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 the leading European piano manufacturer, exporting to more than 60 countries. [2] [3]

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. [4] 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. [5] 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. [6] 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. [7] [1] Petrof is known for several innovations, such as ways to adjust the mechanics and particularly pressure point through magnetic systems. [8] [9]

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] [10]

Models

Grand pianos

Current Grand Piano Models: [11]

Upright pianos

Current Upright Piano Models: [12]

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. ↑ "PETROF: Europe's largest maker of acoustic pianos". Radio Prague International. 7 December 2022.
  4. ↑ Handbuch des Allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates Seiner K. und K. Apostolischen Majestät., Vienna: K.k. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, 1917, p. 517
  5. ↑ NA PETROF HRAJE I PAUL MCCARTNEY - MAPA ÚSPĚCHU
  6. ↑ Neuveden (1998-02-28). "Petrof – Privatization". radio.cz . Český rozhlas. Archived from the original on 2013-02-10. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  7. ↑ "History, PETROF, spol. s r.o." Petrof.com.
  8. ↑ "PETROF Company history". Petrof.cz (in German). Petrof. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
  9. ↑ "From a Koeniggraetz-based workshop to all over the world", Prager Zeitung (in German), Prag: Prago Media, 2009-08-19
  10. ↑ Petrof famous owners and admirers
  11. ↑ "PETROF Grand pianos". www.petrof.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  12. ↑ "Upright pianos". www.petrof.com. Retrieved 2020-12-11.

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