Blüthner

The aliquot fourth-string design gives a luminous singing tone like no other.

About Blüthner.

Blüthner is the longest-continuously-family-run piano maker in the world. Founded in Leipzig in 1853 by Julius Blüthner and still owned and run by the family today.

Blüthner’s signature is the patented Aliquot scaling, a fourth, sympathetic string in the upper register that vibrates without being struck. The result is a luminous, singing tone that has won the brand devotees from Debussy and Rachmaninoff through to Paul McCartney.

Built almost entirely from sustainably-sourced European materials. The Leipzig workshop still assembles every instrument by hand.

Blüthner models.

Grand pianos

Model 1Concert 280cm
Model 2240cm
Model 4210cm
Model 6192cm
Model 10165cm
Model 11160cm

Upright pianos

Model A132cm
Model B124cm
Model C118cm
Model D112cm
Model S115cm

The Blüthner history.

Blüthner is the longest continuously family-run piano maker in the world, founded in Leipzig in 1853 by Julius Blüthner and still owned and run by the family today.

1853

A Leipzig family firm.

Julius Blüthner founded the company in Leipzig, then a great centre of European music and publishing. From the outset he sought a tone that would sing rather than merely sound, and built his instruments to the highest standards of the German craft tradition.

1873

Aliquot scaling.

Blüthner patented its signature Aliquot scaling, adding a fourth sympathetic string in the upper register that vibrates without being struck. The result is a shimmering, luminous tone that has remained the brand’s hallmark for a century and a half.

1900

The composers’ piano.

Blüthner became a favourite of composers and performers across Europe. Brahms, Debussy and Rachmaninoff all played Blüthners, drawn to the instrument’s warmth and its singing treble.

1936

Aboard the Hindenburg.

A specially built lightweight Blüthner grand, framed in aluminium and covered in pigskin, flew aboard the airship Hindenburg, played in its lounge high above the Atlantic. It remains one of the most remarkable instruments the firm has ever made.

1945

Rebuilt by the family.

The Leipzig works were destroyed in the war and the firm passed through the difficult decades of a divided Germany. Through it all the Blüthner family retained ownership, rebuilding the company and its reputation.

Today

Sixth generation.

Now in its sixth generation of family ownership, Blüthner still hand-builds every instrument in Leipzig from sustainably sourced European materials, the Aliquot tone as distinctive as ever.

Blüthner in the catalogue.

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