Schweighofer was a piano manufacturer from

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. ...

, Austria.

History

Schweighofer is one of Vienna's most famous piano houses, as well as its oldest, having been established in 1792 by Michael Schweighofer (1771–1809). The company applied many innovations in the early history of piano manufacture. Schweighofer won the gold medal at the

exhibition of 1845. It has a history of producing highly respected instruments; in 1845, it was granted the status of official piano maker to the

Emperor of Austria The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorr ...

. Michael Schweighofer came from Rincha,

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and moved to Vienna, where he opened his piano company in 1792, becoming a citizen in 1801. The only extant instrument made by him survives in the Kunsthistorisches Museum of Vienna. He was married to Anna Wißgill Schweighofer (1780–1822) with whom he had three children. After Michael Schweighofer's premature death in 1809, the business was carried on by his widow Anna Wißgill Schweighofer (1780–1822) who remarried the piano maker Joseph Promberger. The firm was known as Schweighofer und Promberger. Michael's son, Johann Michael (1806–1852, Vienna), probably learned his craft from Promberger. Then he traveled as a journeyman to England, France and Germany, returning to Vienna in 1832 to carry on the piano business under the Schweighofer name. Johann Michael Schweighofer applied enhanced knowledge and techniques diligently to the piano manufacture, leading to the winning of the gold medal at the Vienna exhibition of 1845. The pianos he built bear the inscription "J. M. Schweighofer n Wien Subsequently, the business was carried on by the third and fourth generations: After Johann Michael's death in 1852, his oldest son Carl Schweighofer (1839–1905) took over the company. Under his management, the company won further prizes at the German industry exhibition in Munich, 1854, and at the World Exhibition in Paris, 1867. The same year, Carl's brother Johann Michael (1840–1899) joined the company. Their pianos bore the inscription "J. M. Schweighofer's Söhne in Wien". In 1869 the company was awarded the title "k.k. Hof-Pianoforte-Fabrikanten" by the Viennese imperial court and in 1873 it received the Honorary diploma of the Vienna World Exhibition. In 1906, Carl's son Johann took over the company. In 1911/1912 the J. M. Schweighofer's Söhne company was sold to the piano dealer Bernhard Kohn and his associate Friedrich Karbach, a musician and composer, presumed to be a former employee of Schweighofer. Later they were joined by dr. Oskar Karbach. Around the same time, a presumed descendant of the Schweighofer family opened a parallel factory (Johann Michael Schweighofer GmbH) and built pianos under the Schweighofer name, which led to legal complications. To distinguish their pianos, Kohn & Karbach put sometime after 1920 the Schweighofer Original inscription on their instruments and added the Karbach name on the soundboards. 1938 Karbach and Kohn, who were Jewish, were expropriated under the Nazi regime and the company was subsequently led by Friedrich Ehrbar jr., another Viennese piano maker, until 1940 when it was closed. The other company, owned by the Schweighofer family descendant, also disappeared during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Products

Schweighofer pianos are still highly respected for their rich, powerful sound and finely crafted construction. Throughout its long history, the company remained committed to the highest standards and incorporated new inventions in their pianos earlier than other Austrian piano makers (such as duplex scaling, Anglo-German and double escapement repetition actions, full cast iron frames etc.) The company produced a relatively small number of pianos per year (usually less than 200), accounting for their rarity today.

Trivia

The grave of Carl Schweighofer, located on the

Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's biggest cemet ...

in Vienna, is featured in the video and on the cover art for the 1981

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single "

References

* Martha Novak Clinkscale, "Makers of the Piano: 1820-1860", Oxford University Press 1999 * Schweighofer 100-year Jubilee Catalogue (published in 1892) "Die Pianoforte von Schweighofer"

External links

The Historical Schweighofer Piano Website – history, piano models and serial number list

Piano; A history, By Robert Palmieri, Margaret W. Palmieri
{{Authority control Companies established in 1792 Piano manufacturing companies of Austria Musical instrument manufacturing companies based in Vienna Purveyors to the Imperial and Royal Court Companies acquired from Jews under Nazi rule