 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Hans
Date: 1999-06-18 22:00
I'me playing Fritz Wurlitzer A/B clarinets (no's 1181 and 1182) with a wide bore (15,0 mm) and made around 1950. The system is called Schmidt-Kolbe, a (complex) variant of the Oehler German system with for instance a special bore, a B' improvement and a gis"/a" and fis"/gis" triller. In any case this system was used by many professional clarinettists in the Netherlands in the period 1950 - 1970 (for instance Piet Honingh /Bram de Wilde - Concertgebouw orchestra Amsterdam and Jolle Huckriede /Aart Roozenboom - Orchestra of the Hague.
I am very interested in the maker Fritz Wurlitzer (the father of Herbert Wurlitzer) and special the Schmidt-Kolbe system. Because of i have read nothing about this system on this site till now i am curious if other clarinettist are still playing this system.
Please let me know.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 1999-06-19 15:46
The only reference I have found in the clar books I have, Brymer, Pino and Rendall, is in Lawson pg 29 in the table re: bore size - Erlbach 1939, Schmidt-Kolbe, main bore 15.2 mm [a tie for max. with B & H]also 15.2 mm at f hole [not a max.] ! I feel sure that the Groves Dict. of Music will have some biography. Will look at our local library. Don
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 1999-06-19 20:56
The American branch of the W's are discussed [2 1/2 columns]however no mention is made of a Fritz or of a Herbert. They decend from Franz Rudolph 1831-1914 coming to US in 1853. It does mention their violin activities which relate to Germany. Perhaps your encyclopedias of music will tell of the European family. I visited the Deutches Museum in Munich and suggest their clarinet display may be of great interest to you. Perhaps Mark Ch may be able to help you. Regards, Don
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 1999-06-19 21:42
From The New Langwill Index:
Wurlitzer, Fritz (b. Erlbach 21 Dec. 1888; d. ibid 9 Mar 1984)
Clarinets; ?son ?successor to Paul Oskar; 1939 advertisement. Succeeded by his son, the distinguished clarinet maker Herbert Wurlitzer (b. Erlbach 19 Deb 1921; d. Neustadt 8 May 1989), who in 1959 moved to Neustadt / Aisch.
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Author: Hans
Date: 1999-06-20 16:12
Thanks for your prompt reply!
In the meantime i have read (http//holz fureai.or.jp/catalogue/Wurlitzer.htm and further: Holz 5/16/99) a short interesting article about Herbert Wurlitzer (English language) from "The Clarinet". In that article is meant a three-part serie about the Wurlitzer family in the German Woodwind magazine "Rohrblatt" from March 1995, June 1995 and September 1995.
Who knows this magazine and how can i obtain a copy of these articles?
Schmidt-Kolbe clarinets were made by Fritz and Herbert Wurlitzer but also by Karl and Otmar Hammerschmidt in the past, i guess till approx. 1970, based on their catalogues. This type was a top-line clarinet, always hand-made and because of the complicated mechanism very expensive. Who knows why this type is not made anymore, while the other variant of Ernst Schmidt Schmidt reform-Boehm) is relatively known as a professional system / instrument and made by Herbert Wurlitzer, Hammerschmidt and also Yamaha.
I repeat my question if there are fellow clarinettist who are playing the Schmidt-Kolbe system. Let me know!
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Author: Ron Klumpes
Date: 2001-08-01 04:22
Hi Hans,
Sorry about this late entry - I only found this Bulletin Board today!
I'm an expatriate, ex-Dutchman now living in Australia. I've played Albert all my life, and recently, while in Holland on a family visit, managed to buy a pair of Fritz Wurlitzer Schmidt-Kolbe clarinets, serial No.s :1865 for the A, and 2038 for the the Bb.They cost a bit, but are worth every penny - absolutely wonderful instruments, especially the A, as it hasn't been played as often as the Bb, but there is nothing wrong with the latter.
I did a tour with the Dutch Student Orchestra in 1966, on which Piet Honingh was the soloist in the Krommer concerto, and I often cast a longing glance at his instrument...
Are you familiar with the detailed fingering possibilities on the these horns? I'm still experimenting and discovering. The Oehler fingering data on sneezy doesn't appear to apply to S-K in every detail, and S-K is considerably more advanced than Albert, which is what I'm used to.
Which mouthpieces do you use? Mine are marked "vci" in a hand-written engraving - could that be "viotto"?
I'm currently using van Doren White Masters, but am just about to try out some Australian-made reeds for German Clarinets, have a look at this:
http://www.reedsaus.com.au/
Ron Klumpes,
Alice Springs, Australia
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