J. Ziegler Csakan A Flat Recorder by Martin Wenner

The Csakan, or so-called 'walking stick' flute, was developed in Hungary and was a musical fashion in Vienna between 1820 and 1850. Over 400 original compositions for the Csakan are known to exist by composers like A. Heberle, E. Krahmer, and A. Diabelli, among others. Johann Ziegler (1795-1858) started his workshop in Vienna in 1821. In addition to clarinets, he mainly made flutes which were soon in wide distribution. Ziegler was, along with Stefan Koch, one of the most successful and innovative woodwind instrument makers of his time. It is therefore not surprising that the Hungarian-born Ziegler became actively involved in the construction and development of the Csakan. Some of Ziegler's instruments still survive and are often in excellent playing condition, just like the one Martin Wenner used as a model for their reconstruction. Like nearly all Csakans, it is made of black varnished boxwood with silver rings and keys. The keys were shell-shaped which was all the rage in early 19th