Friedrich von Huene, 1929-2016

Friedrich von Huene, a Lifetime ARS member, was a pioneer in the reproduction of historical woodwinds for over half a century. Born and raised in Germany, he emigrated to the US in 1948 and served as a flutist in the US Air Force. In 1956 he graduated from Bowdoin College (ME) and began a four year apprenticeship with the legendary flute maker Verne Q. Powell. He began producing his own recorders in 1960 and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1966 for a comparative study of historical woodwinds, becoming one of the first makers to produce copies of original 18th century recorders. Mr. von Huene designed the extraordinarily popular Rottenburgh recorders for Moeck as well as the first high-quality plastic recorders for Zen-On. He was part of the creation of the Boston Early Music Festival and performed many times.

He was the winner of the first Distinguished Achievement Award by the ARS; his contributions to making the recorder world what it is today cannot be overstated. More information about his life and legacy will be in the Fall edition of American Recorder magazine.

He leaves behind his wife Ingeborg, four sons -- Andreas, Nikolaus, Patrick, and Thomas, as well as daughter Elizabeth and eight grandchildren.

His obituary, published May 13 in the Boston Globe, can be found here.

His biography, Well-Tempered Woodwinds: Friedrich von Huene and the Making of Early Music in a New World by Geoffrey Burgess, is available from the Indiana University Press.