Carl Almenräder

He started out in 1810 playing in a theatre orchestra in Cologne, but he switched to an orchestral position in Frankfurt in 1812 where by 1814 he was also obtaining solo work.

He studied composition with Aloys Schmitt, and in 1814 he gave a public performance in Frankfurt of a rondo which he had himself written.

By 1819 he had temporarily moved down river to Cologne where he joined his brothers in their workshop which focused on producing flutes and clarinets.

[1] In 1831 Almenräder started his own factory along with partner Johann Adam Heckel (1812-1877), producing woodwind instruments.

It has spread far beyond German speaking central Europe, defining during the twentieth century the international standards for the instrument.