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Heckelphone #4143

According to Edith Reiter's 2014 book, this instrument was completed on 29 September 1930 and originally sold to a buyer in the UK.

Howe & Hurd (2004) describe heckelphone #4143 as a variant of model 36i with a thumbplate mechanism for Bb and C (the only known heckelphone with this mechanism); the instrument has nickel keys and was was originally built with a muting bell, which later appears to have been lost.

As of 2004, heckelphone #4143 was reported to belong to oboist Richard Smith of Surrey, UK, who played it in the BBC, Royal Philharmonic, London Symphony, London Philharmonic and Covent Garden Orchestras, as well as in the Welsh and English National Operas. It was previously owned by, and possibly originally sold to, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which gave its first concert on 22 October 1930.

Further details of the history of heckelphone #4143 remain unclear.


To provide further details on the history of this instrument, please contact me at heckelphone@gmx.net.