and the showrooms full of pianos, were seized as enemy property. The hall was sold at
auction in 1916 to Debenhams and was re-opened as Wigmore Hall in 1917. The
Bechstein factory resumed full scale production in the 1920s. Technical innovations,
inventions of new materials and tools, as well as improvements in piano design and
construction, allowed Bechstein to become one of the leading piano makers again.
During the aerial bombing of Berlin in 1945 the Bechstein piano factory in Berlin was
completely destroyed together with their store of Alpian spruce for soundboards.
Bechstein also lost many of their experienced craftsmen because of the war. For several
years after the Second World War Bechstein could not resume full scale production of
pianos and made only a few pianos each year. Bechstein eventually increased piano
production to about a thousand pianos each year during the 1950s and 1 960s. In 196 1 the
Bechstein piano factory was affected by the construction of the Berlin Wall and
ownership changed hands several times. Up until the reunification of Germany the
company was making fewer pianos although the quality of craftsmanship and sound of
Bechstein pianos remained high.
After reunification and dismantling of the Berlin Wall the land formerly belonging to the
Bechstein factory was taken for new construction. Karl Schulze, a piano enthusiast and
co-owner of Bechstein, continued the legacy of fine piano making. The new Bechstein
factories began production of several brand names under the Bechstein group. Hoffman
was the mid-level brand while C. Bechstein remained the flagship brand.
A number of famous pianists and composers have, since the days of Liszt and Bülow,
developed a loyalty to Bechstein pianos. Alexander Scriabin owned a concert-size
Bechstein at his Moscow home, which is now a national museum, and Scriabin’s piano is
still played at recitals. Tatiana Nikolaeva preferred the Bechstein for her recordings of
Bach. Sviatoslav Richter grew up studying piano on a Bechstein and remembered his
experience as stimulating and rewarding. Dinu Lipatti used a Bechstein for his studio
recording of Beethoven and Chopin. Edwin Fischer chose a Bechstein for his pioneering
recording of Bach’s Well Tempered Clavier, as did Artur Schnabel for his recording of
the thirty-two Beethoven piano sonatas. Both Fischer and Schnabel were very fond of
Bechstein pianos as were many of the leading twentieth century pianists such as Wilhelm
Kempff and Wilhelm Backhaus.
Bechstein was always in competition with Steinway & Sons although the Bechstein is
very different from the Steinway in terms of sound. Bechstein upright pianos are
especially revered and considered to sound better than many mid-range grand pianos.
BEETHOVEN
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) is one of the four great classical composers, the
others being Haydn, Mozart and Schubert. He is also one of the major classical
composers for the piano.