T.U.B.A. honors Anton Meinl with Lifetime Achievement Award:
03.06.00
On the Annual General Meeting
of T.U.B.A at ITEC 2000, Mr. Anton Meinl was awarded with 
T.U.B.A.'s
Lifetime Achievement Award.
As Mr. Meinl was unable to attand
the ITEC conference himself, it was an honor for me to represent
him at this meeting:
"LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDof the
TUBISTS UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD ASSOCIATION
presented to
ANTON MEINL
In the history of music, advances in performance virtuosity and
the rising proficiency level of entire generations of instrumentalists
have always had corresponding breakthroughs in instrument design
and manufacture. To make such progress possible, the artisan
must work closely with the artist to fashion an instrument that
enables a higher level of musical performance.
In the middle of the twentieth century, when it was economically not advisable to do so, Anton Meinl envisioned the design and manufacture of better tubas and euphoniums to be used around the world. Surely the financial rewards would have been greater if his efforts were focused on other areas of the brass family. To satisfy a performance world devided into national schools that included different tonalities and designs of contrabasses and bass tubas, as well as euphoniums of radically different construction, he would have to commit much of his time, expertise, and resources. For over thirty years Anton Meinl visited and hosted the virtuosi and pedagogues of the world, listening to their frustrations and creating customized solutions. These improvements became prototype designs, which eventually led to improvements in the manufacturing of all types of tubas and euphoniums.
For his consistent, unwavering commitment to the improvement of our world as tuba and euphonium instrumentalists, we bestow upon Anton Meinl our highest honor, the Lifetime Achievement Award of Tubists Universal Brotherhood Association."
Born
in Graslitz
in 1922, Anton Meinl attended school there from 1928 to 1936,
following which, he took a 2 year course at the Technical State
School for Musical Instrument Making. After a 3 year apprenticeship,
his studies were interrupted by induction to the military service
in 1941.With no opportunity to return to his home in Graslitz, and not knowing what had become of his parents, Mr. Meinl settled in Austria following his release as a prisoner of war in 1945. He worked there for 2 years as an instrument maker and repairman, until he located his father, who had re-established his brass making business in the town of Geretsried.Joining his father's enterprise in 1947, Anton Meinl continued his studies at night courses and passed the examination for his master's degree in 1952.
A highly skilled craftsman and excellent teacher, Anton Meinl has contributed much to the development and improvement of tubas. He was the first to use the hydraulic system to bend tubing for Tubas and the first to use steel ball action on rotary valve Tubas. His cutting patterns became famous for its projection and core. The configuration of slide tubings of the Meinl-Weston Tubas has contributed significantly to the efficiency and response of the instruments.
Anton Meinl collaborated closely with the late William Bell, with whom he developed sevaral models in the early 60s, then also Rex Conner and Joe Novotny of the NY Phil, while he worked in Germany with players like Lueghausen and Pröpper, but also kept an open workshop for everybody including Arnold Jacobs or Floyd Cooley and Sam Pilafian.