German Music Industry
Lars Wern is the Vice President of Em Nordic AB in Stockholm, Sweden, working alongside the company’s founder, Benny Englund. In fact, during the 2013 NAMM Show in Anaheim, Lars and Benny were interviewed together and shared their love for the industry and spoke about some of the changes they...
Clemens Von Arnim is the CEO of Louis Renner & Co., producer of the Renner Action and Hammerheads for pianos, the company his great-grandfather was involved with from the very beginning. Over the generations, Clemens family was always a part of the company and worked hard to expand the company...
Thomas Weilbier is the President of No. 1 Guitar Center GmbH, which is located in the musical hub of Hamburg, Germany. Thomas related some of the strong rock and roll history of the city and how his guitar shop was placed at the perfect location to grow over the decades as vintage instruments grew...
Klaus Scholler is the President of Karl Hofner GmbH & Co KG, established in 1887 and now celebrating its 125th anniversary. Over the years Höfner has produced many ground-breaking instruments including the iconic Hofner Violin Bass guitar. Played by Paul McCartney, it has, unsurprisingly, also...
Harro Heinz was born in Germany and educated in electrical engineering before he was brought to the United States by Mr. Fisher of Fisher Radio in the early 1950s. After working for several radio and electronic companies, Harro felt it was time to form his own loudspeaker company. He began the...
Michael Compernass is the president of the Hoyer Guitar Company in Germany. Michael focuses on the history of the company’s innovative products, particularly those created by Arthur Hoyer in the late 1940s until his passing in 1967 and Arnold’s son, Walter, who ran the company for a decade. Michael...
Theo Dollmann was the sales representative for Schott Music, the famed music publisher located in Mainz Germany. He joined the company in 1939 and continued to work for the company past his retirement. During his NAMM Oral History interview, Mr. Dollmann recounted how the manuscripts and important...
Alfred Loib was a banker in Germany before he opened a small music store and fell in love with the industry. His passion for playing music was equaled by helping other musicians find the products they sought to advance their playing. With his background in banking and his love of music and the...
Ulrich Sauter grew up in the middle of the Sauter Piano Company, as his great grandfather formed the factory in Spaichingen, Germany. In fact his family lived in a small house surrounded by piano factory buildings on all four sides. As he puts it, there was no other job he ever thought about doing...
Christoph Kemper blended his love of music with his love of computer programming as early as 1986 when he put his Commodore 64 to use coding for musical sounds. Kemper formed Access Music Electronics in the late 1990s just after rolling out its first product, the Access Virus series A. The Virus...