When was the last time you saw one of these ?

[Tony Burns]

I bought this German fretted zither about 40 years ago at a flea market , Brazilian rosewood with a to die for battle scene inlay with oak leaves for a soundhole rosetta - have never screwed with it ( i know it needs a tuner ) -wouldnt know how to play it, nor who made it - can you even buy strings for it ? who knows - I even made a hard shell case for it -was worried about it getting damaged . always has been a joy to own becasue its basically Art .

[jaymarsch]

What a beautiful instrument! Very cool that you have it. Would a zither sound a lot like an autoharp and played similarly? Just a stab on my part as I have no idea. But what a fine piece of folk art even if you never played it. Thanks for sharing.

Best,
Jayne

[Tony Burns]

I remember when i bought it i showed it to a friend of mine , and he told me it was a German fretted Zither . and that at one time their use to be a German fretted Zither club in buffalo N.Y . But The wood alone on this instrument is awesome -all quarter cut Brazilian rosewood- and Inlay as well is spectacular .
I think you can get strings for it threw Lark in the morning ( think i got that right) but their over a hundred bucks-- So basically Im just the caretaker of it .
Ive heard that CF Martin and the Washburn company use to make Zithers simalar to this one -and theirs no name on the inside , possibly either hand made or the label fell out years before i acquired it.

[Tony Burns]

Paul you probably wont believe this -
I have a simalar one hanging on the wall in my shop -
that looks alot like yours- not as fancy , but close -
plus another zither instrument wrapped in paper -
I'll check it out monday --

[Wade Hampton]

Tony, the concert zither (which is what you have) used to be very popular in German-speaking countries and continues to be played there in Europe and, to a much lesser extent, in the United States. I played a wedding reception once in a private banquet hall at a large German restaurant somewhere in the northern Chicago suburbs where in the main lounge area there was a lederhosen-wearing zither player who played nightly. He was a fine musician, though apparently he played the same songs and told the same jokes in the same order every night, according to one profoundly weary-of-it-all waitress that I spoke to.

Anyway, a notable use of the zither for musical and dramatic effect, most people would agree, is in the classic postwar noir suspense film "The Third Man," based on the Graham Greene novel of the same name. Here's a photo of Anton Karas, who played zither in the film and also provided the haunting theme music that pervades it:

Here's a YouTube video showing him playing it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8jN1treRKQ

If you've never seen "The Third Man," you owe it to yourself to rent a copy. It's a wonderful film.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Scootch]

That video is enchanting.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Tony, the concert zither (which is what you have) used to be very popular in German-speaking countries and continues to be played there in Europe and, to a much lesser extent, in the United States. I played a wedding reception once in a private banquet hall at a large German restaurant somewhere in the northern Chicago suburbs where in the main lounge area there was a lederhosen-wearing zither player who played nightly. He was a fine musician, though apparently he played the same songs and told the same jokes in the same order every night, according to one profoundly weary-of-it-all waitress that I spoke to.

Anyway, a notable use of the zither for musical and dramatic effect, most people would agree, is in the classic postwar noir suspense film "The Third Man," based on the Graham Greene novel of the same name. Here's a photo of Anton Karas, who played zither in the film and also provided the haunting theme music that pervades it:

Here's a YouTube video showing him playing it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8jN1treRKQ

If you've never seen "The Third Man," you owe it to yourself to rent a copy. It's a wonderful film.


Wade Hampton Miller

Great film recommendation Wade. I need to watch it again. A trip to Vienna was fun a couple years ago seeing many of the films locations (amongst all the other great things to do the there, many musically oriented).

Thanks for the reminder.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by The Growler

Great film recommendation Wade. I need to watch it again. A trip to Vienna was fun a couple years ago seeing many of the films locations (amongst all the other great things to do the there, many musically oriented).

Thanks for the reminder.

I was in Vienna for a couple of nights and one full day four years ago. That wasn't time enough to even the scratch the surface of what's there, of course, but the one thing I insisted we all do is take a ride in the massive Ferris wheel that features so prominently in the movie.

What many folks might not notice at first glance is just how big those Ferris Wheel cars are: you could probably fit twenty people in one.

Anyway, I first stumbled across "The Third Man" on late night television when I was a teenager, and it's been one of my all time favorite movies ever since. Since I had neither the time nor the inclination to go running around in the Vienna sewers that are are the setting for the final dramatic chase scene in the movie, there was no way I was going to miss riding on the Ferris Wheel!

whm

[Wade Hampton]

For any of you interested in further reading about "The Third Man," here's an article from the travel section of a British paper:

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...n-1779125.html

Let me also say that if you haven't yet seen "The Third Man," that you stop reading immediately and rent a copy. Then come back and read all you want.


whm

[rickwaugh]

What a crazy little instrument. Kind of like playing harp guitar, with the fingers reversed.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

I was in Vienna for a couple of nights and one full day four years ago. That wasn't time enough to even the scratch the surface of what's there, of course, but the one thing I insisted we all do is take a ride in the massive Ferris wheel that features so prominently in the movie.

What many folks might not notice at first glance is just how big those Ferris Wheel cars are: you could probably fit twenty people in one.

Anyway, I first stumbled across "The Third Man" on late night television when I was a teenager, and it's been one of my all time favorite movies ever since. Since I had neither the time nor the inclination to go running around in the Vienna sewers that are are the setting for the final dramatic chase scene in the movie, there was no way I was going to miss riding on the Ferris Wheel!



whm

The Wiener Riesenrad. Over 200 feet tall and as you said, huge gondolas. Gonna watch the movie again.

Vienna is on my list of places to go back to. Loved it. I was there at Christmas one year. So many concerts and the city was beautiful blanketed in snow.

And the coffee shops are fantastic.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by The Growler

The Wiener Riesenrad. Over 200 feet tall and as you said, huge gondolas. Gonna watch the movie again.

Vienna is on my list of places to go back to. Loved it. I was there at Christmas one year. So many concerts and the city was beautiful blanketed in snow.

And the coffee shops are fantastic.

I agree.

I enjoyed traveling in Mittel Europe immensely. Probably because I'm fair-haired, the Germans mostly thought I was German and the Austrians thought I was Austrian. Many of them were quite startled when I couldn't speak German back to them (I'm predominately of Scots-Irish & French descent, with no known German ancestry, but clearly I look German enough to pass....)

The last time I got "The Third Man" to watch it was on a deluxe edition DVD, which included some contemporary film shorts made at the time, one of which was a short documentary about the Vienna sewer police. Evidently those sewers are so large and so extensive that there is or was a dedicated police unit that regularly patrolled them. They went in armed and in squads of four or more because there were so many tramps and riffraff lurking down there that the cops had to go in groups for their own protection.


whm

[Carmel Cedar]

Will check that movie out asap. Just spent the evening working the details of our visit to Vienna next spring, this thread (and the movie) will enrich our planning!

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Carmel Cedar

Will check that movie out asap. Just spent the evening working the details of our visit to Vienna next spring, this thread (and the movie) will enrich our planning!

It's a great place. You'll enjoy it. Have fun!