All the heckelphones ever made

How many heckelphones have been built over the years? Where were they shipped and used? How many still exist? How many are being played, and how many are kept in museums?

Thanks to an excellent book on the history of the company published in 2014 by its former principal, Edith Reiter, which contains a detailed list of instruments produced by Heckel, and a second list painstakingly assembled by Mike Frederick (available from www.heckelbassoons.info/Heckelphones.html), there is a fairly detailed record of the heckelphones made and sold over the years. Furthermore, in their seminal article "The Heckelphone at 100", Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society, Vol. 30, pp.98-165, 2004, Robert Howe and Peter Hurd have provided a further list of heckelphones they were able to track down.

Unfortunately, some of Heckel's records, as published in Edith Reiter's book, are incomplete, as is the list by Mike Frederick, as well as that by Howe & Hurd. The following list has been created by reconciling all three sources. In the few cases where there were contradictions between them (e.g., regarding the year in which a given instrument was completed), Reiter's list was taken as authoritative. All instruments contained in one list, but not the other, have been included. All completion dates and countries of initial buyers have been taken from Reiter's list; of course, some instruments reside no longer in the country shown here, and I strongly assume that some sadly no longer exist. Information taken from Howe & Hurd's article is clearly indicated in the descriptions of the individual instruments; some additional information has been kindly provided by Peter Hurd and is also indicated. All other information has been newly collected for this list. Entries with high-quality images, video or audio samples, provided with permission of the copyright holders where applicable, are marked (*). As my research of continues, I hope to document, to the fullest possible extent, all the heckelphones ever made.

It should be noted that since 1912, Heckel has been assigning serial numbers across several families of "non-standard" instruments. According to Howe and Hurd (2004), since 1968, Heckel makes instruments other than bassoons, contrabassoons and heckelphones (such as oboes) only to special order; therefore, from 1972 onwards, most serial numbers for non-standard instruments were given to heckelphones.

