Guntram Wolf (25 March 1935,

Kronach Kronach (East Franconian: ''Gronich'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, located in the Frankenwald area. It is the capital of the district Kronach. Kronach is the birthplace of Lucas Cranach the Elder and Maximilian von Welsch, as well as ...

– 4 February 2013, Kronach) was a maker of modern and historical

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Reed ...

s in Kronach, Germany.

His productions

He specialized in the modern Heckel (German) system

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

and was one of the better known makers of Wiener (Viennese) oboes. He also made a considerable number of historical instrument replicas of

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

s and

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s, as well as child-sized models of the same instruments.

Innovations

Guntram Wolf also developed a redesign of the

contrabassoon The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower. Its technique is similar to its smaller cousin, with a few notable differences. Differences from the bassoon The reed is consi ...

after an acoustical concept by

Benedikt Eppelsheim Benedikt Eppelsheim is a German instrument maker of extreme high- and low-voiced woodwind instruments. He is the inventor and exclusive manufacturer of the ''soprillo'', a piccolo saxophone an octave above the B♭ soprano saxophone, as well as i ...

, called the "

Contraforte The contraforte (german: Kontraforte) is a proprietary instrument with a range similar to the contrabassoon produced by Benedikt Eppelsheim and Guntram Wolf. It is intended to have improved dynamics and intonation over the distinctive but somet ...

". The Contraforte was received well in many countries but has a very small following in the United States, with less than a half dozen players of the instrument. More recently, he and Eppelsheim developed a redesigned

bass oboe The bass oboe or baritone oboe is a double reed instrument in the woodwind family. It is essentially twice the size of a regular (soprano) oboe so it sounds an octave lower; it has a deep, full tone somewhat akin to that of its higher-pitched cou ...

, called the "

Lupophon The Lupophon (or lupophone) is an extremely rare woodwind instrument in the oboe family that plays in a lower pitch than standard, and was developed by Guntram Wolf of Kronach and Benedikt Eppelsheim of Munich, Germany, manufactured by Guntram ...

e".

References

idrs.org

External links

German musical instrument makers 2013 deaths 1935 births {{Musical-instrument-company-stub