Pianos made by: L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH, Vienna, Austria
Bösendorfer was established by Ignaz Bösendorfer in 1828 in Vienna, Austria. Bösendorfer apprenticed with well known Viennese piano maker, Joseph Brodmann, eventually taking over the workshop and staring out on his own. His main goal as a piano builder was to keep the warm, mellow sound of a Viennese piano while increasing its power, volume and sustain. He achieved this, as Franz Liszt’s endorsement recognized it to be a piano (the only piano) that could handle his powerful playing, and writing “The perfection of a Bösendorfer exceeds my most ideal expectations…”
When Ignaz died in 1858, his son Ludwig took over and the company prospered under his direction. In 1909, Ludwig sold the firm to friend, Carl Hutterstrasser. In 1931 Alexander and Wolfgang Hutterstrasser, Carl’s sons, became partners.
In 1966 U.S. manufacturer, Kimball International, purchased Bösendorfer. Kimball exited the piano manufacturing business in the late 1990s, and by 2002, Bösendorfer was purchased by BAWAG, a large Austrian banking group.
In 2007 BAWAG was then acquired by Cerberus Capital Management, a New York investment firm.
In February 2008, Bösendorfer became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Yamaha
Corp. of Japan after they purchased all their shares from BAWAG.
Official Website: www.bosendorfer.com
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