Schiedmayer, family (EN)

Schiedmayer, a family of German keyboard instrument manufacturers. The founder of the dynasty was Balthasar (1711–1781), an organ and clavichord manufacturer in Erlangen. The tradition was continued by his sons: Johann Georg Christoph (1740–1820), Adam Achatius (1745–1817) and the most distinguished of them, Johann David (*20 April 1753 Erlangen, †24 March 1805 Nuremberg), who apprenticed with J.A. Stein in 1778–81 and then opened a piano factory in Erlangen (moved to Nuremberg in 1797). His annual production was small (1–3 instruments), because he worked almost independently, with the help of one journeyman. He built 34 pianos, which were highly valued by his contemporaries; only five from 1783–1801 have survived (i.a. in Erlangen, Munich, and Nuremberg). They have German action, round, hollow hammers, a range of five octaves (F1–f3) and two knee levers (dampers and moderator); they represent the early phase of southern German piano construction, whose sound ideal referred to the sound of the clavichord. A new stage in the company’s activity was started by Johann David’s son, Johann Lorenz (*12 December 1786 Erlangen, †3 April 1860 Stuttgart), who, after a short period of work in Nuremberg, left for Vienna in 1806, where he apprenticed in the workshop of N. Streicher (née Stein). In 1809, together with C. Dieudonné (1783–1825), he founded the company Dieudonné & Schiedmayer in Stuttgart (renamed after Dieudonné’s death to Pianofortefabrik von Schiedmayer), which produced grand pianos, table pianos, and pyramid pianos (a total of 31 table pianos and 7 grand pianos have survived). In 1824, they published a joint brochure entitled Kurze Anleitung zu einer richtigen Kenntnis und Behandlung der Forte-Pianos in Beziehung auf das Spielen, Stimmen und Erhalten derselben, besonders dere, welchem der Werkstätte von Dieudonné und Schiedmayer in Stuttgart verfertigt werden (Stuttgart 1824, rep. Frankfurt am Main 1990), modelled on the work of the Streicher couple from 1801. Their instruments enjoyed great acclaim and were often awarded, successfully competing with imported products. They were the first in Germany to use English mechanics alongside Viennese mechanics; instruments from 1809–25 have survived (e.g. in Albstadt, Munich, Nuremberg, and Ulm). In 1845, Johann Lorenz’s two older sons, Adolf (1819–1890) and Hermann (1820–1861), joined the company, changing its name to Schiedmayer & Söhne. Johann Lorenz’s two younger sons, Julius (1822–1878) and Paul (1829–1890), who had studied with A.F. Debain in Paris, founded the first harmonium factory in Germany (J. & P. ​​Schiedmayer) in Stuttgart in 1853. From 1860, the company also produced (from 1875 under the name Schiedmayer Pianofortefabrik) high-quality pianos, which won awards at the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, among others. In 1969, both companies were merged under the former name Schiedmayer & Söhne. In 1980, Georg Schiedmayer (1931–1992) founded Schiedmayer Pianofortefabrik GmbH in cooperation with Ibach and sold his shares a year later, which ended the Schiedmayer family’s activity in the field of piano construction. In 1980, Schiedmayer und Söhne began to specialise in the construction of celestas (in 1995, the company name was changed to Schiedmayer Celestabau GmbH), which are still produced today.

Literature: A. Eisenmann Schiedmayer und Söhne, Hof-Pianofortefabrik Stuttgart. Vorgeschichte, Gründung und fernere Entwicklung der Firma 1809–1909, Stuttgart 1909; 150 Jahre Schiedmayer und Söhne, Stuttgart 1959; M.E Jehle Württemberg. Klavierbauer des 18. und 19. Jahrhunderts, Frankfurt am Main 1982; W. Mück Johann Georg Schiedmayer (1740- 1820): Schreinermeister, Orgel- und Instrumentmacher in Neustadt an der Aisch, Neustadt an der Aisch 2001; P. De Silva The Fortepiano Writings of Streicher, Dieudonne, and the Schiedmayers, New York 2008.