The heckelphone (German: Heckelphon) is a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and his sons. Introduced in 1904, it is similar to the oboe but pitched an octave lower.

The heckelphone is a double reed instrument of the oboe family, but with a wider bore and hence a heavier and more penetrating tone. It is pitched an octave below the oboe and furnished with an additional semitone taking its range down to A. It was intended to provide a broad oboe-like sound in the middle register of the swollen orchestrations of the turn of the twentieth century. In the orchestral repertoire it is generally used as the bass of an oboe section incorporating the oboe and the cor anglais (English horn), filling the gap between the oboes and bassoons.

The heckelphone is approximately four feet in length, and is quite heavy: it rests on the floor, supported by a short metal peg attached to the underside of its bulbous bell. An alternate second bell, called a "muting" bell, is also available, which serves to muffle the instrument for playing in a small ensemble. This arrangement is unique among double-reed instruments. It is played with a large double reed that more closely resembles a bassoon reed than an oboe reed.

Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963) was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.

Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt am Main, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child. He entered Frankfurt's Hoch’sche Konservatorium, where he studied violin with Adolf Rebner, as well as conducting and composition with Arnold Mendelssohn and Bernhard Sekles. At first he supported himself by playing in dance bands and musical-comedy groups. He became deputy leader of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra in 1914, and was promoted to leader in 1917. He played second violin in the Rebner String Quartet from 1914. In 1921 he founded the Amar Quartet, playing viola, and extensively toured Europe.

In 1922, some of his pieces were played in the International Society for Contemporary Music festival at Salzburg, which first brought him to the attention of an international audience. The following year, he began to work as an organizer of the Donaueschingen Festival, where he programmed works by several avant garde composers, including Anton Webern and Arnold Schoenberg. From 1927 he taught composition at the Berliner Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. Hindemith wrote the music for Hans Richter's 1928 avant-garde film Ghosts Before Breakfast (Vormittagsspuk), although the score was subsequently lost, and he also acted in the film.

Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and other orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Also sprach Zarathustra, An Alpine Symphony, and Metamorphosen. Strauss was also a prominent conductor throughout Germany and Austria.

Strauss, along with Gustav Mahler, represents the late flowering of German Romanticism after Richard Wagner, in which pioneering subtleties of orchestration are combined with an advanced harmonic style.

Strauss was born on 11 June 1864, in Munich, the son of Franz Strauss, who was the principal horn player at the Court Opera in Munich. In his youth, he received a thorough musical education from his father. He wrote his first composition at the age of six, and continued to write music almost until his death.

Sebastian Bach (born April 3, 1968) is a Canadian heavy metal singer who achieved mainstream success as frontman of Skid Row from 1987 to 1996. Since his departure from Skid Row, he has had many television roles, acted in Broadway plays, and led a successful solo career.

Bach was born Sebastian Philip Bierk on April 3, 1968, in Freeport, Bahamas, and raised in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He attended nearby Lakefield College School in the same class as Michael Kulas, of the British rock group James, a year behind Felipe, Prince of Asturias and a year ahead of the comedian/actor Will Arnett. He is of Norwegian, French Canadian, and Native American descent. Bach's father was the visual artist David Bierk. He is the brother of retired NHL goaltender Zac Bierk, model/actress Heather Dylan Bierk, and Toronto-based artists Jeff, Nick, Alex, and Charles Bierk.

Skid Row initially formed in the late eighties with lead singer Matt Fallon. They began playing at various New Jersey clubs. Fallon would soon leave the band in 1987, leaving Skid Row without a singer. Bach, who had just left his previous band Madam X, was spotted singing at rock photographer Mark Weiss's wedding and the members asked him to join. He turned them down, but changed his mind after hearing the demo tapes of "Youth Gone Wild" and "18 and Life". He sent them a demo of him singing "Saved By Love." They loved it and flew him to New Jersey where they began playing gigs. Sebastian also recorded demos with Bon Jovi & Sabo's friend Jack Ponti. (The song "She's on Top" later came out on Jack Ponti Presents Vol. 1)