Hugo Sohmer

Biography

Hugo Sohmer was born in the Black Forest region of Germany in 1846 and received a classical education that included thorough musical training. He came to New York at age sixteen and served an apprenticeship with Schutze & Ludolff before returning to Germany to study piano making for two years in leading factories there. In 1870 he founded Sohmer & Company by taking over the business of Marshall & Mittauer. Described as a thorough piano maker with strong artistic inclinations, Sohmer patented many improvements that enhanced the value of his products, and remained committed to producing an artistic instrument rather than pursuing large-volume manufacturing. From Spillane (1890): Sohmer, head of the New York firm of Sohmer & Company, was born in the Black Forest region of Germany in 1846 to a family of good standing; his father was a physician, and he received a first-class education, including instruction from a private tutor, along with training in music and the pianoforte. At sixteen he emigrated to New York, and within a week of arrival began an apprenticeship in piano-making at the factory of Schuetze & Ludolf, one of the city's significant piano manufacturing houses, where he worked closely alongside many of New York's leading piano-makers. In 1868 he returned temporarily to Germany, touring European capitals and studying piano-making anew from the European perspective, before coming back to New York in 1870. In 1872 he began manufacturing on his own account in partnership with Josef Kuder, forming Sohmer & Company as successors to J. H. Boernhoeft. The firm grew from a few pianos a week to a substantial business, received high honors at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition, and secured several patents, including an agraffe bar, an action improvement, the 'bijou grand' design, a 'reverberation' scale, and a pianissimo pedal.

Highlights

• Founded Sohmer & Company in 1870 by taking over the business of Marshall & Mittauer
• Patented many improvements enhancing the value of his instruments
• Author and head of Sohmer & Company, founded in 1872 though the business traced back to before 1860.
• Firm noted for association with musical art and the patronage of high-order artists rather than 'folding-beds or miscellaneous merchandise.'
• Born in the Black Forest, Germany, in 1846, son of a physician; emigrated to New York at sixteen and apprenticed at the piano-making factory of Schuetze & Ludolf.
• Returned to Germany in 1868 to tour European capitals and restudy piano-making from the Continental point of view before coming back to New York in 1870.
• In 1872 founded Sohmer & Company with partner Josef Kuder as successors to J. H. Boernhoeft; the firm won honors at the 1876 Centennial Exhibition and patented several improvements, including the 'bijou grand' design, a 'reverberation' scale, and a pianissimo pedal.

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 320.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 253, 254, 255, 256, 257.

Public domain.