Christian Kurtzmann

Biography

Christian Kurtzmann was born in Mecklenburg, Germany, on November 24, 1815, and trained under one of Germany's great piano-making masters during an era when every part -- even tuning pins -- was made entirely by hand. The author, who knew him personally, recounts Kurtzmann's stories of hand-filing tuning pins and other primitive early piano-making methods. Restless to see the world, Kurtzmann eventually settled in Buffalo, N.Y., producing his first Kurtzmann pianos there in 1848. So thoroughly did he identify with his instruments that he refused to expand production beyond what he could personally oversee, prioritizing artistic reputation over profit. For thirty-eight years he went daily to his factory, giving each piano its finishing touches before it left, establishing the traditional 'Kurtzmann way' and training a large force of workmen in it. The growth of the business eventually required adopting the corporate form and bringing in specialists such as Jacob Hackenheimer for its managerial and commercial branches. Christian Kurtzmann established a piano factory in Buffalo in 1848, one of the firms Dolge cites in chronological order among American piano makers of the period. After Kurtzmann's death in 1886, the business was taken over by a corporation. A portrait of Christian Kurtzmann accompanies the text, though no birth date, nationality, or further individual biographical detail is provided beyond the founding and eventual corporate succession of his firm. From Spillane (1890): C. Kurtzman was among the first Buffalo piano makers of particular significance, making instruments before 1850 and becoming known up to a recent period as a good maker of popular-priced pianos. By the time of writing, the business he founded was being carried on as Kurtzman & Company, composed of L. S. Kurtzman, A. Cordes, and Adolph Guger. No first name or further personal detail is provided for C. Kurtzman himself.

Highlights

• Established a piano factory in Buffalo in 1848.
• After his death in 1886, the business was taken over by a corporation.
• Apprenticed under one of Germany's great piano-making masters in the era of entirely hand-built pianos
• Founded his piano-making business in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1848
• For thirty-eight years personally oversaw and gave the finishing touches to every piano bearing his name
• Was making pianos in Buffalo before 1850 and was known as a good maker of popular-priced instruments
• His business continued into the author's present day as Kurtzman & Company

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911); Vol. II (1913), pp. 128, 129.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 144, 145.

Public domain.