Gyula Foky-Gruber "Silberton" Solid Sterling Tunable Soprano Recorder Whistle 1960s

If you’re never seen a real Folky-Gruber Silberton all-metal soprano recorder before, then now’s your chance. It was designed and developed by the Hungarian composer, Gyula FOKY-GRUBER (1927-2014). His music was inspired by Hungarian shepherds' tunes. He left his homeland for Vienna following the Hungarian Uprising in 1956, where he studied and started to make instruments. In 1958, he developed a kind of highly modern shepherd's flute made of metal and expanding playing possibilities of the old recorders. He also patented how to coax consistently overblown octaves from cylindrical tubes. Now Gruber had his own instrument, for which he could write his music. Gruber's cylindrical metal recorder can be considered one of the first recorders of modern design in the 20th century. Two companies, AMATI and HOPF, produced these instruments.

Years later, Foky-Gruber started his own workshop in Wiesbaden making them again by himself in small series. The recorders, made of solid silver are specifically designed for solo playing, have a chromatically extended range of over two octaves, and are distinguished above all by their excellent intonation. The removable windway casing, like the block, is made of cedar wood.

This is one of his hand-made Sterling silver models. It has the characteristic Sterling "ping" and weighs 231 grams.

The recorder has a thumb rest and tuning slide. The left hand first finger hole has a pillar inside like the octave key on a clarinet to improve intonation. It has German fingering and plays in C at a=442 Hz.

Comes with the original leatherette case.

Note: the video is not me. It is a clip of one being played so you can hear the tone.

Henry Nelson Luthiery stuff might cost more than other listings, but we think it's worth it. We're not going anywhere. We stand behind our gear. We do research and accurate descriptions. We test our stuff and usually do restoration work; sometimes light, sometimes intense (read our item descriptions for details). In addition, our vintage gear holds its value, unlike new stuff. We have a no-hassle return policy. The return shipping is on you, but the item price and shipping to you is refunded. Simply return it in the same condition in a timely manner.