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{{Short description|German inventor and musician (1794–1881)}} |
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[[file:Theobald Böhm.jpg|thumb|Theobald Böhm, photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl, ca. 1852.]] |
[[file:Theobald Böhm.jpg|thumb|Theobald Böhm, photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl, ca. 1852.]] |
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'''Theobald Böhm''' (or '''Boehm''') ( |
'''Theobald Böhm''' (or '''Boehm''') (9 April 1794 –25 November 1881) was a German inventor and musician, who greatly improved the modern [[Western concert flute]] and its [[Boehm system|fingering system]] (now known as the "Boehm system"). He was a Bavarian court musician, a virtuoso flautist and a renowned composer.<ref name="bohm">{{cite book|last=Böhm|first=Theobald|author2=Dayton Clarence Miller |title=The flute and flute-playing in acoustical, technical, and artistic aspects|publisher=Dover Publications|year=1964}}</ref> |
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The fingering system he devised has also been adapted to other instruments, such as the [[oboe]] and the [[clarinet]].<ref name="bate">Philip Bate/Ludwig Böhm, ''Boehm, Theobald'' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' edited by Stanley Sadie, volume 3, pages 777-778</ref> |
The fingering system he devised has also been adapted to other instruments, such as the [[oboe]] and the [[clarinet]].<ref name="bate">Philip Bate/Ludwig Böhm, ''Boehm, Theobald'' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' edited by Stanley Sadie, volume 3, pages 777-778</ref> |
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== Life and works == |
== Life and works == |
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[[File:Theobald Böhm by Michael Brandmüller (before 1852) - Archivio Storico Ricordi ICON010456.jpg|thumb|Theobald Böhm portrayed by Michael Brandmüller.]] |
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⚫ | Born in [[Munich]] in the [[Electorate of Bavaria]] in the family of goldsmith Carl Friedrich Böhm and Anna Franziska, née Sulzbacher, daughter of a court haberdasher. Boehm learned his father's trade of goldsmithing. After making his own flute, he quickly became proficient enough to play in an orchestra at the age of seventeen, and at twenty-one he was first flautist in the Royal Bavarian Orchestra.<ref name="bate"/> Meanwhile, he experimented with constructing flutes out of many different materials—tropical hardwoods (usually [[Grenadilla]] wood), silver, gold, nickel and copper—and with changing the positions of the flute's tone holes. |
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⚫ | After studying [[acoustics]] at the [[University of Munich]], he began experimenting on improving the flute in 1832, first patenting his new fingering system in 1847.<ref name="bate"/> He published ''Über den Flötenbau'' ("On the construction of flutes"), also in 1847.<ref name="bohm"/> His new flute was first displayed in 1851 at the [[Great Exhibition|London Exhibition]].<ref name="welch">{{cite book|last=Welch|first=Christopher|title=History of the Boehm flute|url=https://archive.org/details/historyboehmflu00welcgoog|publisher=Rudall, Carte & Co|year=1883|location=London}}</ref> In 1871 Boehm published ''Die Flöte und das Flötenspiel'' ("The Flute and Flute-Playing"), a treatise on the acoustical, technical and artistic characteristics of the Boehm system flute.<ref name="bohm"/> |
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⚫ | Born in [[Munich]] in Bavaria, Boehm learned his father's trade of goldsmithing. After making his own flute, he quickly became proficient enough to play in an orchestra at the age of seventeen, and at twenty-one he was first flautist in the Royal Bavarian Orchestra.<ref name="bate"/> Meanwhile, he experimented with constructing flutes out of many different materials—tropical hardwoods (usually [[Grenadilla]] wood), silver, gold, nickel and copper—and with changing the positions of the flute's tone holes. |
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Boehm's experience as a goldsmith was a key factor in his ability to redesign the flute. For example, in ''The Flute and Flute-Playing'' he recounts having made a flute with moveable tone holes, in order to determine the proper location of each hole for correct intonation—a remarkable piece of metal-working. |
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After studying [[acoustics]] at the [[ |
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Traditional flutes were limited in size because the player had to be able to reach all the tone holes in the span of two hands. By substituting mechanically covered tone holes, Boehm eliminated this limitation, and was able to make larger, deeper flutes, such as the [[alto flute]]. Boehm was very fond of the alto flute, and recounts a time he was playing it when someone mistook it for a french horn. |
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== Legacy == |
== Legacy == |
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Some of the flutes he made are still being played. The fingering system he devised has also been adapted to other instruments, such as the [[oboe]] and the [[clarinet]].<ref name="bate" |
Some of the flutes he made are still being played. The fingering system he devised has also been adapted to other instruments, such as the [[oboe]] and the [[clarinet]].<ref name="bate"/> |
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He inspired [[Hyacinthe Klosé]], the inventor of the modern clarinet fingering system. Klosé invented a system for the clarinet that today is the standard nearly worldwide (except Austria, Germany and others). Boehm was his inspiration, and so Klosé named the new system the Boehm system just like the modern western flute. The Boehm system clarinet and flute are not exactly the same |
He inspired [[Hyacinthe Klosé]], the inventor of the modern clarinet fingering system. Klosé invented a system for the clarinet that today is the standard nearly worldwide (except Austria, Germany and others). Boehm was his inspiration, and so Klosé named the new system the Boehm system just like the modern western flute. The Boehm system clarinet and flute are not exactly the same. If one plays the clarinet with the register key on, the fingerings are the same as the flute when the flute is in the lower and middle register. The main differences between the fingering systems of Boehm system clarinets and flutes are [[overblowing]] and [[transposing instrument|key]]. The clarinet's second register is a twelfth above its lowest register, unlike the flute's which is an octave higher. The B{{music|flat}} clarinet is a [[transposing instrument]], so a Cona clarinetis played asaB{{music|flat}} on the flute. |
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== Selected works == |
== Selected works == |
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* Grand Polonaise in D Major, Op.16 |
* Grand Polonaise in D Major, Op. 16 |
