Schweighofer is one of Vienna's most famous piano houses, as well as its
oldest, having been formally established in 1792. Its founder was Michael
Schweighofer, who lived from 1771 to 1809. The company was responsible for
many innovations in the early history of piano manufacture. Schweighofer won the Gold medal at the Vienna exhibition
of 1845.
After Michael's premature death, the business was carried on by his widow
(who re-married the piano maker Promberger) and
later by his son, Johann Michael (1806-1852, Vienna). He traveled as journeyman to
England, France and Germany, probably after an apprenticeship with Promberger, and returned to Vienna in 1832. Johann Michael Schweighofer applied enhanced knowledge and techniques diligently to the piano manufacture.
The pianos he built bear the inscription "J. M.
Schweighofer [in Wien]" Subsequently, the business was carried on by the third generation, with sons
Johann III and Carl taking the reins; the pianos were now bore the inscription "J.
M. Schweighofer's Söhne in Wien".
New findings:
Towards the end of the 1920's, the
Schweighofer company was taken over by two unrelated persons, the piano
dealer Bernhard Kohn and the piano builder Karbach, presumed to be a former
employee of Schweighofer. At the same time, a descendant of the Schweighofer
family opened a parallel piano factory and built instruments under the
Schweighofer name. To distinguish them, Kohn &
Karbach put sometime after 1920 the Schweighofer
Original inscription on their instruments and added the
Karbach name on the soundboards.
The Schweighofer (Kohn &
Karbach) company produced pianos until 1938 when it was closed because Kohn
was Jewish. It isn't known what happened to the other company, owned by the
Schweighofer family descendant.
Schweighofer
pianos are
still highly respected for their rich, powerful sound and finely crafted
construction. Throughout its long history, the company remained
committed to the highest standards and incorporated new inventions in their
pianos earlier than other Austrian piano makers (such as duplex scaling,
Anglo-German and double escapement repetition actions, full cast iron frames
etc.) The company produced a relatively small number of pianos per year (usually less than 200), accounting for their rarity
today.
Click
here
for a list of Schweighofer serial numbers
and corresponding manufacturing years.
