C.F. Schmidt


The double horn in F and B-flat designed by C.F. Schmidt of Berlin and Weimar was very popular among professional players in the first half of the twentieth century and continues to be used in several major U.S. Orchestras. The player pictured above is believed to be Luigi Ricci, who was a member of the New York Philharmonic from 1917 to 1962. He is playing a C.F. Schmidt double horn in F and B-flat which was imported to the United States and Canada exclusively by Carl Fischer, Inc. New York, NY. The photo is from a Carl Fischer instrument catalog. C.F. Schmidt introduced his double horn in 1900 with its peculiar piston thumb valve for the change from F to B-flat.1

Among the early proponents of this horn was Willem A. Valkenier, principal horn of the Boston Symphony from 1923 to 1953. Mr. Valkenier was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands in 1887 and studied horn with Adolph Preus. In his biography of Mr. Valkenier, Milan Yancich states:
It was through Preus that he became connected with C.F. Schmidt, the Berlin horn maker. During his Berlin years, Valkenier became professionally and socially with Scmidt. Schmidt could play the horn, but he did not play professionally. He loved the horn. He was a man of who knew his metals. Valkenier said "He was a man of iron will and his first love was the horn." When I asked him whether the piston B-flat valve was his invention he thought that it was, but he was not sure. Once he asked Schmidt to change something in his model and Schmidt refused. He declared "My model is the best." 2
Yancich continues with an anecdote about the great Chicago horn maker, Carl Geyer:
Geyer told me that he believed the Schmidt horn to be the best designed horn ever made. This statement from a master horn maker, surprised me. He felt that the curve of the lead pipe through the B-flat valve was part of the reason for the Schmidt horn's success. He also believed the Schmidt bells to be superior to all other bells. In fact, every horn that Geyer built for me had a Schmidt bell. While we were on the subject of horns Mr. Valkenier told me that for many years he played either a Schmidt or Kruspe double horn; especially when he needed volume.3

Richard ("Dick") Mackey, the Boston Symphony Orchestra's fourth horn player from 1973 to 2005, is another proponent of the Schmidt double horn. Dick studied with Mr. Valkenier at the New England Conservatory and for a several years played in the Los Angeles studios with studio legend, Vincent DeRosa. When the audition for the Boston Symphony came up in 1972, "Vince advised Dick that his Conn 8D would not fit in the BSO section, and offered to sell Dick his mint-condition silver Schmidt. The Schmidt has a smaller sound than the Conn, but a sound that blends with the BSO section. Vince considered the horn 'a treasure that I loved, but it went to the right hands.'"4

The firm of C.F. Schmidt was established in Berlin ca. 1880. In that year it was issued German patent #12814 for "improvements to brass instruments." By 1888 a second workshop was opened in Weimar at Brennerstrasse 2c, and was later appointed Court maker to the Grand Duchy of Weimar. In 1899 this workshop merged with the main workshop in Berlin.5 Two different loations in Berlin are indicated by the engraved labels found on the bells of the horns. The earlier location (based on U.S. importer Carl Fischer's serial numbers) was in the south-western Berlin postal district served by Post Office number 19 (S.W. 19). This is described as the "old city post office I" (alte Stadtpost-Expedition I) located at Sparwaldsbrücke, Krausenstrasse, Beuthstrasse (probably near the intersection of the latter two) in the Kreuzberg section of the city. The second location was in the adjacent Schöneberg section in the western district served by "district post office" (Bestell-Postamt) W. 57 located on Bülowstrasse. Both labels indicate the previous location in Weimar. Clearly the Weimar shop was re-opened later probably following the First World War since many extant examples are engraved with Weimar as the place of manufacture with no reference to Berlin. (See table, below).



