Sounds from another dimension
How the Subharchord lives on
Audio developer Gerhard Steinke. Montage/Photo r.: Verband Deutscher Tonmeister e. V. (VDT)
Sound experimenter Nils Frahm at the Subharchord in his studio © WISTA Management GmbH
Gerhard Steinke co-developed the Subharchord, one of East Germany’s most enigmatic instruments. Steinke passed away on 26 May 2025, but his work lives on.
“Music and sound only come into being through listening. When emotions get involved, we store the signal.” This is how sound engineer Gerhard Steinke—a leading figure in audio development in the German-speaking world—described the essence of hearing. Born on 12 August 1927, the audio pioneer also left his mark on Adlershof. In 1956, he founded and managed the so-called laboratory for “acoustic and musical frontiers” at the Broadcasting and Television Technical Central Office, or RFZ, on Agastraße (today named Am Studio). The aim was to discover new sounds for radio plays, animated or feature films, as well as musical works left of the entertainment industry.
Fascinated by the Trautonium—a precursor to today’s synthesizers—Steinke commissioned a new model: the Subharchord, which, unlike the 1930s Trautonium, was to be equipped with a keyboard. The valve-based instrument was developed by the laboratory team around technical designer Ernst Schreiber. The name Subharchord refers to the instrument’s underlying principle: it generates subharmonic sounds, components of a fundamental tone. The sound is altered using filter banks and modulation units. Because it is based on sound synthesis, the Subharchord is, strictly speaking, not a musical instrument but a sound generator.
Six production units of the Subharchord were built. The instrument gained international recognition, and some units were sold abroad—to Bratislava, Prague, and Oslo.
However, its success was short-lived. The 11th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) in 1965—known as Kahlschlag-Plenum, the plenum of cuts—put an end to the “liberalisation in art and culture” and thus to the further development of the Subharchord. In 1968, one model was transferred to Funkhaus Nalepastraße, the GDR’s radio broadcasting house, but officially used only in radio plays. Some experimental productions were created in secret. In 2010, the Subharchord entered the collection of the German Museum of Technology. Thanks to Steinke’s tireless commitment, the sound generator is now on permanent loan from the museum at Funkhaus Nalepastraße—at Studio 3, home to the musician and composer Nils Frahm.
Frahm, who has been running his studio since 2016, had been aware of the Subharchord since his days studying musicology. He had also met Steinke back then during several visits to Funkhaus. Steinke found a kindred spirit in Frahm, who also plays other unusual instruments, such as a glass organ made of interlocking glass bells or a harmonium. One day, Steinke suggested enhancing Frahm’s compositions with subharmonic sounds. At the time, the 150-kilogram Subharchord was still housed at the German Museum of Technology and was not operational. Steinke then proposed moving the instrument to the Funkhaus. Around three years ago, the Subharchord finally made the move, though still not playable.
“When instrument like that is not used for years, like most technical devices, it is subject to deterioration. We knew it wouldn’t be a matter of simply switching it on; it would become a small research project in its own right,” Frahm explains. “We couldn’t find all the documentation like circuit diagrams or photographs. So we worked with limited information and figured out what the Subharchord was meant to sound like.” Technical responsibility lies with Sebastian Singwald, who steps in whenever something breaks or the instrument drifts out of tune.
Frahm feels a strong sense of responsibility that comes with such a rare loan and, in some ways, sees himself as a conservator. His respect for Steinke is evident: “I find it deeply moving that he remained so enthusiastic about this instrument right up until the end of his life—and that he passed that enthusiasm on to me.” For the past three years, the musician has been exploring the Subharchord and its “astonishing range of possibilities for designing sounds”. At the same time, he is aware of its limitations. “With its darker, sometimes shrill tone, its character is predetermined. It’s not necessarily designed to please—it’s an instrument for the fringes of our musical desires.” Frahm hopes to one day use the Subharchord in a project of his own.
Susanne Gietl for Adlershof Journal