Research

Research on wind instruments and on their music is a main focus of the Klingendes Museum, as well as conservation, presentation and communication.

The instruments and objects are available for study and research, and in such context some may be played.

The collection itself is the topic of Adrian v. Steiger's dissertation: Die Instrumentensammlung Burri. Hintergründe und Herausforderungen. Bern, 2013. The book discusses the collection and selected instruments as well as the dilemma of playing historical wind instruments. Further publications by v. Steiger discuss materiality, history and repertoire of historical wind instruments.

An entire set of projects of the Research Institute Interpretation of the Bern University of the Arts (HKB) is based on instruments of the collection. A number of instruments have been bought for these projects and are now in the playing collection on loan:

• The ophicleide and its copy were the topic of the very first research project on wind instruments by HKB (financed by Swiss National Science Foundation SNF, 2006–2008)
• The keyed trumpet as a central element in the instrument's history, is the focus of a second project. Two historically important keyed trumpets are owned by the collection (SNF 2007–2009).
• The results of the projects on ophicleide and keyed trumpet, presented at the first "Romantic Brass Symposium" in Bern, are published in its proceedings.
• The bassoon by Nicolas Savary le jeune, collection Nr. 458, was the topic of the project on Savary (SNF 2010–2012), including a symposium and its publication.
• The project on the "Cor Chaussier" focussed on the horn's history in France. Some instruments of the Burri collection come from that context, others have been bought in addition (SNF 2009–2012).
• Material and manufacturing techniques of brass instrument's production during the 19th century was the topic of a project in collaboration with the maker Rainer Egger, Basel and natural scientists (KTI 2010–2012).
• The results of the projects on the horn and brass instrument's production were presented at the Romantic Brass Symposiums II in Bern in 2012 (SNF 2012) and published in its proceedings.
• Adolphe Sax and his saxhorns are focussed in the project "Agilité, homogénéité et beauté" (SNF, 2011–2014). The results were presented at the Third Romantic Brass Symposium and published in its proceedings. A film is documenting the project.
• Questions of interior Corrosion in played historical instruments are focussed in a ein multidisciplinary project together with natural scientists of ETH, the Swiss National Museum and the Paul Scherrer Institute (SNF 2013–2017). Presented in occasion of the Fourth International Romantic Brass Symposium 2017.
• The optimisation of the contrabass clarinet through electronical devices was the goal of two projects in collaboration with the BFH Engeneering and Information Technology department (BFH and KTI 2014–2015).
• "A playing collection of woodwind instruments" searched for specific chances of the restoration to soundability of selected wooden instruments. (HKB 2014–2016). The results were presented at a Forschungsmittwoch of HKB in Mai 2016.
• The project "The Sound of Brass", a research on materiality and acoustics of brass instruments, concentrated on the German trombone – a further collaboration with Rainer Egger, Basel and the natural scientists of Empa – materials science and technology. (KTI 2015–2018) The results were presented in the Fifth International Romantic Brass Symposium in November 2018.
• "Horns of the Mozart era" was a research into the classical horn and its replica (HKB 2015–2016).
• "Fresh Wind" communicated the research on wind instrument in a exhibition, a participative web platform and in workshops (SNF Agora 2018–2020).
• "Der vermessene Tubist. Tuba Ergonomie" measured and digitalized for the first time the system player+tuba for different tuba models and recorded stress patterns by means of interviews (BFH 2019).
• "Ein Klingendes Museum – Vermittlung historischer Blasinstrumente" is targeted at students HKB and all those interested in historical performance practice (foundations, 2020–2025).
• "Das Hundwil-Ensemble – eine einzigartige Quelle zur Blasmusik im 19. Jahrhundert in der Schweiz" transcribes the music of the Hundwil Ensemble of the Klingendes Museum and restores some of the instruments (HKB 2021–2022), see painting above.