Wilhelm Liebel (1793-1871)

Dresden flute maker whose instruments were favored by Anton Bernhard Fürstenau, an influential exponent of the traditional keyed flute and a favorite of the composer Carl Maria von Weber. Most German flutists felt instruments like Liebel's allowed them the maximum of tonal flexibility and blend in an orchestral wind section, in contrast to the uniform and assertive sound of the new Boehm flute which they considered suitable only for solo playing.

Liebel's instruments were among the most refined and responsive of 19th-century German keyed flutes, fitted for expressive performance in the salons of middle-class houses as well as in the concert hall. After about 1850, a type developed by Heinrich Friedrich Meyer of Hamburg came into widespread use in Germany and central Europe.

Chapter 10, 'Nineteenth-century eclecticism', of Ardal Powell's The Flute (Yale University Press, 2002) contains more information on this topic.