Franz Rausch (1792 in Pest – 17 February 1877 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) was an Austrian piano maker of the 19th century.

Biography

Rausch was the son of Lorenz Rausch and Magdalena, née Flandorfer. His father originally came from

Weitra Weitra (; ) is a small town in the district of Gmünd in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Geography The municipality is situated amidst the extended forests of the rural Waldviertel region, close to the border with the Czech Republic. It is ...

in the

Waldviertel The ''Waldviertel'' (; ; Central Bavarian: ; ) is the northwestern region of the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is bounded to the south by the river Danube, to the southwest by Upper Austria, to the northwest and to the north by the Czech ...

in Lower Austria and had emigrated to Pest as a weaver. In the piano manufactory of the renowned Viennese piano maker

Conrad Graf Conrad Graf (17 November 1782 in Riedlingen, Further Austria – 18 March 1851 in Vienna) was an Austrian-German piano maker. His pianos were used by Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt and Robert and Clara Schumann, among others. Life and caree ...

, Rausch learned the craft of piano maker from 1819 onwards. At that time, Graf's factory was considered the "largest and most renowned in Vienna and the Empire". Pianos were mass-produced in working groups and from 1821, Rausch was largely foreman or plant manager. He made several instruments in his workshop in Wiedner Hauptstraße in Vienna. Visitenkarte Fortepianoerzeuger Franz Rausch

Visitenkarte Fortepianoerzeuger Franz Rausch

His fortepianos were awarded the gold medal in 1839 at the 2nd Austrian General Industrial Product Exhibition for being "most perfect among the many excellent instruments in the exhibition". At the first General German Industrial Exhibition in Munich in 1854, Franz Rausch & Sohn also exhibited "grand piano fortepianos of various constructions" and awarded a medal of honour ("for the production of an excellently executed grand piano-shaped piano of the same good tone"). Twelve children are documented from his marriage to Katharina Wallner (1808–1883) which took place on 20 November 1825 in Schottenfeld near Vienna. The first-born son Franz Georg Rausch Jr. (born 1827) also became a piano maker, patented two improvements for piano construction in 1854, but had to file for bankruptcy in 1865; son Conrad Georg Rausch (born 1833) was an authorized signatory of the Wiener Bankgesellschaft. From 1827 onwards, Rausch's homes and workplaces in the then Viennese suburb of Wieden around Wiedner Hauptstraße are documented. From 1856 till 1865 he lived in Margareten Castle in Vienna.

Rausch's instruments (selection)

Relatively few instruments by Franz Rausch Sr. have survived, about as many

fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

s as

square piano The square piano is a type of piano that has horizontal strings arranged diagonally across the rectangular case above the hammers and with the keyboard set in the long side, with the sounding board above a cavity in the short side. It is variousl ...

s. All instruments were built in the design of the Viennese mechanics. Currently (as of 2024), his instruments are used by numerous pianists in the sense of playing on authentic instruments in accordance with historical performance practice, including pianists like Jörg Demus, Marco Cadario and Eric Zivian. Rausch exported numerous instruments. For example, to the music teacher and piano dealer

Friedrich Wieck Johann Gottlob Friedrich Wieck (18 August 1785 – 6 October 1873) was a noted German piano teacher, voice teacher, owner of a piano store, and author of essays and music reviews. He is remembered as the teacher of his daughter, Clara, a chil ...

( Clara Schumann's father), in Leipzig and Halle, as well as to the Milanese dealer Joseph Prestinari in today's Italy and Slovenia in the Trieste, Milan and Ljubljana area. Below are some examples of instruments: * Square piano from the possession of the Thomaskantor Christian Theodor Weinlig, on which

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

received piano lessons in Leipzig in 1831/1832 () * Square piano owned by the Italian composer

Luigi Ricci Luigi Ricci may refer to: * Luigi Ricci (composer) (1805–1859), Italian composer * Luigi Ricci (vocal coach) (1893–1981), Italian assistant conductor and vocal coach * Gino Ricci (1910-?), Italian javelin thrower {{hndis, Ricci, Luigi ...

* Fortepiano from 1825 in the possession of the Italian pianist Marco Cadario * Fortepiano from 1841 owned by the Canadian pianist Eric Zivian

Recordings on instruments by Franz Rausch (selection)

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

: " The Shepherd on the Rock". In: LP ''Schubertiade'' with

Elly Ameling Elisabeth Sara "Elly" Ameling (born 8 February 1933) is a Dutch soprano, who is particularly known for lieder recitals and for performing works by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performing with distinguished pianists and ensembles around the globe, she w ...

, soprano;

Hans Deinzer Hans Deinzer (14 January 1934 – 26 February 2020) was a clarinetist and clarinet teacher who taught at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater, Hannover for thirty years, and retired in 1996. Biography Born in , Deinzer received his first clar ...

, clarinet;

Jörg Demus Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...

, fortepiano; Harmonia Mundi 20 29315-7, recorded in the Cedar Hall, Kirchheim Castle (1965) on a fortepiano by Franz Rausch (1835) *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

: '' Waldszenen'', "Eintritt", Op. 82, No. 1, recorded by Jörg Demus (1968) on a fortepiano by Rausch (1839)https://www.facebook.com/meloclassic/videos/1847876832024166/ * Recordings on a fortepiano by Franz Rausch (1841) # Franz Schubert: Trio Op. 100 – Andante con moto. Freivogel, Tomkins & Zivian 4K UHD, D. 929 (2017) # Robert Schumann: ''

Dichterliebe ''Dichterliebe'', ''A Poet's Love'' (composed 1840), is the best-known song cycle by Robert Schumann ( Op. 48). The texts for its 16 songs come from the ''Lyrisches Intermezzo'' by Heinrich Heine, written in 1822–23 and published as part of Hein ...

'', Op. 48, voice: Kyle Stegall, fortepiano: Eric Zivian (2023) #

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

: Préludes Op. 28, No. 20 in C minor, fortepiano: Eric Zivian (2024) # Frédéric Chopin: Waltz in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2 "Valse Brillante". Fortepiano: Audrey Vardanega (2023) *

Johann Ladislaus Dussek Jan Ladislav Dussek (baptized Jan Václav Dusík,#Cernusak, Černušák, p. 271 with surname also written as Duschek or Düssek; 12 February 176020 March 1812) was a Czech Republic, Czech classical period (music), classical period composer and v ...

: "Tableau de la situation de Marie Antoinette Reine de France depuis son emprisonement jusqu au dernier moment de sa vie". Recording by Marco Cadario in 2007 on a fortepiano by Franz Rausch (1825)

Biography

Rausch's instruments (selection)

Recordings on instruments by Franz Rausch (selection)

References

Further reading