Posted by Klaus on April 03, 2001 at 03:31:40:
In Reply to: B&S marking posted by Joey on April 03, 2001 at 01:19:53:
MARKNEUKIRCHEN and KLINGENTHAL are the names of 2 small towns in south-western Saxonia. Once one of the kingdoms within the German imperial electoral union, later the southernmost state of the German "Democratic" Republic, now one of 16 states forming present days Germany.
The instrument builders of the German/Czech border area for centuries have been organised in small workshops lead by a Meister (Master). Groups of workshops working together. Some making bells, some making valves, some putting their names on the final product.
Communistic theories of economy were not kind on private business. Most of these workshops were forced into conglomerates.
One of them was Blechblas- & Signalinstrumente (Brass & Signalinstruments, the latter being bugles and single brass reed instruments, which resemble duck calls a bit too much).
Within B&S a few Meisters were allowed to keep their workshops and their names: Hoyer horns, Scherzer and Wolfram trumpets.
I have firsthand knowledge of 6 GDR era rotary instruments from B&S, Hoyer, Wolfram, and Scherzer plus the independent Meister Friedbert Syhre of Leipzig. All topline instruments share technical details that point towards a common origin. I mostly think of the ball and socket lever systems.
B&S was the top line as contrasted to the second line Weltklang, which can be seen with a lot of different stenciled names.
But the workshops, that were allowed to keep the name of their Meisters, clearly did put more love in the details of their instruments.
The Wall Fall was hard on GDR business. B&S had exported at unrealistic low prices to earn hard currencies for the GDR.
Around 1993 Meinl (Meinl-Weston) took over ownership, but apparently has allowed a lot of B&S identity to be kept intact and even to be developed. B&S of the GDR ages could not make decent pistons. This seems to have changed in a very positive direction.
Klaus