The Heckelphone: A Window into the History of Music / Reviews & Reactions

"Who would ever have predicted it? - a book on the heckelphone. This should please fans of the heckelphone everywhere and also those interested in woodwind instruments in general or in the history of music in the first part of the twentieth century.

This is in other ways an unusual book but the subtitle says it all. Unlike other recent books on musical instruments such as the Yale Series on Musical Instruments this is not just a book on the organology of the instrument with a large amount of archival detail and many foot- or end-notes.

There is plenty of research behind the book and the author plays the instrument and has obviously done plenty of research into the instrument including maintaining a site listing all known extant heckelphones and their repertoire. The notes, references and bibliography make this clear but the emphasis in this book is on the human stories related to the instrument and includes some fictional imaginary episodes where the author attempts to feel his way into the minds and feelings of those involved. This is not entirely unusual in modern biography (such as in books by Peter Ackroyd) and helps to bring the story alive without deviating from the known facts.

With sections on Wagner, Richard Strauss, Delius, Hindemith, Paul Whiteman, Max Steiner the book ranges widely across several different styles of music from serialism to film music. Who knew that the heckelphone was used in the film score for Gone With the Wind? This book also puts to bed the Thomas Beecham story that Delius wrote for the bass oboe.

With fascinating deviations into other corners of music from the period such as the aliases and somewhat sad history of Paul Hindemith's brother Rudolf and the murder by the Nazis of Marcel Tyberg, only now being re-discovered as a composer, this books builds a compelling composite picture of the musical scene in (predominantly) Germany, Britain and the United States from the early years of the last century through to the Gerard Hoffnung Music Festivals and the Hans Mielenz Concerto of the mid-to-late fifies.

There are some interesting sidelines such as the Italian firm Rampone's blatant attempt to copy Heckel's 'bass oboe' (and which may, as Rampone also made saxophone bodies for Conn, also relate to the short-lived production of the Conn-o-Sax) and the story of the unique Heckelphone #45 and its first owner.

In sum this book was a pleasure to read, full of information delivered in a plain style somewhat different from the drier tone of most musical instrument books. The author knows his subject well (I am informed tat he hopes to write a more detailed organological monograph on the instrument in the future) and tells the stories engagingly and the text is enlivened by many apposite illustrations.

For those interested in pursuing matters further there are some useful associated webpages for the book adding more information such as a more extensive list of works, an interactive map of the locations featuring in the book and a page linking works mentioned in the text to online recordings (some of which, such as the Basse de Musette recordings originally on a disc from Alain Girard, are not so easy to obtain).

The Bookmundo/Tres Mundi edition (ISBN 9789403699493) of the book itself also shows what are now considered somewhat old-fashioned production values from the hardback format with binding in choirs through to the rarely-seen-now ribbon to mark one's place. Unfortunately this does not apply to the Commonwealth edition (available from Amazon.co.uk) with ISBN 9783982621111.

There is also an ebook version of the English text available from Apple Books with ISBN 9783982621128.

This is a book to be recommended to all those interested in music and the instruments with which it is created."

- Francis Firth, Librarian for Collection Management & Engagement for the Conservatoire and in addition for the College of English and Media as well as the College of Digital Arts at Birmingham City University; until 2017 the Conservatoire Librarian of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire; amateur bassoonist and contrabassoonist, interested in all aspects of musical instruments, especially woodwinds (and, in particular, all double reeds), July 2024

"I finished reading your book a few days ago and was just spellbound! I loved the narrative as well as the very thorough research and detail that was provided. This is a book I will treasure forever, both as a lover of literature and the heckelphone, and its place in so many lives."

- James Rodgers, principal contrabassoonist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, founding member of the Pittsburgh Reed Trio, pioneer of electric/acoustic bassoon and contrabassoon development, faculty member at the Duquesne University Mary Pappert School of Music (see also https://www.pittsburghsymphony.org/biography/james-rodgers), July 2024

"This is a fascinating and much needed history of a truly unique and remarkable instrument. It fills in a lot of gaps for me in delving deeply into the historical events around the inception and development of heckelphone, as well as those surrounding all the important pieces written for the instrument and the composers and players in the story. I think it will be a valuable addition to the libraries of not only heckelphone players and enthusiasts but also to anyone interested in late 19th / early 20th century musical and general history, and I hope it will inspire a new generation of composers and arrangers to use this wonderful instrument."

- John McDougall, principal bassoon, BBC Concert Orchestra and English National Ballet; played heckelphone in many of Britains leading ensembles, including the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the English National Opera, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, June 2024

"A literary declaration of love to a musical instrument that is hardly known even to many musicians. Yet - as Holger Hoos shows in his impressive research - the heckelphone inspired important composers at the end of the 19th century and in the 20th century. Whether, where and how the heckelphone became established is described by the author in his book an entertaining way and also gives non-musicians insights into the concert business of the last two centuries."

- Jochen Welsch, director of the Rhein-Neckar Jazz Orchestra and the big band of the University of Mannheim, member of the board of trustees of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis Cultural Foundation, guest conductor at performances by the hr Bigband, the Lucerne Jazz Orchestra, Xavier Naido, Marc Marshall and Janice Dixon (see also https://jochenwelsch.com), May 2024

"Not only composers and players, but also instrument collectors, have been expressing their fondness of the heckelphone in various ways for 120 years. Now, such a declaration of love is available in book form. Like a detective, the author has meticulously and enthusiastically followed its traces. The encounter between Richard Wagner and Wilhelm Heckel, often quoted, takes on a special vividness in this book, as does everything that Holger Hoos has compiled “plausibly but freely imagined”: from twelve-tone music to film music, from developments in the history of instruments to the life stories of some 175 heckelphones ever constructed. Every page is captivatingly crafted, and many imaginatively narrated events are “science-in-fiction” in the best sense of the word."

- Werner Schulze, Austrian composer, scientist and author; former director of the International Harmonics Centre at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna; awarded, among others, the Advancement Award of the City of Vienna, the Commendation Award of the Lower Austrian Provincial Government and the Cultural Prize of the City of Wiener Neustadt, May 2024

Now available in English and German, in print and on Apple Books.