Theobald Boehm (1794 – 1881), Air Suisse

Theobald Boehm, born in Munich, was a flutist and flute maker. After finishing school, he entered his father's goldsmith's workshop. At 16 he built himself a flute and began to play it alone, without any lessons, until the royal court musician, Johann Nepomuk Kapeller, who lived in the same house, recognized his talent for music and gave him free lessons. Just two years later he was given the position of first flutist at the royal Isartortheater, which he held alongside his work as a goldsmith. On numerous tours in Germany and abroad he was celebrated as one of the most important flutists of his time. In 1832 he constructed the Boehm flute named after him, the construction of which is the basis of today's transverse flute.