Music Manufacturing
Vijay Talwar’s father sold wood in India, and when Vijay began working for his father as a teenager they noticed an increase in the amount of wood being sold to make musical instruments. After researching the desired woods and cuts, Vijay and other vendors took part in the development of the violin...
Heribert Glassl had two musical loves, the tuba and the cello. While it may seem like a strange pairing, Mr. Glassl made it work. In fact, after a long career in musical instrument making, the tuba and cello are the only products he produced in his small German factory. As founder of the Musik...
Wolfgang Förster’s family-owned piano company was formed in 1859 by August Förster, who opened a small piano workshop in "Löbau, Germany. Wolfgang grew up in the family business and recalls as a young boy hiding under the workbench while his father and grandfather worked on building pianos. After...
Roberto Weingrill Jr. spoke during his Oral History interview about the early days of his family’s business and the many changes that have occurred over the years. His great-grandfather moved to Brazil in the 1890s to establish his own instrument company. Weril Instruments was established just a...
Alois Mayer formed his own brass instrument company in 1988 with the hope of bringing high quality hand-made musical instruments to the finest orchestras in the world. In a very short time Alois did just that. His brass instruments, including the famous line of trumpets, have been played in...
Ingbert Bluthner followed in the rich history of his family tradition of building world-class pianos. Under Ingbert’s leadership the company expanded production and models along with developing new global distribution chains. Over the years, since his own oral history interview, Ingbert has been a...
Joseph Chen has put his vast knowledge of international trade along with his love of music together for a successful and respected career in the music products industry. His career began with Wu Hsieh at KHS Musical Instruments, which led to Joseph’s own company, Reliance International. Under his...
Henry Heller recalled with detail his father’s idea of moving the Aeolian Piano Company’s manufacturing plant from New York to Memphis. During the months of the move in the early 1950s, his father suffered a heart attack and died. It was up to Henry not only to take over the project of moving the...
Albrecht Kretzschmann was the vice president of sales for JA Musik in Germany and played an important role in the company’s expansion into the global market. His vast understanding of the brass instrument product line along with export business became a factor in the commerce of musical instruments...
Gerhard Meinl represents the 7th generation in a family of brass instrument makers. After integrating the East German, formerly state-owned, B&S GmbH in Markneukirchen in 1991 with Melton Meinl Weston, Gerhard and an investment group bought the clarinet maker Antoine Courtois in 1994.Then in ...