were inspired by the L. Lot and Rudall models were very praised and well-received. But they had additional original innovations, such as a patented new key for the high G/A trill or the split E and F keys. He also made flutes for other well-known names, such as Alfredo CASOLI (1864-1940) and Luigi BILLORO (1870/1-1942). In 1940, the business was taken over by his son Piero who started a massive production of low-cost flutes, but it closed in 1951 after a serious car accident.