As an aside, another firm by the name of C.F. Schmidt was located in Heilbronn am Neckar, Germany. The SIBMAS International Directory of Performing Arts Collections and Institutions gives the founding date of 1851 for C.F. Schmidt-Verlag. References to the Antiquarisches Verzeichniss ausgegeben von der J. D. Classischen Buchhandlung published by C. F. Schmidt in Heilbronn in 1858 and 1862 are found in Neuer Anzeiger für Bibliographie und Bibliothekwissenschaft by Dr. Julius Petzholdt. Heilbronn city archives indicate that C. F. Schmidt flourished as a music publisher (Musikalien) from 1870 to 1993. Indeed it was a very prolific publisher of sheet music at the same time the Weimer/Berlin brass instrument maker was producing the horns described here. C.F. Schmidt Verlag (Heilbronn) published music for all instruments including horn. Of particular interest to horn players it included editions of the Kopprasch etudes and the Hornschule of Josef Schantl. No relationship between the two firms has been established, however.

The Schmidt wrap was copied by several makers including Rampone-Cazzani, August Knopf, Richard Wunderlich, Carl Geyer, Lorenzo Sansone, Boston Musical Instruments, and the original C.G. Conn 6-D. One perhaps unique example of a model by Gebr. Alexander is also known. It is said that components for these, especially the valve assemblies, were often made by C.F. Schmidt and imported to the U.S. as parts to avoid import duties on completed instruments. More recently the design has been used in horns made by S.W. Lewis, Karl Hill (Kortesmaki), George McCracken, and Yamaha model 863.

For further information see also Carl Friedrich Schmidt (wikipedia Germany) courtesy of Marco Rippert.

Notes
1) Reginald Morely-Pegge,The French HornSecond Edition, (London: Ernest Benn Limited, New York: W.W. Norton & Company Inc. 1973), 51 Mr. Morely-Pegge adds: "This model also had a measure of poplularity and was fairly widely used in the United States, but to some hands, including that of the writer, the piston proved awkward to manage."[back]
2) Milan Yancich, "Willem A. Valkenier-A Profile", The Horn Call XIV no. 1, (The International Horn Society, October 1983), 52[back]
3) Ibid.[back]
4) Marilyn Bone Kloss, "Richard Mackey Retires", The Horn Call XXXVI no. 2, (February 2006), 51[back]
5) William Waterhouse, The New Langwill Index, A Dictionary of Musical Wind-Instrument Makers and Inventors (London: Tony Bingham, 1993), 356-7[back]



