2011 Guntram Wolf Wiener Oboe

Description

I am a former symphony oboist, the original owner and purchased this oboe from the late Guntram Wolf in 2011. The oboe is a 440 Zuleger model Wiener oboe in boxwood, with a ‘Karl Golde' bore, in a hard case. The Viennese oboe employs a different bore design, fingering system, and reed to that of the French conservatory oboe. About this instrument Guntram wrote, “I shortly finished 2 "long" Viennese oboes in boxwood (!) - and one of them I made with a Golde bore.  "Long" Viennese means that this instrument is made after an early Zuleger model in 440 Herz. The fingering of the Viennese oboe is the same as for the high romantic Golde oboes. This instrument is meanwhile played by quite a number of players ( for example Marcel Ponseele and the complete group of oboists in Paris ) for the music of the 19th century.” Included in the pictures are these two oboes. Mine is on the left. The other supposedly went to Marcelle Ponseele. Guntram Wolf describes them: "From the concept of the bore, the Viennese oboe is the last representative of the historical oboes, adapted for the louder, larger orchestra, and fitted with an extensive mechanism. Its great advantage is the ease of speaking, even in the lowest register. It can be played very expressively and blends well with other instruments."
It is a lovely instrument but I have found that I have never become skilled at making reeds for it, which are different than conservatoire reeds. It has been mostly unplayed for several years, with a ‘dampit’ humidifier kept in the case in the winter. Included with the instrument and hard case are a considerable supply of staples, including some with cork.
The Golde bore is only slightly different than the 20th century Zuleger model; this distinction is primarily one of more historical interest for those interested in playing high romantic music of the 19th century. Karl Friedrich Golde (1803–1873) was a German instrument maker out of Dresden, and built what was considered to be the perfected German oboe. Golde intentionally ignored French innovations of the time and improved the oboe according to the standard of German instrument building traditions. Golde’s German oboe design included the larger scale bore, more true to the classical and baroque oboe. The Germans considered this to be an important feature for its resulting sound, which was considered to be dark and more suitable for blending with other instruments. This oboe has a thick-walled body, a Zwiebel “onion” bulge at the top of the upper joint, and slightly bulbed shape on the inside of the bell. Hermann Zuleger (1885–1949) later created a new model instrument with changes and improvements especially to the key mechanism. The new Wiener Oboe retained the essence of the Golde oboe’s internal bore, as well as elegantly simplified classical external features such as the baluster and finial, but with greatly expanded keywork.
Please note that this instrument is also for sale through other platforms and I reserve the right to end the auction at any time. The instrument will ship well packaged and insured for USD 00. This is a 'final sale' item so please ask any questions before purchase.