Petrof

Last updated
Petrof
Industry Musical instruments
Founded1864
Founder Antonín Petrof
Headquarters Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Zuzana Ceralová Petrofová
Products Grand pianos and upright pianos
Production output
Yearly around 2,000 new grand pianos and 12,000 uprights [1]
Number of employees
about 1,000 [1]
Website petrof.com
Petrof Grand Piano at exhibition Building Fairs Brno 2011 (199).jpg
Petrof Grand Piano at exhibition
1895 ad for Petrof pianos Inzerat Petrof 1895.jpg
1895 ad for Petrof pianos

Petrof is a Czech piano manufacturer founded in 1864. It is a leading European piano manufacturer, exporting to more than 60 countries. [2]

Contents

History

The company was founded in 1864 in Hradec Králové, Kingdom of Bohemia, by Antonín Petrof (d. 1915), who had apprenticed at Viennese companies such as Heintzman & Co., Friedrich Ehrbar and Schweighofer.

The owner Antonín Petrof was awarded an imperial and royal warrant of appointment to the court of Austria-Hungary. [3] In 1924 the company was exporting its pianos to Europe, Japan, China, Australia and South America.

At the World Exhibition 1934 in Brussels, the Petrof instruments won the gold medal. [4] At that time, approximately 400 people worked at their factory.

After the 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, the company was nationalized.

In 1991, the company was returned to the Petrof family. [5] Petrof is currently led by two sisters from the fifth generation of the Petrof family and produces annually approximately 2,000 grand pianos and 12,000 upright pianos. [6] [1] Petrof is known for several innovations, such as ways to adjust the mechanics and particularly pressure point through magnetic systems. [7] [8]

After 1993, the piano company G. Rösler of Česká Lípa, Bohemia was acquired.

Notable performers

Petrof pianos have been used by many famous musicians, including among others: Ray Charles, Paul McCartney, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Sviatoslav Richter, Count Basie, Richard Clayderman, Ennio Morricone, Renato Carosone and Mark Levinson. [2] [9]

Models

Grand pianos

Current Grand Piano Models: [10]

Upright pianos

Current Upright Piano Models: [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonín Dvořák</span> Czech composer (1841–1904)

Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predecessor Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák's style has been described as "the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them," and Dvořák has been described as "arguably the most versatile... composer of his time".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Czechs</span> West Slavic ethnic group

The Czechs, or the Czech people, are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, culture, history, and the Czech language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korg</span> Japanese musical instrument company

KORG Inc., founded as Keio Electronic Laboratories, is a Japanese multinational corporation that manufactures electronic musical instruments, audio processors and guitar pedals, recording equipment, and electronic tuners. Under the Vox brand name, they also manufacture guitar amplifiers and electric guitars.

Kawai Musical Instruments Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a musical instrument manufacturing company headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan. It is best known for its grand pianos, upright pianos, digital pianos, electronic keyboards and electronic synthesizers. The company was founded in August 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breitkopf & Härtel</span> Music publisher in Leipzig, Germany

Breitkopf & Härtel is a German music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mason & Hamlin</span> American piano manufacturer

Mason & Hamlin is an American manufacturer of handcrafted grand and upright pianos, currently based in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1854, it is one of two surviving American piano manufacturers from the "Golden Age" of pianos, although some smaller piano manufacturers have since started in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Lee Music</span>

Tom Lee Music is a musical retail company, Tom Lee Music Hong Kong was founded in 1953 by Thomas T.V. Lee. Tom Lee Music Canada was founded in 1969 and operate independently from the Asia operation. The Canadian head office is located in Vancouver. Tom Lee Music Hong Kong has 15 stores in Hong Kong and 1 in Macau. The thirty thousand square feet flagship store in Tsim Sha Tsui is one of largest musical instruments and accessories retailers in South East Asia, offering the most extensive range of product including pianos, guitars, amplifiers, percussion, electronic keyboards, music publications, professional and personal audio products. Tom Lee Music also offers the Yamaha Music Program. In 1960, Tom Lee Music became the exclusive distributor of Yamaha musical instruments and audio equipment in Hong Kong. The Canadian operation operates 12 locations across Canada under the Tom Lee Music and Steinway Piano Gallery names.

The Baldwin Piano Company is an American piano brand. It was once the largest US-based manufacturer of keyboard instruments and was known by the slogan, "America's Favorite Piano". Since 2001, it has been a subsidiary of Gibson Brands, Inc. Baldwin ceased domestic production in December 2008, moving its piano manufacturing to China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Förster</span> German piano manufacturer

August Förster is a German piano manufacturing company that currently has a staff of 40 employees and produces around 120 grand pianos and 150 uprights per year.

