Graf, Conrad

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Graf, Conrad

Graf, Conrad, German-born Austrian piano maker;b. Riedlingen, Württemberg, Nov. 17, 1782; d. Vienna, March 18, 1851. He received training in cabinet making. In 1799 he settled in Vienna and later entered the employ of the piano maker Jakob Schelkle. In 1804 he married Schelkle’s widow and opened his own piano workshop. In 1824 he was named Royal Court Piano and Keyboard Instrument Maker and in 1835 he won the gold medal at the first Vienna industrial products exhibition for his skill as a piano maker. His instruments were greatly admired by Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, and other musicians.

Bibliography

D. Wythe, C. G. (1782-1851), Imperial Royal Court Fortepiano Maker in Vienna (diss., N.Y.U., 1990).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire