Schimmel is a German piano maker with factories in Braunschweig, Germany and Kalisz, Poland. Their product line has been described as "the most highly awarded German piano".
The company was founded 1885 by Wilhelm Schimmel in Leipzig, Germany. Four generations of the Schimmel family have since managed and grown the family-owned business.
Schimmel Pianos is known for producing "made in Germany" instruments of high quality. Since 2016 Schimmel has been owned by the Pearl River Piano Group in China. All Fridolin Schimmel pianos are made in the Pearl River piano factory in China. (Fridolin Schimmel pianos were formerly made by the Young Chang Piano Company factory.) Over the history, the company has made an impact on the piano industry with new inventions and innovative designs. Schimmel instruments are produced in the Schimmel workshop in Braunschweig, Germany. With more than 40 awards, Schimmel Pianos are the most highly awarded Pianos from German production.
History
1st Generation: Foundation and growth
The history of Schimmel Pianos began on 2 May 1885 as Wilhelm Schimmel founded his own workshop in Leipzig, Germany. His slogan "Quality prevails", proved to be right as his business succeeded and his instruments grew popular for their advanced technique, excellent sound and contemporary design.
In May 1894, Wilhelm Schimmel produced his 1000th instrument. The company had moved to bigger workshops due to the increasing production. In 1897, Wilhelm Schimmel built his own state-of-the-art factory in Leipzig-Stötteritz on 4000 m2 large grounds. Due to the outstanding playability, the highly developed mechanics and the tonal quality the brand Schimmel soon belonged to the circle of renown pianoforte factories in Leipzig, which used to be, besides Berlin the centre of piano manufacturers in Germany.
Schimmel Pianos soon developed an international reputation as their instruments were exported to Russia, Italy, France, the U.S., Switzerland, and many other countries. Schimmel received the title of purveyor of the Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and the purveyor of the King of Romania.
At the World Exhibition in 1913 and 1914, the instruments received first gold medals.
An outstanding technical innovation was the development of a self-playing piano, called Ducanola in around 1915.
2nd Generation: 1927 to 1961
At the age of 73, Wilhelm Schimmel passed the company's management to his son, Wilhelm Arno Schimmel. Due to the economic situation the new manager was faced with difficulties concerning the production as well as the sales of pianos. The Hyperinflation in 1923 was followed by the great depression with the Great Stock Market Crash on Black Friday in 1929. The piano industry also had to compete with the radio and the gramophone.
A number of German piano manufacturers united their businesses in December 1929 to the corporation "Deutsche Piano-Werke-AG" with the aim to overcome the challenging situation by unifying certain operations. The production of the cooperation was located in Luckenwalde and Braunschweig in Germany. Instruments of a higher quality such as Schimmel pianos were produced in Braunschweig. The production of grand pianos stayed in the company in Leipzig. Regarding the difficulty to unite different interests within the organization, the cooperation wasn't fit for the future.
Wilhelm Arno Schimmel left the cooperation and founded the "Wilhelm Schimmel, Pianoforte GmbH" 1932 in Braunschweig, Germany.
For the 50th company jubilee, Schimmel developed a small piano without back posts and a newly designed action. The Modell J 50, contemporary trend design was one of the most important new constructions of the 1930s. Arno Schimmel developed further small pianos with a small height. The smallest model only measures a height of 98 cm with a width of 140 cm. On 8 January, Arno Schimmel called the patent "small piano". Schimmel also produced the smallest grand piano with the length of only 117 cm.
As Braunschweig was the center of the aeroplane industry during the 2nd World War, the city was attacked numerous times by the allies. During the bomb attack in October 1944, a great part of the Schimmel piano factory was destroyed and the production of instruments came to a halt.
After the war ended the factory was rebuilt, first focusing on various kinds of woodwork and furnishing until the production of pianos was continued in 1949.
