Oral History - all
Reiko Suzuki discovered her passion for music at a young age as she watched her father and mother operate a company that manufactured harmonicas and other instruments. This coupled with her father, Manji Suzuki’s desire to spread the joy of music to children later served as her inspiration to... more
Seiki Kato is the president of KORG, the Japan based electronics company that has created innovative musical products since his father first established the company in the 1970s. Seiki provided meaningful insight into the international growth of KORG as well as his philosophy moving forward as it... more
Luigi Bruti was an accordion champion as a teenager and was asked by the Siel Musical Instrument Company to demonstrate their latest products. It was the beginning of his life long career in the music products industry. Luigi became a product engineer helping with several noted instruments,... more
Carlo Lucarelli graduated with an electronics engineering degree in 1963 and after three years with GTE in Milano, he joined the music products industry first working with Farfisa Organs. Farfisa was located in the Ancona area of Italy and Carlo worked there until 1976. At that time, he joined... more
Giuseppe Vecchietti, known throughout his career as Beppe, primarily worked for three companies over his long career. All three were located in the same Italian Marche region by the Adriatic Sea, the first being Farfisa, then Siel, and finally Roland Europe. Along the way, as Marketing and Sales... more
Alessandro Onerati and his brother, Christiano, run the music store with their family name in Florence, Italy. The Onerati workshop was established in Florence in 1980, specializing in wind and percussion instrument repair, and soon becoming a central location for professional musicians and... more
Cristiano Onerati remembers working closely with his father to learn the finer points of repairing musical instruments. He enjoyed the experience and wanted to make sure repairs remained a part of his daily routine in the family music store even after he and his brother took over upon their father... more
Joachim Winter is the president of the Jakob Winter Company, a family business since it was established in 1886. The company supplies accessories like cases and violin bows, as well as a long line of stringed instruments and wind instruments. Joachim and his wife purchased the company and brought... more
Birth Date: September 21, 1937
Deceased Date: March 12, 2021
Otto Werner grew up surrounded by music. His dad, a violin maker in Schönbach, produced violins at home and sold them in Markneukirchen while his aunt worked at Junger Company, the main producer of strings in Schönbach. After 1946, she resettled first in Tennenlohe, then in Bubenreuth once the... more
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... more
Norbert Stumpf was elected the mayor of Bubenreuth in 2014 and actively promotes the legacy of his town as an important center for stringed instrument production. At the end of World War II, hundreds of families involved in the production of stringed instruments settled in Bubenreuth. Even though... more
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... more
Wolfgang Schnabl is a luthier in Bubenreuth, Germany and has been particularly successful in creating cellos. After learning the craft at the state vocational school for instrument making in Mittenwald, Bavaria, he spent time in the atelier of renown luthier Premysl Spidlen in Prag and in Ottawa... more
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... more
Carola Schlegel is director of the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukrichen. This juried contest is held every year with the alteration of string and wind instruments. As a representative of the city of Markneukirchen, Carola Schlegel is not only responsible for the competition but... more
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... more
Dieter Fischer comes from a family of luthiers and started working for Höfner in Bubenreuth when he was 14 years old. He continued working for the next 56 years for Höfner, of which 30 years were as a plant manager. Dieter learned his craft from several luthiers in the company and from his dad,... more
Herbert Riedl was born into a family of violin makers and grew up on the street where Höfner produced guitars including the world-famous Beatles bass. With his friends he earned money stacking wood behind the factory and later became a journeyman at Höfner. He stayed with the company, building... more
Walter Paulus is president of Werner Paulus GmbH, which is located not far from the town of Bubenreuth and produces bow parts of the finest quality. Starting in 1920, Walter’s father-in-law, Otto Müller, was supplying bow frogs for bow makers in the region of Schönbach and Markneukirchen. After... more
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,... more