THE BÖSENDORFER LEGACY

On 25 July 1828, Ignaz Bösendorfer was issued the trade license number 225 669, and with it the right to take up residence in Vienna, to manufacture pianos, and to pay taxes. This sober award marks the beginning of a great and glorious history of a piano house that has not only been closely linked with Vienna's musical development throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, but has also been the sole piano maker to continuously uphold the Viennese piano making tradition, continuously developing and refining it to the present day.

Since being founded in 1828 Bösendorfer has had only four owners. This is a rather unique fact in today’s fast moving business world, and something of which Bösendorfer is very proud. This is one of the reasons they have been able to maintain the highest quality in their pianos, and remain faithful to their traditional heritage.
The tradition of hand craftsmanship is central to the Bösendorfer philosophy. It is the trademark of the Bösendorfer factory which is famous throughout the world. Hand-cragtsmanship fosters extreme attention to details, and the maximum possible quality control.

Bösendorfer is known as the „Slowest Piano Builder” in the world. It takes about 62 weeks to produce one grand piano. If the time spent aging the wood is included the piano can take up to seven years to build.

WOOD

Narrow, evenly spaced growth rings are an essential requirement for the best sound transmission. Only wood of the finest quality is good enough to make a Bösendorfer grand piano. For the sound-board and ribs, we use spruce from Val di Fiemme in Italy. In this region, the trees grow slowly at altitudes of over 1,000m, where air humidity is relatively low. These excellent climatic conditions
are the foundation of the Fiemme Valley's centuries-old tradition as a source of high-quality wood for the production of musical instruments. After the wood has been expertly harvested, it is carefully seasoned for up to five years in the timber yard and another four to six months under climate-controlled conditions in the drying room. This process ensures an optimal degree of moisture in the wood to ensure the highest quality in the subsequent manufacturing process.

REGULAING

To ensure perfect and uniform touch, the piano action must be precisely
regulated. Each hammer, each key and each lever is positioned and regulated
according to the position of the strings. The basic elements of a well-balanced action regulation are: the set-off of the hammer, the key dip, the checking of the hammer, the lifting of the damper when the hammer has travelled half its blow-
distance, and the strength of the repetition springs. For precise touch, stability
and lasting effect of the regulation, the approximately 5,000 individual components of the action are subjected to a two-hour test run where a machine is used to strike the keys. In this process, all felt and leather parts are "played in" and compressed. The correct touch-weight of the action is attained by adjusting the weight of each key individually.