 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: iPlayClarinet
Date: 2012-10-05 22:36
Hello. I recently gained possession of a Fritz Wurlitzer E-Flat Reform-Boehm clarinet. It plays nicely, and has all original parts. Does anyone have any idea of the popularity of these instruments, value, quality, etc? I can't seem to find anything on the internet, especially E-Flats, which is starting to confuse me. Thanks for any help.
Edit
Pics here:
http://imgur.com/a/wfrDp
Post Edited (2012-10-08 03:59)
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Author: Bill Patry
Date: 2012-10-05 23:01
I have a great Fritz Wurlitzer bass. I would ask Charles Stier, who is Wurlitzer's rep. in the U.S. See here: http://wurlitzerclarinetsamerica.com/
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Author: iPlayClarinet
Date: 2012-10-05 23:28
Thanks guys. Yes I've discovered the relation between Fritz and Herbert. Herbert clarinets seem to be fairly well documented, but I just can't seem to find any info about Fritz clarinets. All I've found is that Sir Nicholas Shackleton apparently had the clarinet one after mine on the production line. Documented here:
http://www.music.ed.ac.uk/euchmi/ucis.html
I don't know if I should be playing on this, or keeping it locked up safe.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-10-05 23:47
Congratulations on getting that horn--it's very rare, and if it's in good shape, quite valuable to the right player.
Compared to other instrument makers, Fritz Wurlitzer made very few instruments over the course of his long career, and they are generally highly prized. My set of Fritz Wurlitzer Reform Boehm soprano clarinets are the finest instruments I've ever played for classical music.
In general they are quite powerful, have a very beautiful color palette, and an exceptional sound from the bottom to the very top of the horn. I'd love to hear the big Mahler, Shostakovich, and Berlioz Eb parts played on a Fritz!
Charles Stier is an excellent source for all things Wurlitzer, as is Luigi Magistrelli, Hans de Nijs (who sometimes posts here) and Bas de Jong.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-10-05 23:58
Some more info:
Fritz Wurlitzer spent his career in Erlbach, Germany. His son Herbert worked in his shop before escaping to West Germany in the late '50s. Though some texts (such as Hoeprich's The Clarinet) mistakenly say Fritz left with him, it's not true: Fritz remained in Erlbach, East Germany, until he passed away in the 1980s. Some of the reason for his relatively small output might have been related to the difficulty of aquiring materials under the Communist regime. (Others who knew Fritz will have more information on this).
He's credited by some with inventing the Reform-Boehm. Others point to instruments which predated his (such as the instrument played by Bernard Walton) which had already managed a modified Boehm system on a German bore. Either way, Fritz's instruments paved the way for the continued success of the R-B as we know it today, especially the success it has had in the Netherlands. I personally tend to think of Fritz's horns as the first of the "perfected" R-Bs. There is even a stamp on my A clarinet, which dates from 1951, that says "System Fritz Wurlitzer"...suggesting that he might have been toying with naming it a "Wurlitzer System Clarinet." That didn't catch on, though.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-10-06 00:59
Anthony Baines' book mentions it was Schmidt (Mannheim) who produced the reform Boehm which has a completely cylindrical bore without the flare at the end of the lower joint (with a step where the wider bell bore meets the tenon) and with a huge bore diameter of 15.75mm.
Do Wurlitzer reform Boehms have a bore like this, or are they more like traditional German bores with the flare below the lowest tonehole?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-10-06 20:39
Not sure about traditional German bores, Chris, as I've never played one or seen one. My R-Bs have a maybe a bit of a flare, then a tight choke before the bell. The bore is 15mm, so nowhere near the size of the Schmidt stats.
Luigi Magistrelli has written an intersting article on the Reform Boehm that can be read here:
http://www.luigimagistrelli.it/45352_June09_BohmSystem.pdf
He delves a little into the Schmidt-Kolbe system as well--saying among other things that Schmidt added an extra venting hole for the throat Bb (I wonder if this isn't the actual basis for both the Wurlitzer speaker mechanism and the Stubbins S-K mechanism?)
