Willy Köstler (<1946)

This is a forward-facing Alto Horn in E♭, manufactured by Willy Köstler in Graslitz, Böhmen (Bohemia). The German inscription of the town name provides a vital clue for dating the instrument, indicating it was made before 1946. After World War II, the region became part of Czechoslovakia, and Graslitz was officially renamed Kraslice.

Structurally, the instrument arrived in relatively good condition, though it did need some immediate attention. A poorly fitting mouthpiece had been forced into the receiver and was severely jammed. Removing it was a bit tricky, as the leadpipe doesn't extend very far past the main bow, making it tough to get a standard mouthpiece-puller to fit properly. Once that mouthpiece was finally out and replaced with a proper alternative, the horn proved to play quite well. Acoustically, it does suffer from some notable intonation issues—a stubborn characteristic that seems to be a common theme among all the forward-facing horns of this type in my collection.