A Census of Known Extant C.F. Schmidt Horns.
Additions and corrections are always welcome.
Bell Engraving S/N* Year Description
C F Schmidt Weimar vor dem Berlin.     Label dated to 1888-1896 . Originally purchased in Germany and imported directly to Chicago.  
C.F. Schmidt/Grossherzogl. Sächs: Hof-Instrumentenmacher/Berlin S.W. 19/früher/ Weimar/Carl Fischer/New-York. Sole Agent Amerika/u. Canada   ca. 1911 Very unusual to have Fischer label with no S/N. Found in a band room in northern Minnesota; Restored in 1979 by Marvin McCoy who estimated date to be ca. 1911.
C.F. Schmidt/Grossherzogl/Sachs: Hof-Instrumentenmacher/Berlin, S.W. 19./früher/Weimar/15719/Carl Fischer/New York Sole Agent Amerika/u. Canada 15719   Single F/E-flat horn listed on eBay 8/25/08, located in Marquette, MI, lowest Fischer S/N found to date
C. F. Schmidt Grossherzogel Sachs Hof Instrumentenmacher S. W. 19 Früher WEIMAR.       Engraved with the player's name engraved "Hermann Hand"
Horn-u-copia 
C.F.Schmidt, Berlin, S.W.19 Weimar    ca. 1906-1910  Listed on eBay several times using hijacked accounts. Date estimated by seller. 
C F Schmidt / Grossherzogl / Sachs: Hof-Instrumenterfbkt. / BERLIN W. 57 / früher / WEIMAR / 21642 / Carl Fisher / New York / Sole Agent of Amerika a. Canada 21642 pre. W.W. I  Collection of Louis Denaro
CF Schmidt/Grossherzogl. / Schs. Hof-Instrumentenfbkt. / BERLIN W.57 / früher / WEIMAR / Carl Fischer / New York / Sole Agent of Amerika a. Canada. / 22410  22410  pre W.W. I  Date estimated by owner. Private collection in U.K. 
C.F. Schmidt/Grossherzogl. / Sächs. Hof-Instrumentenfbkt. / BERLIN W.57 / früher / WEIMAR/29596/Carl Fischer / New York / Sole Agent of Amerika a. Canada. 29596    Listed on eBay 10/18/09; Bell and valves only, missing all tuning slides.
C.F. Schmidt/ W-57 Berlin/Frueher Weimar, 29640/ Carl Fischer/New York/Sole Agent for America & Canada 29640    Bell cut and ring covering additional engraving. For sale in U.S. 
C.F. Schmidt/WEIMAR/früher/BERLIN     F and f descant double, with a very unusual lever linkage to the piston change valve.
C.F. Schmidt/WEIMAR/früher/BERLIN   1922 nickel-silver, with original F and Bb pistons and optional A/E tuning slide with tap; provenance confirmed to original purchase in Germany. Collection of Louis Denaro
C F Schmidt/& Co./WEIMAR/früher/BERLIN     Collection of Louis Denaro
C F Schmidt/& Co./WEIMAR/     Label dated to 1919. Purchased by Warren Dowdy in the mid 1990s from a band director in Brownsville, Texas, now owned by his widow, Mrs. Hazel Dowdy.
C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer New York/Sole Agent of USA and Canada  31197  ca. 1923  Silvered detachable bell. Replacement leadpipe, main tuning slide, evidence of other work. Private Collection in U.S. 
C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer New York/Sole Agent of USA and Canada /Made in Germany 33561 ?  Nickel (or probably silver) plated over brass; listed on eBay 7/20/08 for $3800 in Tuscaloosa, AL, but no bids. Estimated by seller to date from ca. 1914
C.F. Schmidt/Weimar  3455? ca. 1927  For sale in the U.S. Date estimated by seller. 
C F Schmidt / Weimar Germany / Carl Fisher New York / Sole Agent of USA and Canada / Made in Germany/35611 35611 1930snbsp; Collection of Louis Denaro
C. F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer New York/Sole Agent of U.S.A. and Canada/Made in Germany/36590/  36590    Single F horn, bell has been transferred to another horn of various maker's components
C.F. Schmidt, Weimar, Carl Fischer New York, Sole agent of USA and Canada, Made in Germany, 36789 36789 ca. 1932 Offered on eBay on 10/6/09, in Pittsburgh, PA. Date estimated by seller. Additional S/N 1371 on piston casing.
C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer Inc. New York/Sole Agent of USA and Canada/Made in Germany/37022 37022    
C.F. Schmidt, Weimar, Carl Fischer New York, Sole agent of USA and Canada, Made in Germany, 37994  37994    Listed on eBay on October, 24 2009 
C.F. Schmidt, Weimar, Carl Fischer New York, Sole agent of USA and Canada, Made in Germany  38783  ca. 1934  Son of original owner stated that this horn was used by his father in his high school band from 1934 through 1938. Believed to have been purchased new. Private collection in U.S. 
C.F. Schmidt/Weimar/Carl Fischer Inc. New York/Sole Agent of U.S.A. and Canada/Made in Germany/39593/   39593    Said to have been once owned by Luigi Ricci
C.F. Schmidt, Weimar, Carl Fischer New York, Sole agent of USA and Canada, Made in Germany 39732?  39732?  ca1930  Sold in Japan. Date estimated by seller. 
C.F. Schmidt/Weimar      For sale in the U.S. Said to have been played in N.Y. Philharmonic for twenty years. 
C.F. Schmidt/Weimar     For sale in U.S. 
       
* Serial numbers were added by Carl Fischer. In response to an inquiry about archives a spokesperson for Carl Fischer, Inc. has replied: "Our instrument division closed decades ago and we no longer have records."


Now, let's all play
Spot That Schmidt!

1938 New York Philharmonic Horn Section
Identified as (left to right)Adolf Schulze, Santiago Richart, Luigi Ricci, Bruno Jaenicke, Robert Schulze

John Barrows

Eric Hauser

A High School Horn Section
(Hint: who's the smartest looking kid and NO!, Dick Martz is not in this photo.)

College or Military Academy Section
(Hint: It's the only double horn in the photo and he's probably the principal.)




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