Fortepiano Buchholtz, 1825

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Fryderyk Buchholtz (1792-1837) studied piano making in Vienna, before opening his piano workshop in Warsaw in 1815. His upright pianos “à la giraffe” won prizes at the Warsaw Exhibitions of 1823 and 1825. Our replica is based on a concert grand from 1825, now in Kremenets. It is a real masterpiece, with a confident blend of both Parisien and Viennese savoir-faire: a Viennese mechanism and a Pleyel-like soundboard.

We know that Chopin praised the Buchholtz pianos’ touch and sound, for example in a letter to his friend Tytus Woyciechowski. The composer was also a regular guest at Buchholtz’s workshops, using them as impromptu performance spaces when he did not have enough space for all his guests in his home.