After a few months away due to a lack of time, I’ve come back to a real mystery…
Who was Eduard Czada of Cottbus? So far I’ve come up mostly empty except for a small notice from the Haaretz jewish website mentioning a list of Jewish businesses that were confiscated by the Nazis in the 1930s.
Click to access listofnames.pdf
There is mention of a Herr Eduard Czada of Cottbus registered as a Musikalienhandel (Music dealership). The address of the business was:
Marktplatz 28 Cottbus.
Marktplatz 28 / U.Wernerstr. 8 Cottbus.
Looking at the map shows these are two separate addresses and perhaps he was at both or moved between them at some point?
In addition there is a somewhat vague reference to an arrangement of a Schubert Symphony published by Czada, Cottbus.
‘Was ist eine Tuba?’
Otherwise dear reader, until further information surfaces, we must leave it for now.
The Baßtuba you see here is another story however….
Czada did not build this tuba himself, rather he imported and then sold it under his name.
The actual maker of this fine instrument was the firm Altrichter of Frankfurt an der Oder. The history of this particular maker is dramatic enough to warrant a Hollywood film, but that’s a story for another day. If you feel so inclined to find out more about Altrichter, I would recommend contacting the firm Dobberstein in Frankfurt Oder:
http://www.dobberstein-brass.de/
They are without a doubt, the Altrichter specialists.
Long story, short:
Altrichter (1860s-1930s) at its peak of production, was a world rival to american firms such as Conn or King. Sadly, the ruin of the last 1930s factory is still standing with dark broken windows as nature slowly reclaims it.
Interestingly enough, every Altrichter F tuba I’ve seen has only had 3 valves. Earlier versions looked like this:
Bass-Tuba (Bombardon) in F, Signierung mit dem Hohenzollernwappen zwischen zwei Wappenträgern: “J.Altrichter/Frankfurt a/O/Hof-Instrumenten-Fabrick/Sr.Königl. Hoheit/des Prinzen Friedr. Carl v.Preußen”.
As a side note, Altrichter made some of the best functioning Berliner valves of all the german makers.
Here is a BBb version, but you can still see the resemblance to the featured F tuba.
The featured tuba here is in remarkably good condition considering its age.
The valves have excellent compression and everything is tight and works smoothly.
While somewhat small compared to a modern F tuba, this one still puts out a respectable amount of noise. The intonation even with only 4 valves is also quite respectable. For those of you who have tried a Miraphone 180 F tuba, you would find the dimensions similar, but with a finer sound quality.
Specs: ca.1920s Eduard Czada F Tuba
4 rotary valves with 18mm bore cylindrical
material: yellow brass
height: 90cm
bell diameter: 36cm
horizontal 3rd valve slide is handy..
Brass and Pipes 