Carl Eulenstein, also known as Charles Eulenstein (born December 27, 1802 in Heilbronn; died January 15, 1890 in Cilli, Austria-Hungary, now Slovenia), was an internationally renowned jaw harp virtuoso around 1830 who also wrote several grammar textbooks on the German and English languages.
Eulenstein was born in Heilbronn, the son of soap boiler Georg Heinrich Eulenstein (1776–1807) and Johanna Christiane, née Winzelburger (1779–1844). After his father’s early death, he was sent to live with a master dyer in Kost. He developed an interest in music at an early age, learned to play the violin, and wanted to become a musician, but his guardian insisted that he apprentice at a trading house in Heilbronn. There, around 1820, he met Justinus Kerner, who played the Jew’s harp himself, introduced Eulenstein to the instrument, and later promoted his career by writing letters of recommendation. Kerner dedicated the poem Auf Eulensteins Spiel auf der Maultrommel in der Nacht (On Eulenstein’s playing of the jaw harp at night)[1] to Eulenstein and got him a ticket to a jaw harp concert by Franz Koch, who was considered a master of the instrument. Meanwhile, Eulenstein practiced playing the jaw harp himself in his spare time, modified his instruments, and soon composed his own melodies.
In 1821, he went to Lüneburg, where he completed an apprenticeship as a pastry chef. During his apprenticeship, he often played in his master’s restaurant and was also able to give his first concert there. After the positive response, he wanted to turn his journey home to Heilbronn in the summer of 1824 into a concert tour.
However, this first concert tour was a complete failure, and he was unable to realize further tour plans in his homeland. Although he was able to play for the Prince of Hohenlohe, the Margravine of Baden, and the Queen of Sweden, he was initially unable to make a living from his music, so he planned to return to work as a confectioner, for which he went to Stuttgart in late autumn 1824.
Since Eulenstein did not find employment in Stuttgart as he had hoped, he once again took up work as a musician. With letters of recommendation from Justinus Kerner, he played for Gustav Schwab, Ludwig Uhland, Wilhelm Hauff, and other personalities, who in turn recommended him to others, so that he quickly achieved a good income and, for the first time, press recognition through numerous performances before private societies. Christian Ludwig Neuffer dedicated the poem An Eulenstein, Tonkünstler auf der Maultrommel (To Eulenstein, Musician on the Jew’s Harp) to him.
Via Tübingen, where he was accompanied on the guitar by Friedrich Silcher at a concert, and Zurich, he arrived in Lausanne, where he learned to play the guitar and the French language. At the end of 1825, Eulenstein arrived in Paris, where he made the acquaintance of composer and harpist Franz Stockhausen and attracted the attention of Gioacchino Rossini and Ferdinando Paër, which gave him access to the French royal court. Not all performances were remunerated, so the musician was often threatened by existential hardship. In 1826, Eulenstein traveled to England and gave a concert before King George IV, which was highly acclaimed.
After a brief stay in his hometown of Heilbronn, Eulenstein returned to London in 1827, where, after initial difficulties and another period of financial hardship, he also attracted attention as a guitarist. He made his debut as a guitar soloist in 1828 with Stockhausen and his wife during a spa vacation in the seaside resort of Cheltenham. He later moved to Bath, where he worked as a German and guitar teacher between concert tours. Here he also wrote a German exercise book and a grammar book. Around 1830, he was considered the best jaw harp player of his time. He played up to 16 different jaw harps, which he could switch between without any noticeable interruption to his playing, enabling him to achieve a range of four octaves. In 1833, the Literary Gazette wrote: “It is unlikely that a successor will be found who will be able to give a performance in this manner.”
However, playing the jaw harp affected his teeth so badly that, after many previous dental problems, his last intact upper tooth broke off in 1833 after a concert tour. This made it completely impossible for him to play the jaw harp, and he only performed as a guitarist and worked as a music teacher. On August 27, 1834, he married Katharina Henriette Sophie Rose (* February 10, 1806 in Lüneburg; died May 11, 1879, in Günzburg), with whom he lived in Bath for several years, although his income there was meager at times due to competition from other teachers and the lack of opportunities for jaw harp concerts. The couple had three children in Bath:
1.) Theodor Ernst (born July 1839 in Bath, Somerset, England; died March 30, 1875 in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany) Dr. Phil., private scholar, naturalist, German teacher, and piano teacher. On November 16, 1861, he married the court actress Antonia Viktoria Zechmeister Raider (* March 23, 1824 in Troppau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany; † December 18, 1909 in Berlin, Brandenburg, Germany) (stage name Wilhelmi) in the Hofkirche Stuttgart.
2.) Eduard Carl (born October 1, 1841 in Bath, Somerset, England; died February 1905 in Sigmaringen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) building officer for the Royal Württemberg State Railway, architect. He married Olga Pischek (born March 30, 1850; died April 14, 1932), the daughter of opera singer Johann Baptist Burghard Pischek (born October 14, 1814; died February 16, 1873). She married Karl Theodor Zingeler, director of the Princely Hohenzollern House and Domain Archives, in her second marriage.
3.) Franziska Henriette (* March 12, 1843 in Bath, Somerset, England; died August 1, 1908) married Imperial Captain Antonius Heinz Edler von Roodenfels (* December 4, 1821; † May 25, 1889 in Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany) on October 4, 1875.
In 1847, the family moved to Heilbronn, where Eulenstein had a house built on Untere Allee in 1850. Here he wrote two more books on German and English colloquial language. However, he did not continue his musical career. In 1858, the family moved to Stuttgart, later the couple settled in Günzburg, and after the death of his wife, Eulenstein lived with his daughter in Celje, then part of Austria, where he died and was buried in 1890. Later, his daughter had the coffin transferred to Günzburg, Bavaria, Germany.