Petrof is a Czech

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

manufacturer founded in 1864. It is the leading

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an piano manufacturer, exporting to more than 60 countries.Northwest Pianos, Petrof
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History

The company was founded in 1864 in Hradec Králové,

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

, by

Antonín Petrof Antonín Petrof (August 15, 1839 – September 9, 1915) was a Bohemian piano maker. Biography In 1857, when Petrof was 18 years old, he was visited by his maternal uncle Jan Heitzmann at his family's Hradec Králové home. Heitzmann and his partne ...

(d. 1915), who had apprenticed at

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

companies such as Heintzman & Co.,

Friedrich Ehrbar Friedrich Ehrbar was a piano manufacturer in Vienna, Austria. History Friedrich Ehrbar (1827-1905) took over the company in 1857 after the passing of (1819-1855). In 1876 he had the Palais Ehrbar with its own concert hall constructed, in whi ...

and

Schweighofer Schweighofer was a piano manufacturer from Vienna, Austria. History Schweighofer is one of Vienna's most famous piano houses, as well as its oldest, having been established in 1792 by Michael Schweighofer (1771–1809). The company applied ...

. The owner Antonín Petrof was awarded an imperial and

royal warrant of appointment Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to tradespeople who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The royal warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the issuer of ...

to the court of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. In 1924 the company was exporting its pianos to Europe, Japan, China, Australia and South America. At the World Exhibition 1934 in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, the Petrof instruments won the gold medal. At that time, approximately 400 people worked at their factory. In 1948, Petrof was nationalized. The company was returned to the Petrof family in 1991. Petrof is currently led by two sisters from the fifth generation of the Petrof family and produces annually approximately 2,000

grand piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

s and 12,000 upright pianos. Petrof is known for several innovations, such as ways to adjust the mechanics and particularly pressure point through magnetic systems.

Notable performers

Petrof pianos have had many famous admirers, including among others:

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Sviatoslav Richter, Count Basie, Richard Clayderman,

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...

and Mark Levinson.

Models

Grand pianos

Current Grand Piano Models: * Master Series ** P 284 Mistral: 284 cm (9'4") ** P 237 Monsoon: 237 cm (7'9") ** P 210 Pasat: 210 cm (6'10") * Standard Series ** P 194 Storm: 194 cm (6'4") ** P 173 Breeze: 173 cm (5'8") ** P 159 Bora: 159 cm (5'3")

Upright pianos

Current Upright Piano Models: * Highest Series ** P 135 K1: 135 cm (53 1/8") ** P 131 M1: 131 cm (51 1/2") * Higher Series ** P 125 G1: 125 cm (49 1/4") ** P 125 F1: 125 cm (49 1/4") ** P 125 K1: 125 cm (49 1/4") ** P 125 M1: 125 cm (49 1/4") ** P 122 N2: 122 cm (48") ** P 122 H1: 122 cm (48") * Middle Series ** P 118 P1: 118 cm (46 1/2") ** P 118 M1: 118 cm (46 1/2") ** P 118 S1: 118 cm (46 1/2")

References

External links

Official siteNAMM Oral History Interview
Jan Petrof, past president (2012)
NAMM Oral History Interview
Martin Kobza, instrument designer (2012)
NAMM Oral History Interview
Zuzana Petrofová, president (2012) {{Authority control Companies established in 1864 Piano manufacturing companies Czech brands Hradec Králové Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the Czech Republic Purveyors to the Imperial and Royal Court Piano makers