This lovely bass clarinet is crafted in grenadilla and nickel silver. This bass clarinet was made by Maino & Orsi. It is a simple (Albert) system clarinet with two independent speakers.

The company Maino & Orsi was the fruit of a collaboration and partnership between Paolo MAINO (?-1881) and Romeo ORSI ((1843-1918). Paolo Maino was an established and successful woodwind instrument maker who had set up his workshop in Milan around 1836. Professor Romeo Orsi was an accomplished musician, in fact a clarinettist at Milano Scala opera, and clarinet teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Milan. We can date this instrument to sometime around the turn of the century. Paolo Maino had already passed away, leaving the company in the hands of Orsi, who died in 1918. The company still exists today and, on its website, there’s a great description about its history and Romeo Orsi himself. [Plus, there’s some really great photos of some of the master composers and musicians who bought the instruments!]