Nannette Streicher, geb. Stein

Biography

Nannette Stein, Johann Andreas Stein's talented daughter, learned the art of piano making under her father's tutelage while also becoming an accomplished pianist who played in concerts and performed for both Mozart and Beethoven. After her father's death she moved the business to Vienna, continuing it with her brothers Andreas and Friedrich. In 1794 she married Johann Andreas Streicher, and the firm was carried on under the name Nannette Streicher, geb. Stein, until 1822, when her son Johann Baptist Streicher was admitted to partnership and it was renamed Nannette Streicher & Sohn. Living in Vienna, she became a close friend of Beethoven, exercising motherly care over the composer's much-neglected household. In 1816, at his request, she built him a special grand piano with a 6½-octave compass, considered a notable accomplishment at the time, and nearly all of Beethoven's compositions were created on pianos she built. She died at Vienna in January 1833, her husband following her that May.

Highlights

• Learned piano making under her father Johann Andreas Stein and was also an accomplished concert pianist who played for Mozart and Beethoven
• Ran the family firm under her own name after her father's death, moving it to Vienna
• Built Beethoven a special 6½-octave grand piano in 1816 at his request and looked after his household; nearly all of Beethoven's compositions were created on her pianos

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 219.

Public domain.