Kerntopf, Edward
Kerntopf Józef, *1864 Warsaw, 19 July 1922 Warsaw, Polish grand piano and upright piano maker, son of Jan, joined the company in 1892, which he managed after Henry’s death; in 1914 he founded a joint-stock company, which after his death operated the factory until 1939.
Kerntopf company was known under the names Kerntopf Jan, Kerntopf Jan i Syn (known also as Kerntopf & Fils), Kerntopf Jan i Syn Sp. Akc. The factory initially employed 6 workers, and in the following years, it expanded to 44 employees. They produced over 100 instruments each year, with a significant number of instruments being exported, primarily to Russia. The company achieved significant success at national and international exhibitions, including Moscow in 1882, Warsaw in 1885, Paris in 1889 (Grand Prix), and Kyiv in 1897. It held the title of the supplier of instruments to several musical societies and theatres in Warsaw and Kyiv. Kerntopf’s instruments, including decorative instruments (including piano in Zakopane Style from 1901 designed by S. Witkiewicz and E. Kováts for Nicholas II of Russia) were highly regarded, especially between 1880 and 1912. Several artists played on these instruments, including A. Jesipowa, A. Kątski, I.J. Paderewski, J. Turczyński, J. Wieniawski and other famous pianists. Numerous instruments are still preserved today in private and museum collections (Kolekcja Zabytkowych Fortepianów Filharmonii Pomorskiej, Bydgoszcz).
Literature: B. Vogel Instrumenty muzyczne w kulturze Królestwa Polskiego and Budownictwo fortepianów na ziemiach polskich do II wojny światowej, Kraków 1980 and Warsaw 1988.