Andreas Silbermann

Biography

Andreas Silbermann was the talented elder brother of Gottfried Silbermann and the example Gottfried followed in taking up organ building after his cabinetmaking apprenticeship. Andreas maintained an atelier at Strasburg, and it was there that Gottfried sought shelter and work after personal troubles, including an attempted elopement with a nun, forced him to flee Freiberg, Saxony. Beyond providing his brother refuge, Andreas is credited by the text with establishing the Strasburg branch of the Silbermann family's organ and piano-building tradition. His nephews (sons of Andreas) succeeded their father in the business, and the Strasburg branch continued making pianos until the death of Johann Friedrich Silbermann in 1817, more than sixty years after Gottfried's own death in 1756. No birth or death dates for Andreas himself, nor further career detail, are given in this portion of the text beyond his role as the founding figure of the Strasburg line.

Highlights

• Talented elder brother whose example led Gottfried Silbermann into organ building
• Ran an atelier at Strasburg where Gottfried took refuge after fleeing Freiberg
• His sons succeeded him in the Strasburg piano and organ business

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 217.

Public domain.