The timeline seems to be that Schmidt developed an R-B rather early on, experimenting with Boehm systems in the first decades of the 20th century. he went on to work with Kolbe and then Fritz Wurlitzer, who carried on the work after Schmidt's retirement.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: iPlayClarinet
Date: 2012-10-07 14:00
Hello all,
Thanks for all the help so far. I will be putting up a few pictures today. In terms of how it plays: it is one of only a handful of E-flats that I've played, but definitely the best. Considering how small it is, it's pretty amazing how much sound it produces.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-10-07 16:00
That's either a good or bad thing depending on the ability of the player - just like a piccolo, an Eb clarinet will easily be heard over the texture of any band or orchestra going at full tilt.
Definitely like to see photos of it.
With reform Boehms, you can get an excellent upper register F#-G# trill by fingering the F# and trilling with LH finger 3 only (xx+|oxo). Also an Ab-Bb trill by playing the Ab (G#) as xxo|xoo and trilling with LH finger 2 (x+o|xoo). Altissimo Eb can be played as oxx|oxoEb if it has an Acton vent fitted (as was fitted as standard to a lot of B&H 1010s).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-10-07 16:43
"...it's pretty amazing how much sound it produces."
That's one of the hallmarks of a Fritz Wurlitzer clarinet. Tremendous amount of sound, and colorful sound at that. The major change Herbert Wurlitzer made to his father's overall concept was to tone down the amount of volume, and to focus on the timbral blending between orchestral instruments (Wurlitzers are planned with the symphony orchestra in mind, not band sections). Having said this, it's pretty amazing how well Fritz's instruments blend with Herbert's as well as the contemporary Wurlitzers.
For those who like that sound, combined with raw power, Fritz's horns can't be beat.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: MarlboroughMan
Date: 2012-10-07 19:58
Based on your serial number and the (rough) chart I have of Fritz Wurlitzer numbers, I can date your Eb to the late 1960s--probably 1967 or 1968.
Fritz lived from 1888-1984, and his last serial number was #2725--and that's total instruments--his career output was less than 3000 instruments. Your eefer is 2228, so on the "late" side of his output, and probably one of the few Fritz Wurlitzer R-B eefers out there.
Those pictures are beautiful, and they might just be of the only Eb clarinet I'd want to play.
If that horn is in good shape, for my money it might be the best eefer in the world (and I mean that--others have other opinions, but in terms of classical horns, I'm a real Fritz Wurlitzer guy). Feel free to email me if i can help you with more info.
Thanks so much for sharing those photos. Please keep in touch with those of us who also play Fritz Wurlitzers--and maybe let Charles Stier at Wurlitzer Clarinets America know you've got one. I think it's important for these historical instruments to be known.
Eric
******************************
The Jazz Clarinet
http://thejazzclarinet.blogspot.com/
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Author: iPlayClarinet
Date: 2012-10-07 21:09
Your opinion is greatly appreciated. I'm very glad to hear your positive opinion on the instrument; I'd love to keep in touch. To Eric and anyone else who is interested, you can contact me privately at gdeadfan@gmail.com.
Also, Charles Stier and I are in contact now, and I just sent him the photos as well.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-10-07 22:52
http://imgur.com/a/wfrDp
Looks pretty good to me - I'd love to overhaul one of these just to get the opportunity to play test it afterwards!
It hasn't got an Acton vent fitted to the RH rings - not really too much of a surprise considering it's an Eb and has enough keywork on it anyway.
I tried out an old set of Fritz Wurlitzer Oehler systems which were probably from the '50s - mechanically they were worn out and could do with a complete rebuild, but that side, the tone was something else.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2012-10-07 23:37)
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Author: Rafi
Date: 2012-10-12 10:27
Hi,
Try www.holzblaeser.com, great music shop in Berlin.
Rafi
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