Richard Keilwerth, Plateau, B Flat Clarinet
An extremely rare and fine Keilwerth Bb plateau i.e. covered hole, clarinet. Richard Keilwerth, born in 1906, was the grandson of Johann Baptist Keilwerth, and the last member of the Keilwerth family to manufacture clarinets. He relocated the workshop to Gelnhausen after the division of Germany post WW2. This is a clarinet of large bore, c. 15.2mm which makes it similar in bore to contemporaneous manufactured clarinets by Fritz Wurlitzer. It is not surprising, therefore, that this clarinets tunes well with large bore m'pieces of 1010 type, i.e. parallel 15.2mm bore. This instrument might suit a player who favours a Boosey & Hawkes 1010 clarinet and has selection of favourite m'pieces of this type.
There are no cracks or damage to the wood. The silver plate is in excellent condition, for a clarinet which probably dates to the late 1940s, with only some slight surface pitting. We have just completely overhauled the clarinet in fish skin pads and it is sold with our full 1 year warranty. The matching serial numbers are 3139, and the instrument features "mother of pearl" touch pieces. The clarinet is sold with a brand new Rossi LB m'piece, which has a lay and tip opening similar to a Vandoren B45. The original case is in good condition with only some slight interior stains.