Schwenk & Seggelke
Schwenk & Seggelke is a German clarinets - manufacturer based in Bamberg in Bavaria Upper Franconia . The company manufactures clarinets according to the German handle system ( Oehler system and variants) and the French system (Böhm system) as well as a combination of both systems, based on the Böhm system (so-called modular construction). One of the company's specialties is the reproduction of historical clarinets.
Schwenk & Seggelke
|
|
---|---|
legal form | one-man business |
founding | 1996 |
Seat |
Bamberg , Germany![]() |
management | Jochen Seggelke |
Number of employees | 15-20 (2019) |
Branch | Woodwind instrument maker |
Website | S&S website |
history
The company was founded in 1996 as a GbR by the clarinet builder Werner Schwenk and the clarinet builder and clarinetist Jochen Seggelke, based in Tübingen and Bamberg. In 1998 the two production facilities in Bamberg were merged. In 2002 the company moved into larger premises there. The co-partner Werner Schwenk retired from the GbR in 2013, which Jochen Seggelke has been running as a sole proprietorship since then.
Products
In all three of the above-mentioned designs, the company offers the entire range of clarinets from high A to low G, including basset clarinets in A and B and G (!), As well as basset horn in F and bass clarinet in B, each down to low C reaching. All instruments can be individually configured in terms of equipment (drilling, type of wood, mechanical equipment and their finishing). There are also replicas of 10 historical instruments in different tunings, two of which are offered in B and A respectively. Since 2019, clarinets have been developed and manufactured at the customer's request, which look similar to historical instruments, but are equipped with modern technology, especially a modern handle and flap system, for example a basset clarinet in A with a curved pear and a flap system for the American clarinetist Charles Neidich Liebesfuß as a trumpet, as in the Stadler clarinet, and for the Australian clarinetist Richard Haynes (en) a clarinette d`amour (en) , an instrument that has long been extinct, see. Figure below right.
The program does not include the alto clarinet in Eb (looks similar to that of a basset horn) or the extremely rare contralto clarinet .
The S&S manufactory has developed several improvements to the mechanics and the tone hole drilling for its clarinets, some of which are protected by utility models. All instruments are made of wood, mainly grenadilla wood, but mopane , cocobolo and boxwood are also available, the latter especially for historical replicas. The instruments are only built to order and primarily for professional clarinetists and are in the top price range. In addition, S&S sells inexpensive schoolchildren from the company Buffet Crampon Deutschland GmbH, Markneukirchen , under the brand name "W. Schreiber "made clarinets, in a form that was revised in their own workshop, as well as clarinets in the medium price range from the company F. Arthur Uebel , also based in Markneukirchen, which Jochen Seggelke has been advising on acoustic and technical issues since 2014.
Awards
In March 2006, the newly developed basset horn was awarded the Bavarian State Prize, after S&S had already received a design prize for it in 2004. Instead of the usual metal arch between the mouthpiece and the upper part, the instrument is equipped with a normal pear and a kinked connecting piece between the pear and upper part, each made of wood. A picture of this instrument can be found in the article Basset Horn at the top right in the info box.
In 2013 the Eb clarinet model 2000 received the German Musical Instrument Award
Sales areas
Around a third of S&S products are sold in Germany, the rest of Europe and overseas.
Web links
- Website
- YouTube video : The American clarinetist Charles Neidich teaches the Mozart concerto with the help of his Stadler basset clarinet, which was recreated by S&S
- YouTube video : The Israeli clarinetist Shirley Brill gives concerts on a boxwood clarinet made by S&S using a modular design.
References and comments
- ↑ Alan Hacker: A NEW CLARINET. In: Clarinet & Saxophone. Volume 30, No. 1, Spring 2005, pp. 20-21.
- ↑ History and Philosophy. In: schwenk-und-seggelke.de. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
- ↑ see the corresponding configurators on the website
- ↑ Historical instruments. In: schwenk-und-seggelke.de. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Information. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
- ↑ Marketplace: New instruments from other manufacturers
- ↑ Certificate and newspaper clipping "The Bamberg company belongs to the world's elite clarinet makers"
- ↑ Upper Franconian Chamber of Crafts "German Musical Instrument Prize for Schwenk & Seggelke" April 12, 2013
- ↑ Upper Franconian Chamber of Crafts, 4th paragraph