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Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau


The Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau ("ZfI") (Journal for the Construction of Musical Instruments) was a German-language journal dealing in large part with the manufacture of musical instruments. It was published in Leipzig from 1880 through 1943 and serves as a chronicler of the musical world and as an intelligent reporter on some of the more technical aspects of instrument development.

The founder and guiding light of this journal was Paul de Wit, a Dutch cellist and viol player whose instrument collecting activities eventually formed the basis for the Heyer Collection in Cologne and the Royal Collection in Berlin.

The outlook of the journal, though centered in Leipzig, was never limited to the Germanic world; rather, there was a determined effort to report musical news from all over the world, from Melbourne to Buenos Aires, from Lisbon to Moscow. There is particularly good coverage of those countries to which German instruments were exported. Consequently, one finds a great deal of interest in American musical life and the American music trade.

Throughout its history, the format of the ZfI changed but little, nor did the subject matter. The journal existed expressly for the music trade, that is, for instrument builders, purveyors of music-related products of all sorts, music professionals (e.g., piano tuners, instrument dealers). The ZfI regularly reported on musical instrument exhibits in the major metropolitan centers of Europe and the world.

Reports about new inventions and discoveries enliven the pages; newly registered patents for inventions, often illustrated by very clear line drawings, are a standard feature. Through the pages of the ZfI one can follow the development and evolution of many musical instruments (particularly the piano and violin). A lot of attention is given to the Jankó keyboard, for example. One sees changes wrought by the introduction, first of gas, then of electricity to the musical world.


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