Gesellschaft der Freunde alter Musikinstrumente
The Gesellschaft der Freunde alter Musikinstrumente was founded in 1951 in Zürich, Switzerland, by a number of music lovers and collectors of historical musical instruments. It is still the only society in the German-speaking part of Europe that is concerned mainly with old musical instruments and organology. Thanks to its base in Switzerland it has a multicultural and multilanguage profile, visual in its international list of members. Today there are over 200 members, mainly in Europe, but also on other parts of the globe. The spectrum includes specialised museums and collections of old musical instruments, researchers and instrument makers as well as private collectors and enthusiasts.
The society is a forum in which public and private collections of musical instruments are visited and aspects of conservation are discussed, whereby the history of the musical instruments is given special consideration. Occasionally extra-European instruments are regarded as well. In addition to these aspects the society also contributes to discussions between museum "specialists", instrument makers, universities and conservatories on the one hand and private collectors and others interested in old musical instruments on the other.