Feurich Pianoforte GmbH
TypePrivate
IndustryMusical instruments
Founded1851 (1851)
FounderJulius Gustav Feurich
Headquarters
Leipzig
,
Germany
ProductsPianos
Websitefeurich.com/en

Feurich (Feurich Pianoforte GmbH) is a piano company founded in 1851 in Leipzig, Germany, by Julius Gustav Feurich, which has been family operated for five generations. The company is renowned for the quality of its pianos.

Since 2011, Feurich has been owned by the Austrian piano manufacturer formerly known as Wendl & Lung, and the bulk of its manufacturing is carried out in China, except for the upright piano 123 – Vienna, which is manufactured in Vienna, Austria.[1] In 2021, Feurich - Wendl&Lung GmbH was renamed Feurich Pianoforte GmbH.[2]

History

J. Feurich piano (Museum of History, Ulan-Ude, Eastern Siberia).

Artisanal piano making has a long tradition in Saxony. The city of Leipzig was, along with Paris, London, and Vienna, one of the pillars of European musical culture and music capital of the German Empire. In addition to its great cultural heritage, the city of Leipzig was also an excellent trading venue with a lot of national contacts and a prosperous middle class. Here Julius Gustav Feurich founded the piano factory, Feurich, in 1851.[3]

By 1860, more than 400 instruments were manufactured and sold. Julius Feurich worked to expand his business and in the following years a larger and more modern factory was built allowing for ever greater quantities to be produced. By the turn of the twentieth century, nearly 14,000 uprights and grand pianos were manufactured.

The owner Hermann Feurich was awarded an imperial and royal warrant of appointment to the court of Austria-Hungary.[4]

Feurich was one of the greatest German piano companies, but it was located in a major city that was bombed heavily during World War II and the factory was destroyed. After the war, as East Germany was behind the Iron Curtain during Germany's partition, exports went to nearly zero. The factory was re-located to the outskirts of Gunzenhausen (West Germany) in 1959.[3]

In 2011, Feurich was sold to Wendl & Lung, similar to Feurich's and their successor firm a traditional piano manufacturer based in Vienna, Austria. Wendl & Lung picked up Feurich pianos again, based on the same constructions as before. Wendl & Lung models were also renamed as Feurich.[5]

Today, Feurich grand pianos and upright pianos are produced at Hailun Piano Company factory in Ningbo, China with the exception of the upright piano 123 – Vienna made in Vienna, Austria.[6][7]

Current Grand Piano Models

Model[8] Length Weight
162 – Dynamic I 162 cm 322 kg
179 – Dynamic II 179 cm 350 kg
218 – Concert I 218 cm 390 kg

Current Upright Piano Models

Model[8][9] Height Weight
115 – Premiere 115 cm 212 kg
122 – Universal 122 cm 220 kg
125 – Design 125 cm 220 kg
133 – Concert 133 cm 270 kg
123 – Vienna 123 cm 250 kg

References

  1. ↑ "Facing the music: how China is buying Germany's piano industry". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2017-08-04.
  2. ↑ "Impressum". Klaviergalerie (in German). Retrieved 2021-03-15.
  3. 1 2 "History".
  4. ↑ Handbuch des Allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates Seiner K. und K. Apostolischen Majestät., Vienna: K.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1917, p. 519
  5. ↑ "Feurich". Sussex Pianos. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  6. ↑ "FEURICH Ningbo". FEURICH. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  7. ↑ "FEURICH Vienna". FEURICH. Retrieved 2020-12-29.
  8. 1 2 "Classic Pianos". FEURICH. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  9. ↑ "Vienna Pianos". FEURICH. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
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