Blüthner, Julius (Ferdinand)

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Blüthner, Julius (Ferdinand)

celebrated German piano maker; b. Falkenhain, near Merseburg, March 11, 1824; d. Leipzig, April 13, 1910. In 1853 he founded his establishment at Leipzig with 3 workmen, and by 1897 it had grown to a sizable company, producing some 3, 000 pianos yearly. Blüthner’s specialty was the “Aliquotflügel,” a grand piano with a sympathetic octave-string stretched over and parallel with each unison struck by the hammers. He was awarded many medals for his contributions to the advancement of piano construction. He was co-author, with H. Gret-schel, of Lehrbuch des Pianofortebaus in seiner Geschichte, Théorie und Technik (Weimar, 1872; 4th éd., 1921).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire