Bösendorfer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH | |
 |
|
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1828 |
| Headquarters | Vienna, Austria |
| Key people | Ignaz Bösendorfer, Founder |
| Industry | Musical instruments |
| Products | pianos |
| Website | www.boesendorfer.com |
Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is a piano manufacturer, a wholly owned subsidiary of the BAWAG PSK Gruppe, and is based in Vienna, Austria.
Contents |
[edit] History
Established by Ignaz Bösendorfer in 1828, Bösendorfer is the oldest piano manufacturer still producing its own instruments today and has had a history of producing some of the finest instruments in the world. In 1830, it was granted the status of official piano maker to the Emperor. Ignaz's son Ludwig Bösendorfer (April 15, 1835 – May 9, 1919) took over in 1859, operating from new premises from 1860. Between 1872 and its closure in 1913, the associated Bösendorfer-Saal was one of the premier concert halls of Vienna. In 1909, the company was sold to Carl Hutterstrasser, who was succeeded by his sons Alexander and Wolfgang in 1931. In 1966 Bösendorfer was taken over by the Jasper Corporation (later renamed Kimball International), parent company of Kimball Pianos, where it remained before returning to Austrian hands when it was purchased by BAWAG PSK Gruppe in 2001. The company is currently experiencing financial difficulty, and is for sale.
Bösendorfer pioneered the extension of the typical 88-key keyboard, creating the Imperial Grand (Model 290), which has 97 keys, and later the Model 225, which has 92. One of the earliest and most important artists to be associated with Bösendorfer was Franz Liszt, who found that their pianos and those of the Bechstein company were the only instruments capable of withstanding his tremendously powerful playing. Still today Bösendorfer is known as a piano that will withstand the rigors of concert halls and tours.
The latest development in the Bösendorfer range is CEUS - a computer controlled grand piano. This option can be fitted to most Bösendorfer pianos to allow the direct recording of pieces whilst capturing all the subtle nuances of a performance.
[edit] Models
[edit] Standard Black Models
| Model # | Length | Keys |
|---|---|---|
| 170 | 5' 8" | 88 |
| 185 | 6' 1" | 88 |
| 200 | 6' 7" | 88 |
| 214 | 7' | 88 |
| 225 | 7' 4" | 92 |
| 280 | 9' 2" | 88 |
| 290 | 9' 6" | 97 |
| 130CL | Upright | 88 |
[edit] Conservatory Series
In order to appeal to a wider market, Bösendorfer designed the Conservatory Series for colleges and universities who could not afford Bösendorfer's standard black model pianos. The production of the two CS Series pianos spends less time in "non-critical areas," cutting down costs of production and purchase, making them more affordable than standard models.
[edit] Special and Limited editions
Bösendorfer has a number of specially designed pianos named after famous composers such as Franz Schubert and Frédéric Chopin, as well as pianos designed for special occasions, such as Bösendorfer's 170th and 175th anniversaries.
[edit] Designed models
Several people, including Giorgio and Ferdinand Alexander Porsche have designed pianos for Bösendorfer. Many people cite the recent policy of the company to concentrate too strongly on the marketing and promotion of their designer range rather than their definitive models as a major factor in the company's recent economic failure.
For example, there are only 2 Hans Hollein specially designed Bösendorfer Imperial Grand pianos in the world. One is located at the Grand Bohemian hotel in Orlando, Florida. The other is in Shanghai, China[citation needed]. The Bösendorfer in Orlando was constructed out of 80% of the same wood and has brass legs worth $14,000.00 each. The value of the Hollein Bösendorfers is estimated at $250,000.00 each.
[edit] Characteristics
The Bösendorfer sound is usually described as darker or richer than the more pure but less full-bodied sound of other pianos like the Steinway or Yamaha. On the Imperial Grand, this is due in part to the inclusion of 9 additional bass notes below bottom A (the Imperial Grand has 97 keys, compared to the more usual 88). The strings for these notes are not often struck, since very little music has been composed to make use of them. However, the strings for these notes do resonate when other strings in the piano are struck, and their presence contributes to the additional body in the tone of these pianos.
Music written to include rich harmonic colorations, such as bebop, is often written in such a way that the player plays the upper parts of a musical chord's harmonic series (3rds, 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths, for example) without playing the tonic note of that chord. In these cases, it is up to the listener's ear to "replace" the missing tonic, revealing the chord's basis. However, the Bosendorfer's additional strings generate - albeit at low volume - the tonic by vibrating sympathetically with the played notes, contributing further to the fullness of the sound.
Classical music typically does not omit the tonic note (at least not for very long), and so derives a smaller advantage, if any, from these extra strings. As a result of this acoustic behavior, many jazz pianists such as Oscar Peterson and artists in the pop genre such as Tori Amos have chosen the Bösendorfer for this reason, while it has not distinguished itself nearly as much in the classical world.
[edit] External links
- L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH
- Bösendorfer in photoarchive
- My Bösendorfer Imperial — dedicated to a Model 290 with article about the piano and some artists who play it, specs, images and audio files
