German Music Industry
Klaus Götz’ family comes from Wernitzgrün, a small town not far from Markneukirchen. His grandfather, Conrad August Götz, founded C.A. Götz in 1884 which initially produced tuning pegs and strings. In 1958, Klaus Götz, together with his brother Karlheinz, traveled to the United States to personally...
Frank Schlegel was born in 1967 to a family of musical instrument makers in Markneukirchen. Like so many families in this region, he and his father, Klaus Schlegel, carry on the tradition of crafting violins. His grandfather made mandolins and on his mother’s side, the Stöhr family, were bow makers...
Klaus Mönnig worked for 60 years at the Gebrüder Mönnig company, where he was responsible for tuning and voicing oboes and bassoons. As well as being an accomplished musician, Klaus would also visit trade shows such as Musikmesse and the NAMM Show to represent the company. With his musical...
Jürgen Voigt comes from a long tradition of musical instrument makers in the region of Markneukirchen starting as early as 1756. His grandfather and great-grandfather were bow makers and because of demand and to diversify, the family also started to make brass instruments. Beginning 1962, Jürgen...
Wilhelm Mönnig, his brother Friedrich, and cousin first removed Klaus are owners of Gebrüder Mönnig which produce high quality woodwind instruments in Markneukirchen. Their grandfathers, Hans and Fritz Mönnig, founded the company in 1906. The next generation of four children; Willi, Horst, Hans,...
Matthias Hellinger and his brother, Andreas, own Rohema which was founded in 1888 by Eduard Robert Hellinger and produced batons, drumsticks, and percussion instruments. The company was small enough during socialist times in East Germany to remain private, but production was challenging. The...
Carsten Göpf has combined his passion for playing the trumpet with an affinity for engineering in his profession as the plant manager for the brass factory at Buffet Crampon in Markneukirchen. Carsten did his apprenticeship at Wenzel Meinl GmbH known for first class brass instruments. As assistant...
Paula Lang’s father, Andreas Prüller, owned a company in Schönbach producing purflings for violins, cellos and guitars. After World War II, the Czech government started nationalizing production facilities and due to his experience in the application of varnish to string instruments, Andreas Prüller...
Karlheinz Götz has always been proud of his musical heritage. His grandfather, Conrad August Götz, was the founder of the C.A. Götz Company back in 1884. The company, which was located near Markneukrichen, Germany handcrafted violin parts such as tuning pegs and later the manufacturing of strings....
Ewald Sommer’s grandfather, Ignatz Sommer, started building machine heads for stringed instruments in 1911. Early on, he supplied Höfner with his products for basses, guitars, mandolins, and zithers. Once the company resettled in Bubenreuth after World War II, Höfner’s successful Beatles bass...