Johann Peter Fritz was a
piano maker based in
Vienna. He was one of Vienna's most distinguished piano makers. His pianos were valued for good quality and melodiousness. It is known, that
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...
was very fond of Johann Fritz's pianos and used the Viennese 6-pedal Fritz piano from the time of
Rigoletto in 1851 to
Aida in 1871. This exact piano can be seen in the composer's
Villa Verdi in
Province of Piacenza in
Italy.
After Johann Fritz's death, his son Joseph (born in Vienna, 1808), continued the firm, apparently under the original name. He seemed to have moved his workshop to
Graz
Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
in the late 1830s, after 1837.
[ ]
Some of Johann Fritz's instruments survived until today and are presented in museums such as
The Museum of Musical Instruments in
Milan,
The Museum of Fine Arts in
Boston, and the
Finchcocks Museum in
Tunbridge Wells,
Kent.
Fritz died in 1834 in Vienna.
Recordings made with original Fritz pianos
* Anneke Scott, Steven Devine. Ludwig van Beethoven. ''Beyond Beethoven: Works for natural horn and fortepiano''. Label: Resonus
References
External links
Johann Fritz FortepianoFF - f4 after Fritz, ca. 1812Salviamo Villa Verdi. Lanciata una campagna di raccolta fondi online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz, Johann Peter
Piano makers
1834 deaths
Year of birth missing
Businesspeople from Vienna