Of a performance on November 10, 1888, a critic wrote:[5] The outstanding flutist of our city's orchestra, Mr. Schwedler, in a performance of an Adagio by Spohr and an Hungarian Fantasy by F. Doppler, proved himself with regard to tone production, technique, brilliance and conception, once again to be the significant master of his instrument we have long appreciated and admired.

His student Erich List described his teacher's playing:[6]On his conical wood flute (with a metal headjoint), Schwedler had a very warm and expressive tone; he had a timbre (especially in the middle register) which is impossible to achieve on the Boehm flute.Schwedler taught at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1908 to 1932.

[12][note 1] Schwedler's goal in developing the Reform flute was to improve its mechanism and response, to preserve the basic simple fingering system when possible and to improve the flute's intonation while maintaining the traditional, darker timbre which he believed blended more harmoniously with other winds when playing in ensemble.

In 1899, Arthur Nikisch, conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, wrote:[14] I consider the improvements which Mr. Schwedler has added to the mechanism of the flute to be quite epoch-making.

The absolute purity of intonation and tonal equality of the notes in all registers is enchanting; slurs and trills, etc., which previously sounded imperfect in spite of all the virtuosity of the player concerned, are now also made possible with Schwedler's system.After its introduction in 1898, the Reform flute continued to be modified; for example, additional vent holes were added for improved intonation and better trills.

After breaking with Kruspe some time around 1921, Schwedler continued refining the Reform flute with instrument maker Moritz Max Mönnig.

In the early years of the twentieth century many instrument makers copied Reform flute mechanisms, modifying them and adding inventions of their own.

[16] In 1940, at the age of 86, "old in years, his funds wiped out, with scarcely enough food to live on and no heat in the severe cold weather [...] with no hope in view," Schwedler took his own life.