August Hermann Francke (piano maker)

Pianino with Jankó keyboard by AH Francke in the Ringve Museum

August Hermann Francke († 1882 ) was a German piano maker and entrepreneur. On September 16, 1865 he founded the company Francke, AH Pianofortefabrik in Leipzig .

Initially he built exclusively pianinos with the help of his father, Ernst Francke . In 1871 around 60 employees produced 450 pianinos worth almost 110,000 thalers. On October 1, 1871, his brother Theophil Francke joined the company. After the death of August Hermann in 1882 and his father, Ernst Francke, in 1885 the company became the sole owner. In 1889 the company employed more than 70 people. Paul Francke, son of Theophil Francke, received power of attorney on July 28, 1899 . From November 1907 he and his brother, Hermann Francke, were partners in the company. From 1908, after the death of their father, Theophil Francke, they ran the company together and in July 1912 founded a branch factory and branch in Freiberg / Saxony. This was closed again in May 1926. Merchant Franz Ferdinand Nödl received power of attorney in January 1917. This expired in February 1928. At the beginning of April 1930, the company stopped making payments and their request for liquidity was approved. A short time later, the company appears to have been deleted as it was no longer mentioned afterwards.

August Hermann Francke is considered to be the inventor of the curved soundboard . Franz Liszt expressed his appreciation for the pedal instruments in 1879.

At the music exhibition in Bologna in 1888 a pianino with a Jankó keyboard was exhibited, which was introduced by A. H. Francke. On September 25, 1888, the company brought out a device for lifting the damper on grand pianos with a Jankó keyboard.

Web links

History of piano making. Retrieved December 1, 2013 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Piano atlas of the manufacturer