Michael Welte

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Michael Welte (1807-1880)

Michael Welte (born September 28, 1807 in Vöhrenbach in the Black Forest, † January 17, 1880 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a German flute clock maker and builder of other mechanical music automatons . He founded the company M. Welte & Sons .

Life

Born the son of a white tanner and raised in Vöhrenbach, Michael Welte continued to teach mathematics and music after attending elementary school by an uncle, a Catholic priest . In 1824 Michael Welte began a five-year apprenticeship as a music box maker with Joseph Blessing in Unterkirnach near Villingen . At the age of 24, he started his own business in 1832 in his parents' house in Vöhrenbach. At times he worked with his brother Valentin (1799–1876), who was eight years older than him, and the company was called Gebrüder Welte until around 1845 .

His flute clocks got bigger and more perfect over the years. He soon gained a great reputation, as his musical works were of the highest musical and technical quality. He exported a large part of his works to Russia , but also to France , England and the USA . With increasing success he ventured into ever larger musical works that no longer had much in common with the original flute clocks. Since around 1840 Welte has mainly received orders for musical works to Russia, for customers from Saint Petersburg , Moscow and Odessa .

plant

Orchestrion by Michael Welte, built 1845–1848

In 1846 he was commissioned to build an instrument for a Mr. Stratz from Odessa . This first orchestrion by Welte was supposed to reproduce all orchestral parts and contained around 1,100 pipes. At the instigation of the Grand Ducal Baden Polytechnic School in Karlsruhe , it was exhibited in the garden hall of the Karlsruhe Museum Society on March 23 and 24, 1849. This event attracted many thousands of visitors who marveled at the instrument as a sensation, and the musical experts also paid their admiration for the instrument. Because of the great popularity, these "orchestrion concerts" were held daily and for weeks until the end of April. Welte had managed to play the most complex pieces of music with this instrument, such as the Great Concerto in F minor by Carl Maria von Weber and his jubilation overture . Further pieces were the overtures from the operas Norma , Zampa , Fra Diavolo and Wilhelm Tell as well as excerpts from the creation of Joseph Haydn , which were programmed into the wooden pin rollers . Grand Duke Leopold von Baden awarded Michael Welte the Golden Medal for Art. The instrument was then brought to Odessa by Welte itself. In 1856 he began to manufacture an instrument for the later Grand Duke Friedrich von Baden , which took 33 months to build. The Grand Duke sent the instrument made for him to the London World Exhibition in 1862 , the London International Exhibition on Industry and Art , where it was constantly demonstrated. Welte won a medal with this orchestrion, the excellent musical qualities of the instrument contributed significantly to the fame of his company.

Company history

Weltes Söhne joined the company in 1865, which now traded under the name M. Welte & Söhne . The eldest son Emil Welte went to New York in 1865/1866, where he founded M. Welte & Sons as a subsidiary. The second son Berthold Welte took over the management of the company, his brother Michael Welte jr. worked as a technician. In 1872 the company moved from the remote Vöhrenbach to Freiburg im Breisgau in the newly developed industrial area at what will later be the main train station in the Stühlinger district . After moving to Freiburg, Welte largely withdrew from the business because he was struggling with health problems.

literature

  • Gerhard Dangel: Automatic musical instruments from Freiburg into the world - 100 years of Welte-Mignon : Augustinermuseum, exhibition from September 17, 2005 to January 8, 2006 / [publisher: Augustinermuseum ]. With contributions from Durward R. Center, Gerhard Dangel, ... [Red .: Gerhard Dangel]. Freiburg: Augustinermuseum, 2005.
  • Gerhard Dangel-Reese: History of the company M. Welte & Sons Freiburg i. B. and New York. Augustinermuseum, Freiburg im Breisgau 1991

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rudolph Dietz: The trades in the Grand Duchy of Baden, their statistics, their care, their products . Karlsruhe, Braun, 1863, p. 437, p. 473 (with wrong first name)
  2. ^ The Orchestrion by M. Welte, of Vöhrenbach, In the Zollverein Departement. London Illustrated News, Sept. 20, 1862
  3. ↑ L. Gärtner: The house industry in the Black Forest . In: Die Illustrierte Welt , Stuttgart, Halberger, 13th year 1865, p. 87
personal data
SURNAME Welte, Michael
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German flute watchmaker and builder of further mechanical music automatons
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1807
PLACE OF BIRTH Voehrenbach
DATE OF DEATH January 17, 1880
Place of death Freiburg in Breisgau