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* Variations sur un air tyrolien, Op.20 |
* Variations sur un air tyrolien, Op.20 |
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* Fantasie sur un air de F. Schubert, Op.21 |
* Fantasie sur un air de F. Schubert, Op.21 |
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* {{IMSLP|id=Boehm%2C_Theobald|cname=Theobald Boehm}} |
* {{IMSLP|id=Boehm%2C_Theobald|cname=Theobald Boehm}} |
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* [http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/musical_instruments/alto_flute_boehm_mendler_german/objectview.aspx?page=1&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=Boehm&fp=1&dd1=18&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=18&OID=180017629&vT=1 Alto flute, Boehm and Mendler, Munich, ca. 1880] at [[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |
* [http://www.metmuseum.org/works_of_art/collection_database/musical_instruments/alto_flute_boehm_mendler_german/objectview.aspx?page=1&sort=0&sortdir=asc&keyword=Boehm&fp=1&dd1=18&dd2=0&vw=1&collID=18&OID=180017629&vT=1 Alto flute, Boehm and Mendler, Munich, ca. 1880] at [[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |
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* [ |
* [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008G324FM The Flute and Flute-Playing in Acoustical, Technical, and Artistic Aspects] The Flute and Flute-Playing in Acoustical, Technical, and Artistic Aspects (Kindle Edition) |
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* [http://d-nb.info/860566188 On the construction of flutes] |
* [http://d-nb.info/860566188 On the construction of flutes] |
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* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Böhm, Theobald |short=x |year=1920}} |
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Böhm, Theobald |short=x |year=1920}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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{{Use |
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Boehm, Theobald}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boehm, Theobald}} |
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[[Category:1794 births]] |
[[Category:1794 births]] |
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[[Category:1881 deaths]] |
[[Category:1881 deaths]] |
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[[Category:People from the Electorate of Bavaria]] |
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[[Category:German classical flautists]] |
[[Category:German classical flautists]] |
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[[Category:German |
[[Category:German Romantic composers]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:19th-century German inventors]] |
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[[Category:Flute makers]] |
[[Category:Flute makers]] |
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[[Category:Composers for flute]] |
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[[Category:German musical instrument makers]] |
[[Category:German musical instrument makers]] |
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[[Category:19th-century classical composers]] |
[[Category:19th-century classical composers]] |
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[[Category:German male classical composers]] |
[[Category:German male classical composers]] |
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[[Category:19th-century German |
[[Category:19th-century German composers]] |
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[[Category:19th-century German male musicians]] |
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[[Category:20th-century flautists]] |
Theobald Böhm (orBoehm) (9 April 1794 – 25 November 1881) was a German inventor and musician, who greatly improved the modern Western concert flute and its fingering system (now known as the "Boehm system"). He was a Bavarian court musician, a virtuoso flautist and a renowned composer.[1]
The fingering system he devised has also been adapted to other instruments, such as the oboe and the clarinet.[2]
Born in Munich in the Electorate of Bavaria in the family of goldsmith Carl Friedrich Böhm and Anna Franziska, née Sulzbacher, daughter of a court haberdasher. Boehm learned his father's trade of goldsmithing. After making his own flute, he quickly became proficient enough to play in an orchestra at the age of seventeen, and at twenty-one he was first flautist in the Royal Bavarian Orchestra.[2] Meanwhile, he experimented with constructing flutes out of many different materials—tropical hardwoods (usually Grenadilla wood), silver, gold, nickel and copper—and with changing the positions of the flute's tone holes.
After studying acoustics at the University of Munich, he began experimenting on improving the flute in 1832, first patenting his new fingering system in 1847.[2] He published Über den Flötenbau ("On the construction of flutes"), also in 1847.[1] His new flute was first displayed in 1851 at the London Exhibition.[3] In 1871 Boehm published Die Flöte und das Flötenspiel ("The Flute and Flute-Playing"), a treatise on the acoustical, technical and artistic characteristics of the Boehm system flute.[1]
Boehm's experience as a goldsmith was a key factor in his ability to redesign the flute. For example, in The Flute and Flute-Playing he recounts having made a flute with moveable tone holes, in order to determine the proper location of each hole for correct intonation—a remarkable piece of metal-working.
Traditional flutes were limited in size because the player had to be able to reach all the tone holes in the span of two hands. By substituting mechanically covered tone holes, Boehm eliminated this limitation, and was able to make larger, deeper flutes, such as the alto flute. Boehm was very fond of the alto flute, and recounts a time he was playing it when someone mistook it for a french horn.
Some of the flutes he made are still being played. The fingering system he devised has also been adapted to other instruments, such as the oboe and the clarinet.[2]
He inspired Hyacinthe Klosé, the inventor of the modern clarinet fingering system. Klosé invented a system for the clarinet that today is the standard nearly worldwide (except Austria, Germany and others). Boehm was his inspiration, and so Klosé named the new system the Boehm system just like the modern western flute. The Boehm system clarinet and flute are not exactly the same. If one plays the clarinet with the register key on, the fingerings are the same as the flute when the flute is in the lower and middle register. The main differences between the fingering systems of Boehm system clarinets and flutes are overblowing and key. The clarinet's second register is a twelfth above its lowest register, unlike the flute's which is an octave higher. The B♭ clarinet is a transposing instrument, so a C on a clarinet is played as a B♭ on the flute.
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