August Förster is a German

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 ...

manufacturing company (also rendered "Foerster," occasionally "Forster," officially "August Förster GmbH Kunsthandwerklicher Flügel-und-Pianobau") that currently has a staff of 40 employees and produces around 120

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 keybo ...

s and 150 uprights per year.

History

On April 1, 1859, August Förster opened a small piano workshop in

Löbau Löbau ( Upper Sorbian: Lubij) is a city in the east of Saxony, Germany, in the traditional region of Upper Lusatia. It is situated between the slopes of the Löbauer Berg and the fertile hilly area of the Upper Lusatian Mountains. It is the ga ...

, Germany, expanding to a factory on Löbau's Jahn Street in 1862."Geschichte"
, ''Official Website of August Förster GmbH'', 2005. Accessed April 11, 2009."Förster"
''Grove Music Online'', 2009. Accessed 19 April 2009. (subscription required) Still in use today, this facility has been enlarged and modernized by the Förster family and remains the exclusive site for the manufacture of the original August Förster piano. In 1897, Caesar Förster succeeded his father August as manager of the company and opened a second factory in Jiříkov, Bohemia (later

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

) in 1900. The owner Franz Cäsar Förster was awarded an imperial and royal warrant of appointment 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 1937 the company manufactured one of the first

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of a piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations ...

s, the “Vierling-Förster” piano, developed by Oskar Vierling at the Heinrich Institute for Oscillation Research at the

Technical University of Berlin The Technical University of Berlin (official name both in English and german: link=no, Technische Universität Berlin, also known as TU Berlin and Berlin Institute of Technology) is a public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was ...

using

electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions o ...

pickups. In 1948 the factory in Jiříkov was nationalized. Under new state-sanctioned management many pianos of good quality were produced, but since 1948 the Czechoslovak-made pianos have had no connection or relationship to the German August Förster piano. This "other" August Förster is currently produced in the Czech Republic by the

Petrof Petrof is a Czech piano manufacturer founded in 1864. It is the leading European piano manufacturer, exporting to more than 60 countries. History The company was founded in 1864 in Hradec Králové, Kingdom of Bohemia, by Antonín Petr ...

Piano Company and sold in Canada and certain European countries. In 1972, the final phase of East German nationalization transformed the company into the state-owned "VEB Flügel-und-Pianobau Löbau." Although still under the management of Wolfgang Förster, the company was annexed as part of the German Piano-Union, Leipzig. The family name was added back into the official company name in 1976, resulting in instruments branded "VEB Förster Pianos Löbau." Also in 1976, the company began its first exports to the United States.

Noted Customers

Many prominent musicians have favored the German-made Förster piano. Among them have been

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

and

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, ...

, both owners of Förster pianos, and

Giacomo Puccini Giacomo Puccini ( Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long ...

, who wrote a number of his operas while working at a Förster piano. Robert Fischer, Alex Duke and

Anton Kuerti Anton Emil Kuerti, OC (born July 21, 1938) is an Austrian-born Canadian pianist, music teacher, composer, and conductor. He has developed international recognition as a solo pianist.Larry Fine Louis Feinberg (October 5, 1902 – January 24, 1975), known professionally as Larry Fine, was an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is best known as a member of the comedy act the Three Stooges. Early life Fine was born to a Russian Je ...

, the German-made August Förster piano receives the highest possible rating in the areas of performance, quality control, and confidence (Fine's term for general durability). In his "High Quality Performance Pianos" category, Fine ranks the modern August Förster piano as just below such internationally respected instruments as

C. Bechstein C. Bechstein Pianoforte AG (also known as Bechstein, ) is a German manufacturer of pianos, established in 1853 by Carl Bechstein. History Before Bechstein Young Carl Bechstein studied and worked in France and England as a piano craftsman, be ...

, Grotrian, and

Bösendorfer Bösendorfer (L. Bösendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH) is an Austrian piano manufacturer and, since 2008, a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation. Bösendorfer is unusual in that it produces 97- and 92- key models in addition to instrum ...

. In addition, Fine praises the modern Förster piano for its "remarkable bass," and also comments on a particular "responsiveness" of the Renner action when observed in the Förster application.

In popular culture

An August Förster piano was seen by audiences worldwide as the featured instrument in the movie '' The Pianist''.

Current Grand Piano Models

Current Upright Piano Models

References

External links

Official homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, August Companies based in Saxony German brands Löbau Piano manufacturing companies of Germany Purveyors to the Imperial and Royal Court