<i>Slavonic Dances</i> Orchestral works by Antonín Dvořák

The Slavonic Dances are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72 respectively. Originally written for piano four hands, the Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms's own Hungarian Dances and were orchestrated at the request of Dvořák's publisher soon after composition. The pieces, lively and full of national character, were well received at the time and today are considered among the composer's most memorable works, occasionally making appearances in popular culture. “Contrary to what the title might suggest, the dances are not so much inspired by Slavic folk music generally, but specifically by styles and forms from Bohemia. In these pieces, Dvořák never actually quotes folk melodies, but evokes their style and spirit by using traditional rhythmic patterns and structures in keeping with traditional folk dances.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sebo</span> Brand name of vacuum cleaners

SEBO is the brand name of vacuum cleaners made by Stein & Co GmbH, a company based in the German town of Velbert. They produce a range of upright and cylinder vacuum cleaners for domestic and commercial use. SEBO stands for SEmigewerbliche BOdenpflege, German for semi-commercial floor care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilhelm Schimmel</span> German piano manufacturer

Schimmel is a German piano maker with factories in Braunschweig, Germany and Kalisz, Poland. Their product line has been described as "the most highly awarded German piano".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Music</span> American music publishing company

Alfred Music is an American music publishing company. Founded in New York in 1922, it is headquartered in Van Nuys, California, with additional branches in Miami, New York, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norbert Putnam</span> American record producer and musician (born 1942)

Norbert Auvin Putnam is an American musician, studio owner and record producer who was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2019. He got his start as a bass player in the studio house band in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and from there was recruited to move to Nashville in 1965. He became a successful session player on recordings by artists including Roy Orbison, Al Hirt, Henry Mancini, Dan Fogelberg, Linda Ronstadt, J. J. Cale, Tony Joe White, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Michael Card, Ian & Sylvia and Bobby Goldsboro. Putnam published a memoir in 2017 entitled Music Lessons Vol. 1: a Musical Memoir, in which he chronicled recording sessions with Elvis Presley and other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steingraeber & Söhne</span>

The Steingraeber Piano Manufactory is a major German manufacturer of grand and upright pianos. The family business was founded 1852 in Bayreuth, where the instruments are still manufactured today. It has its headquarters in Steingraeber Haus, a historic Rococo palace. Fanny and Alban Steingraeber run the company in the seventh generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grotrian-Steinweg</span> Company

Grotrian-Steinweg, known as Grotrian in the US, is a German manufacturer of prestige pianos. The company is based in Braunschweig, Germany, commonly known as Brunswick in English. Grotrian-Steinweg makes premium grand pianos and upright pianos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Echedemos</span>

Echedemos was a Greek statesman of ancient Athens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steinway Vertegrand</span>

The Model K or "Vertegrand" is an upright piano introduced in 1903 by Steinway & Sons. It is the oldest essentially unchanged upright piano design currently in mass production. Although production was interrupted from about 1939 until its reappearance in 1982, the structural design has remained essentially the same for well over a century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonín Petrof</span>

Antonín Petrof was a Czech entrepreneur and piano maker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neo-Bechstein</span> Type of electric grand piano

Neo-Bechstein or Bechstein-Siemens-Nernst-Flügel were a set of electric grand pianos that were primarily built by Walther Nernst in the 1930s. Improvising upon an electrical prototype by Oskar Vierling, the design was executed around 1922, and the first of the set was marketed in 1931 to critical acclaim. The mechanics of the piano were implemented by the C. Bechstein company and the valve electronics were created by Siemens & Halske. The design belonged to a newer generation of electric pianos that eliminated the presence of any sound board.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Drnek Piana - Klavíry a pianina značky PETROF". Pianos.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 Northwest Pianos, Petrof
  3. Handbuch des Allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates Seiner K. und K. Apostolischen Majestät., Vienna: K.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1917, p. 517
  4. NA PETROF HRAJE I PAUL MCCARTNEY - MAPA ÚSPĚCHU
  5. Neuveden (1998-02-28). "Petrof – Privatization". radio.cz . Český rozhlas. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  6. "History, PETROF, spol. s r.o." Petrof.com.
  7. "PETROF Company history". Petrof.cz (in German). Petrof. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  8. "From a Koeniggraetz-based workshop to all over the world", Prager Zeitung (in German), Prag: Prago Media, 2009-08-19
  9. Petrof famous owners and admirers
  10. "PETROF Grand pianos". www.petrof.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  11. "Upright pianos". www.petrof.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.

50°11′31.75″N15°51′3.33″E / 50.1921528°N 15.8509250°E / 50.1921528; 15.8509250