Historical Musical Instrument Collections
I recently made a trip to Germany, France, and England where I was able to see two
important collections of musical instruments, one famous, the other nearly unknown but
with more instruments on display covering a wider period of time.
 |
The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is a
huge castle-like edifice that houses some of the most eclectic collections of art,
artifacts, architecture, and fakes. The musical instrument collection is huge but only
around 10 to 15% is displayed at any one time. Usually those displayed are by well-known
builders. Fortunately, a lot of the collection is catalogued in a book available through
the museum gift shop and book stores. The musical instrument collection is one room
where you are allowed to take photographs. Some that I took are included in this section
of coog.com. Other pictures are scanned from postcards and slides I purchased.
 Go to
examples from the V & A historical musical instrument collection.
|
| The modern (by 1970's standards)
Musikinstrumenten Museum in the Tiergarten district of Berlin shelters 600 exhibits (out
of a total of about 3000 items) that span over 500 years of musical history. The museum
building is at the Kulturforum (based on a design by the celebrated Berlin architect Hans
Scharoun and realized by his successor Edgar Wisniewski) and just a short walk from the
Brandenburg Gate. The oldest part of the museum is from an 1888 collection of ancient
instruments started by the Prussian State. In 1935 the collection was integrated into the
State Institute for German Musical Research, an institution which brought together the
Historical Department (started in 1917) and the Musikinstrumenten-Museum, which moved in
1936 from its former home in Fasanenstrasse (in the district of Charlottenburg) to the
Palais Kreutz in Klosterstrasse. |
 |
Most of the exhibits at the Musikinstrumenten Museum are "German-centric,"
meaning the emphasis is on German builders, musicians, and companies. The notable
exceptions are the 6 Ruckers harpsichords on display (Antwerp, Belgium), all in various
stages of repair/restoration/rebuilding. They are all beautiful. What makes the museum's
collection so unique, besides the "German-centric" theme, is the ages covered.
Some instruments were built as early as the 1500s, and some are from the 20th century, up
to and including synthesizers and a computer-run Synclavier. For a quick, well-rounded
history of musical instruments from Medieval times to the present, the Musikinstrumenten
Museum is the place to go. (Note that it closes at 5:00 daily and is closed, like all
museums in Berlin, on Mondays.)
Go to
examples from the Musikinstrumenten Museum collection.
