Tristan trumpet, C
Maker
Andreas Schöni
Date2001
Place MadeBern, Switzerland, Europe
Place MadeBasel, Switzerland, Europe
Serial No.none
SignedStamped on all wooden parts: A. SCHÖNIMarkingsStamped on all wooden parts: sixteen-pointed star
DescriptionGrenadilla (African black wood), black-stained maple (knee and bell), silver-plated brass (ferrules and valve), straigth with pear-shaped bell in six parts: first tube with baluster, second tube with valve segment, conical third, fourth, and fifth tubes, two-part knee and bell (fixed join), one Berlin valve, lowering the pitch by a whole tone, tuning is achieved at the chord-bound tenons between the tube segments.
Silver trumpet mouthpiece, stamped: VINCENT BACH 3C
Unmarked funnel-shaped horn mouthpiece, made by Rainer Egger, Basel, Switzerland.
This instrument is a modified copy of a Tristan trumpet by Martin Lehner, Munich, from about 1913, owned and used by the opera house in Dresden; however, it is currently on loan to the Trompetenmuseum in Bad Säckingen, Germany. The original was modeled after a Tristan trumpet by the firm of Keller & Lehner, Munich, owned by the Bavarian State Opera House in Munich and used for performances of Tristan und Isolde.
The present reproduction differs from the Dresden original in being slightly more conical, and having a larger diameter at the bell knee but a smaller bell. The modified bore was developed (with the help of the BIAS optimizer program by the Institut für Wiener Klangstil) to improve intonation problems of the original.
DimensionsSounding length: 1121 mm
Bore diameter (initial, minimum, valve slide): 11 mm, 9.9 mm, 10.4 mm
Bell diameter: 63 mm
ProvenancePurchased in 2001 from Andreas Schöni, Bern, Switzerland.
Published References_The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Brass Instruments_, ed. by Trevor Herbert, Arnold Myers, and John Wallace (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019), p. 213.
“Seattle Opera Features NMM’s Tristan Trumpet,” National Music Museum Newsletter Vol 37, No.2 (August, 2010), 2.
Jonathan Dean, “A Chat with Justin Emerich,” Seattle Opera Blog, August 12, 2010, http://www.seattleoperablog.com/2010/08/chat-with-justin-emerich.html
Jessica Murphy, ed. “Seattle Opera presents: Tristan und Isolde,” Encore Arts Program, Vol. 35, No. 1 (August, 2010), 18.
Bash, James, “Justin Emerich plays rarely heard Holztrompete in Seattle Opera’s Tristan un Isolde,” Oregon Music News (accessed in 08/10/2010), http://oregonmusicnews.com/2010/08/09/justin-emerich-plays-rarely-heard-holztrompete-in-seattle-operas-tristan-und-isolde/
Klaus, Sabine K. “A Wooden Trumpet Built Exclusively for Wagner's ‘Tristan und Isolde’ is Added to the Utley Collection,” America's National Music Museum Newsletter 29, No. 3 (August 2002), pp. 4-5.
Schöni, Andreas, “,... ein besonderes Instrument (aus Holz) nach dem Modell der Schweizer Alph"rner...’ Bericht zum Nachbau einer Tristantrompete.” In memoriam Karl Burri (Bern: Musikverlag Müller & Schade), 2004, pp. 8-13.
Credit LineJoe R. and Joella F. Utley Collection, 2001
Object number10048
On View
Not on view
1850 ca.
1800 ca.