Serial #	Year	Date	Country	Details
1	1904	19.12.	Germany	as of 2004, located in Scotland, played regularly
2	1904	14.12.	Sweden	as of 2021, the location and owner of this instrument remain unknown
3	1905	14.01.	(unknown)	as of 2020, part of the collection of the Musical Instrument Museum in Poznan, Poland
4	1905	02.10.	UK
5	1905	09.03.	(unknown)
6	1905	01.03.	(unknown)
7	1905	01.06.	(unknown)
9	1905	10.09.	(unknown)
10	1905	10.09.	Germany	as of 2005, located and played at the Semperoper in Dresden, Germany
11	1905	19.09.	(unknown)
12	1905	06.10.	(unknown)
13	1905	15.11.	Austria	as of 2005, located in Minneapolis, USA
14	1905	15.12.	Germany
15	1905(?)		(unknown)
16	1906(?)		(unknown)
17	1906	19.02.	(unknown)
18	1906	19.03.	Czech Republic	as of 2020, located at the University of Tübingen, Germany
19	1906	01.05.	Germany	as of 2020, located France, played regularly (*)
20	1906	09.06.	Germany
21	1906	04.07.	Germany	as of 2020, located at the Museum Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder, Germany
22	1906	29.08.	Hungary	as of 2020, located at the museum Haus der Musik im Fruchtkasten in Stuttgart, Germany
23	1906	17.09.	Germany	as of 2020, located at the Münchner Stadtmuseum in München, Germany
24	1906	10.10.	Germany
25	1906	10.10.	USA	as of 2020, located in New York City (NY), USA
26	1906	09.11.	(unknown)	as of 2006, thought to be located in Bloomfield (NJ), USA
27	1906	30.11.	Germany
28	1906	21.12.	(unknown)
29	1907	09.01.	Germany
30	1907	07.01.	Germany
31	1907	02.03.	Belgium
32	1907	15.02.	Germany
33	1907	19.02.	USA	as of 2021, thought to be located in Sunland (CA), USA
34	1907	07.03.	(unknown)
35	1907	29.04.	Germany
36	1907	01.08.	Germany	as of 2004, reported to be located in Vienna, Austria
37	1907	23.10.	France	as of 2020, located in Strasbourg, France
38	1907	23.10.	Germany	as of 2004, thought to be located in Gelsenkirchen, Germany
39	1908	25.01.	UK	as of 2020, part of the musical instrument collection of the University of Edinburgh, UK
40	1908	29.10.	Russia
41	1908	20.12.	Germany
42	1909	25.01.	Austria	as of 2016, located in Vienna, Austria
43	1909	03.02.	Portugal	as of 2020, part of the collection of the Museu Nacional da Música in Lisbon, Portugal
44	1909	23.02.	Germany
45	1909	04.04.	Italy	as of 2020, part of the collection of the Grassi Museum für Musikinstrumente in Leipzig, Germany
46	1910	07.05.	Germany
47	1910	16.03.	Czech Republic
48	1910	03.12.	Italy	as of 2021, possibly located in Naples, Italy
49	1911	27.07.	Germany
50	1911	08.04.	UK	as of 2020, reported to be located in San Diego (CA), USA
51	1911	27.10.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in The Hague, Netherlands
52	1912	12.01.	Italy
3283	1912(?)		(unknown)	reported stolen in Detroit (MI), USA, in 1983 and believed to have been destroyed thereafter
3414	1912	19.07.	UK	as of 2004, reported to be located in London, UK
3423	1912	26.11.	(unknown)	as of 2020, part of the collection of the Museo Internazionale e Biblioteca della Musica in Bologna, Italy
3427	1912	20.12.	Russia
3432	1912	30.12.	USA
3476	1914	05.02.	Germany	as of 2020, owned and played by a professional musician in Germany
3628	1919	09.09.	USA	as of 2004, reported to be located in Lubbock (TX), USA
3759	1923	03.01.	(unknown)	as of 2020, owned and played by a professional musician in the USA
3770	1923	03.01.	(unknown)
3779	1923	11.07.	(unknown)
3805	1923		(unknown)
3809	1923	14.01.	USA	as of 2020, part of the collection of the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (IL), USA (*)
3810	1923	11.02.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in South Bend (IN), USA
3881	1924	21.07.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Gothenburg, Sweden
3896	1924	06.10.	(unknown)
none	1925(??)		(unknown)
none	1925		(unknown)
3915	1925	30.05.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Hartfortshire, UK
3916	1925	30.05.	(unknown)	as of 2021, owned and played by a professional musician in St. Paul (MN), USA, played regularly (*)
3917	1925	30.05.	USA	as of 2020, owned by a professional musician in Germany, played regularly (*)
3922	1925	22.07.	Germany
3923	1925	22.07.	(unknown)
3928	1925	11.09.	(unknown)
3929	1925	25.09.	(unknown)
3950	1926	21.10.	(unknown)	as of 2004, part of the collection of the Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments in Hamamatsu, Japan
3951	1926	11.02.	(unknown)	as of 2020, owned by a private collector in Las Vegas (NV), USA
3970	1926	10.04.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Detroit (MI), USA
3985	1926	25.09.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Wilbraham (MA), USA
4008	1927	18.01.	USA	as of 2004, reported to be located in San Francisco (CA), USA
4010	1927	18.01.	USA
4013	1927	18.03.	USA	as of 2014, reported to be located in Munich, Germany
4014	1927	23.05.	USA	as of 2020, located in London, UK, played regularly (*)
4018	1927	01.10.	(unknown)
4019	1928	03.01.	(unknown)
4026	1927	02.12.	(unknown)
4051	1928	06.10.	(unknown)
4052	1928	16.10.	(unknown)
4053	1928	16.10.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Montreal, Canada
4054	1928	30.10.	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Toronto, Canada
4055	1928	12.11.	(unknown)	as of 2020, located in Bloomington (IN), USA, played regularly (*)
none 'Waples'	~1928		(USA)	as of 2021, located in Annandale-on-Hudson (NY), USA, played regularly (*)
4097	1929	03.07.	Netherlands
4107	1929	27.08.	Canada	as of 2020, located in Bellingham (WA), USA
4132	1930	04	(unknown)
4141	1930	18.10.	USA	as of 2020, located in Eugene (OR), USA
4142	1930		(unknown)
4143	1930	29.09.	UK	as of 2004, reported to be located in Surrey, UK
4145	1932	17.02.	Italy
4146	1932	14.04.	Germany
4244	1934	01	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Tokyo, Japan
4246	1934	02.01.	Germany
4530	1937	30.09.	Russia
4701	1940	01.12.	Germany
4702	1946	01.01.	USA	as of 2020, located Bellingham (WA), USA
4720	1946	01.08.	USA	as of 2004, reported to be located in Stockholm, Sweden
4773	1950	05.01.	USA	as of 2006, reported to be located in New York City (NY), USA
4775	1950	05	(unknown)	as of 2004, part of the collection of the Heimatmuseum Biebrich in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Germany
4777	1950	05	(unknown)
4784	1950	09.06.	Germany
4786	1951	22.05.	Germany
4788	1951	22.05.	Sweden
4855	1956		(unknown)
4864	1955	18.02.	Germany
4882	1982	01.11.	Germany
4895	1957		(unknown)
4900	1955	17.03.	Germany
4918	1956	14.05.	Germany	as of 2004, reported to be located in Düsseldorf, Germany
4920	1956	07	(unknown)
4925	1956		(unknown)
4935	1957	24.03.	Netherlands	as of 2004, reported to be located in Hilversum, Netherlands
4937	1957	24.03.	Argentina
4932	1957		(unknown)
4939	1957		(unknown)
4946	1957		(unknown)
4954	1957		(unknown)
4961	1957	10.09.	Germany
4962	1957		(unknown)
4963	1957	10.09.	Canada	as of 2020, located in Bellingham (WA), USA
4971	1972	01.07.	USA	as of 2004, reported to be located in Pittsburgh (PA), USA
4973	1972	01.07.	USA	as of 2019, located in Pittsburgh (PA), USA
4975	1972	01.07.	Germany
4976	1972	01.07.	Germany
4977	1978	01.12.	Germany
4978	1980	01.08.	UK	as of 2004, reported to be located in Sydney, Australia
4979	1982	01.11.	Japan
4980	1981	01.11.	Germany	as of 2021, reported to be located in Stuttgart, Germany
4981	1982	01.02.	USA	as of 2004, reported to be located in Purchase (NY), USA
4982	1982	11	(unknown)	as of 2004, reported to be located in Sauerlach, Germany
4983	1983	01.10.	Germany	as of 2020, located in Munich, Germany
4984	1983	01.12.	Germany
4985	1984	10.07.	Germany
4986	1984	27.12.	UK	as of 2004, reported to be located in Melbourne, Australia
4987	1986	02.09.	New Zealand
4988	1987	25.05.	Switzerland	as of 2017, located in Zurich, Switzerland
4989	1987	11.10.	Switzerland	as of 2004, reported to be located in Biel, Switzerland
4990	1989	30.04.	Switzerland
4991	1989	29.09.	USA
4992	1990	25.10.	UK	as of 2022, located in London, UK, and played regularly (*)
4993	1990	01.12.	Japan
4994	1992	01.02.	Austria	as of 2020, located in Vienna, Austria, played regularly
4995	1991	01.12.	Italy	as of 2020, located in San Francisco (CA), USA
5000	1994	01.05.	Germany	as of 2004, reported to be located in Frankfurt/Main, Germany
5001	1995	01.06.	Germany
5002	1995	01.08.	Germany
5003	1996	01.12.	Finland	as of 2004, reported to be located in Helsinki, Finland
5004	1998	01.03.	UK	as of 2004, reported to be located in Birmingham, UK
5005	1999	01.04.	UK
5006	2000	10.10.	Germany
5007	1999	10.10.	Denmark	as of 2021, located in Denmark, played regularly (*)
5008	2000	10.02.	Germany
5009	2001	01.10.	Japan
5010	2001	01.12.	Japan
5011	2003	01.10.	USA	as of 2004, reported to be located in Atlanta (GA), USA
5012	2002		(never sold)	as of 2020, located in Wiesbaden-Biebrich, Germany
5013	2004	30.11.	Germany
5014	2005	08.06.	Switzerland
5015	2005	12.12.	Czech Republic
5016	2006	08.06.	Germany
5017	2007	03.03.	Norway
5018	2008	01.02.	Japan
5020	2010	01.04.	Austria	as of 2020, located in Vienna, Austria
5021	2010	10.09.	USA	as of 2021, located in the Netherlands, played regularly (*)
5022	2011	09.03.	Germany	as of 2022, located in Germany, played regularly (*)
5023	2012	20.09.	Japan	as of 2021, located in the USA, played regularly (*)

