Shuichi Tanaka

Shuichi Tanaka is a Japanese flute maker and president of the professional brand Altus (part of the Taiwanese group of companies KHS Musical Instruments ) as well as developer of the Azumi brand and co-developer of the Jupiter flutes . He completed his flute studies with the Japanese teacher Toshio Takahashi .

Life

Tanaka developed an interest in the properties and technical aspects of his instrument during his student days. At the age of 20 he decided to learn how to make a flute. He was particularly interested in headjoint construction. Here he had the opportunity to carefully research the factors influencing sound.

After working five years at his teaching company Muramatsu and then in managerial positions at Miyazawa and Takumi, he constructed his first flute in 1981.

The instruments of the European flute building tradition ( Theobald Böhm , Louis Lot , Hammig etc.) inspired him to develop a modern flute. The London virtuoso William Bennett influenced him significantly . The common interest of the two artists in music, culture and flute making established their collaboration. The Bennett scale was created , which gives the altus flutes an exact intonation .

Tanaka built his first own flutes, already under the name Altus, in his small workshop in Taiwan, where he was a regular consultant for a successful instrument manufacturer. Due to the increased demand, Tanaka designed a factory in the middle of the Japanese Alps . In 1990 this factory was built in Azumino , not far from the city of Matsumoto .

Handcrafted flutes are made there under the direction of Shuichi Tanaka. Tanaka's corporate goal is to build technically perfect instruments for the greatest possible musical expression. There are German silver , sterling silver and Britannia Silver , and processes all types of metals of the modern flute construction.

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personal data
SURNAME	Tanaka, Shuichi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Japanese flutist and instrument maker for flutes, founder of the Altus company
DATE OF BIRTH	20th century