Anyone Heard Of A Ridvad?

Irish Flute
1

Hello Again,
Has anyone heard of a flute-maker called A Ridvad? All I know is that he was active in an area of Romania called Temesvar. Also, has anyone had any experience with a simple system flute from 19th Century Romania?
Thanks.

2

I know nothing about this maker at all, but I’d love to see pictures!

Eric

3

You didn’t win this one, did you? :slight_smile:

Looks lovely …

4

Yup, that’s the one.

5

Neat find! Do you have it yet, and if so…what does it need to be playable?

Eric

6

I’m not usually partial to blondes. . .but that is one good looking flute!

Bob

7

Ridvad isn’t in my (not most recent) edition of Langwill. Nice looking flute. Congrats!

8

This beauty sounds as good as it looks. Turns out it plays in Eb. My son and I renovate 19th. Century flutes as a hobby - and then even better, we get to play them! On this one we; repaired small crack to head, glued one broken horn ferrule, cleaned brass keys ( and tweaked leaf springs ), replaced pads, corked the joints, removed and replaced a really, really dried out head cork ( talk about obstinate-would not be surprised if it was the original ) and finally a thorough dowse with bore oil.
Result - Sonic Flute Nirvana.

9

Fair play to you Tootsies. You took a chance and it worked out well.
I appreciate what you did and what you do.
Happy toots!

10

Can you post some pics of this flute after restoration? Really interesting too look at.
This is a nice looking flute - as it is on ebay pics. It must be even nicer after cleaning and polishing.

11

The New Langwill Index lists a flute maker called Anton Ridwal (b 1818; d Temesvar 1890).

The entry reads:

“BI fl Temeswar second half 19C.
Succeeded by his son Anton Ridwal junior (b 1845; d 1901).”

Certain aspects of the style of this flute look similar to flutes made by Stephan Koch, who was a famous flute maker from Vienna (earlier). There may be some regional influence here. Temesvar is in Romania, but it is only about 300 miles from Vienna.

I was going to bid on that flute, but got distracted and let it slip by. Looks like you got a good deal!

Jon

12

Google on Anton Ridwal shows a number of brass instruments, seeming to date from the period of the son. Perhaps the son was a dealer, not a maker?

Best wishes,

Steve