Every country shown in the legend and unlabelled in the figure have had one heckelphone delivery recorded.

Frederick's list covers only instruments completed between 1904 and 2010, Hurd & Howe's list ends at 2002, and Reiter's list goes up to 2012. The Heckel company has confirmed that no heckelphones have been completed since #5023, shown last in the list above. Based on this, it appears that no more than 175 heckelphones have been completed up to the present day. According to Heckel, two heckelphones are currently under construction and expected to be completed between 2025 and 2026.

Some additional, interesting information can be found in Frederick's excellent list, such as model numbers (along with explanations of characteristics of these models) and details on the history and modifications of some instruments. For the time being, I've decided to refrain from including those details here; however, as I learn more about specific instruments, I will add some information to the table above. Details from Howe & Hurd's article are included, even in cases where I have not (yet) been able to verify them, but are clearly marked. The same was done for details kindly provided by Peter Hurd of Bellingham (WA), USA, and Werner Schulze of Vienna, Austria, whose contributions I gratefully acknowledge.

Overall, many mysteries remain regarding quite a few of the heckelphones listed above, and any information that can help me solve those will be highly appreciated. I'd like to learn as much as I can, especially where these instruments are currently located, and which are still being played. I am also planning to collect pictures of as many of them as possible. For contributions of any kind, please contact me at heckelphone@gmx.net or @heckelphon on Twitter.