Authors: Birgit Heise and Bernhard Kolberg

The impressive collection of the percussionist and drum producer Bernhard Kolberg in Uhingen near Stuttgart comprises more than 130 timpani - as individual instruments, pairs or sets of three to four. It has been assembled, professionally restored or conserved and preserved since 1968. These are purchases and donations from private collections or acquisitions from the inventories of concert halls and theatres. As far as we know today, Kolberg has the largest and most diverse collection of timpani in Germany and one of the largest in the world. It is not only the quantity that makes this collection so unique, but also the extraordinary variety of mechanisms for tuning the timpani head.

The unusually large number of different examples in the Kolberg collection illustrates the technical development of European timpani production over the last 300 years. From the baroque timpani with a flat bowl, riveted tripod and screw tension, numerous technically sophisticated models emerged. All the new inventions of the 19th century were united by the desire to maximise the fullness of tone and to have an easy and safe tuning device. The so-called Dresden pedal timpani, patented in 1881, is still in widespread use in Europe today - albeit with numerous improvements - and has practically replaced the rotary and lever timpani.

This publication was published on the occasion of the special exhibition 'Heartbeat of the Orchestra - Central German Timpani from the Kolberg Collection' from 30 August to 31 December 2024 at the Musical Instrument Museum of the University of Leipzig. On display in this exhibition are timpani from numerous Central German cities from renowned manufacturers of the past centuries: G. Jul. Wunderlich (Altenburg), Gustav Ad. Poschardt (Dresden/Leipzig), Carl Korte (Leipzig), Musima (Markneukirchen) and many others. However, the publication is broader in scope and contains - in addition to a detailed account of the history of the development of the timpani since the Baroque period - photos, descriptions and measurements of all the timpani in Bernhard Kolberg's museum as of 2024.

• Published by Klaus-Jürgen Kamprad
• Hardcover, 164 pages
• Language: GERMAN
• ISBN: 978-3-98753-017-3