About Kovar, Mechler, Knochenhauer and the shapes...

Simon Kovar ( 1890-1970) was one of the most important Bassoon teachers of the twentieth century. He played in the New York Philharmonic as second bassoon to Benjamin Kohon. He taught at the Julliard School of Music, the Manhattan School of Music & the Curtis Institute, to name but a few. Many of our noted American Bassoonists were his pupils: Sol Schoenbach, Elias Carmen, Arthur Weisberg, Raymond Ojeda, Norman Herzberg, Charles Sirard, Frank Schwartz, Bernard Garfield, Harold Goltzer, Stephen Maxym, and many more.

I understand that Mr. Kovar did not make his own reeds. For a period of time, however, many bassoonists of Mr. Kovar’s generation sent reeds of theirs to Fred Pfeifer, the machinist and profiling machine maker. Mr. Pfeifer had a selection of various well-known bassoonists’ shapes available in fold-over shaper tips for purchase. I bought in 1979 or 1980 a “Kovar-Pfeifer” model.It has been in my catalog since then. It is closest to the “C” shape reed, but in my opinion from open f down to low Bb it is superior in volume, as it is slightly wider overall.

Carl Mechler was a bassoonist in Darmstadt, Germany. He played in the opera as principal bassoonist and in the Darmstadt Symphony. He died shortly after World War Two and made many hundreds of bassoon reeds; and was a gifted artist at the craft. However, there is no such thing as a “Mechler Shape”, as he hand carved all his reeds.

Wilhelm Knochenhauer (1872-1940) was a famous reed maker and was principal bassoon in the Royal Saxonian Court Orchestra in Dresden. He was a founding member of the First Dresden Wind Quintet, and teacher at the Hochschule Fur Muzik. According to researcher-bassoonist Will Jansen of the Netherlands, Wilhelm Knochenhauer was such a renown reed maker that he trained FIVE men to build his reeds exactly the way Knochenhauer demanded; yet he tested and inspected EVERY one. According to Jansen, “No reed was sent out that he himself has not approved.”

In the To The World’s Bassoonists newsletter volume 5, number 3, there was a diagram of three important bassoon reeds made by Mechler, Knochenhauer and Eisendart. I had a machinist in Pittsburgh make me copies of what was submitted to the newsletter, and that is what I have been making since 1978; and I also use the dimensions in the original diagrams.

About shapes “A through “E”, Shape “A” is a Berdon #7. Shape “B” is a Berdon # 3. Shape “C” is a RDG shape. Shape “D” is a Berdon # 6. Shape “E” is a Berdon # 2. Model Italiano # 3 is a Rigotti shape.