Bösendorfer
Klavierfabrik - (en)
Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is a piano manufacturer,
a wholly owned subsidiary of the BAWAG PSK Gruppe, and is based in Vienna,
Austria.
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's logo is written in the Notre Dame Roman typeface by
Linotype.
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.
Models
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
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.
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.
Designed models
Several people, including Giorgio and Ferdinand Alexander Porsche have
designed pianos for Bösendorfer.
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. 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.
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 have chosen the Bösendorfer for this reason, while it has
not distinguished itself nearly as much in the classical world.
