Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum What happened to the 'real' Feurich?

Now, without wanting to cause any controversy, I just want to start off by saying that the current Feurich pianos (former Wendl & Lung) that are being produced in China are good pianos. I haven't had the chance to play very many but the most recent one I played had a very controllable action and decent, well-rounded tone.

When I say "what happened to the real Feurich pianos?", what I mean is what happened to those that were produced in Germany by Julius Feurich and his predecessors in the Feurich family? When it was first announced that Wendl & Lung were to buy Feurich all those years ago, I seem to recall that they said they would maintain production of the German-made Feurich's alongside their 'new' Chinese-made Feurichs but that the focus would be on the development and sale of the Chinese-made variant. This idea of having the German-made Feurichs alongside the Chinese-made never seem to manifest itself and it would appear Wendl & Lung really just bought the name...

Now, after it was clearly established that Feurich, in whatever guise it took, would only be manufacturing pianos out of China and not Germany which led to (what I believe) the following happening: Julius Feurich leaving the company and setting up 'JF Pianos' which were the original German-designed and made Feurichs pre-Wendl & Lung acquisition. I'm not sure exactly how much success Julius Feurich had with this venture as the website no longer exists and there is very little by way of Google search... that said, there is 'JF Hessen' which according to their very basic website is 'original Julius Feurich design built by the Julius Feurich team and made in Germany'. Does anyone know anything about JF Hessen pianos or has even seen one in the flesh?

Of course, the above knowledge I have of Feurich is only a fraction of what I'm sure other Piano World members can tell me. With this in mind, I'd really like to hear from those with the 'know how' knowledge of what happened to the real Feurich? It seems a shame that a piano brand with a somewhat significant amount of history behind it can just be bought up by a Chinese conglomerate and then within years dissipate into nothing...

I would also be interested to know who builds the Feurich 123 Vienna model. Does anybody know?
I understand that it is made in Austria, but I don't know if by the "original" workshop, or a 3rd party, or who exactly. Especially that as I understand Feurich was originally made in Germany, not Austria.

There is a video put out featuring that piano's construction-- by an English dealer, I think.

Actually I know, I wrote a long post, and changed my mind about it.

The short version of the story is that Julius Feurich sold the rights to his company's name to the team who wanted to import pianos from Hailun and have them branded as Feurich (I don't know the difference between a Hailun and a Feurich, sorry). Julius Feurich then tried to keep his *own* factory going and branded the pianos JF, or JF Hessen, found it was too expensive to maintain this, and folded the operation and now works for Seiler.

Thanks for this, Joe - your input appreciated as always. The piano buffs amongst us, including myself, would very much have appreciated the long post on this!

It's a shame to hear that the original Julius Feurich pianos are no more and that Julius himself now works for Seiler. I've never had a chance to play one of the German-made Feurichs but I always heard good things about them.

There's a market for used original Feurichs in Germany, although it would appear that not all that many are on it right now. Here is a link to a listing of such pianos (only grands, and the page is in German):

Used Feurich grands

EDIT: Please note: there's a chinese Feurich in the listing.

I won't post the long version or share it in a private message because it is based on a very brief conversation I had with Julius Feurich at NAMM, and I don't want to misquote him, nor do I want to get into murky legal territory. I could say something for instance that is not true, and brings down the name of either party.

What I do know is that *everything* that happened was legal, mutual, and above board, and while there is definitely sadness about Feurich no longer being made in Germany, everyone was aware what the possible outcomes were at the start of the venture.

I love premium small-batch European baby grands and uprights - for us over on that continent and Island in small homes and studios, these pianos are a beautiful fit. But small pianos, no matter how well made they are, have limitations, and some of the Asian producers have found ways to produce beautiful products at a small price that while not quite being as refined as the European products, are still excellent instruments in their own right, and with a price tag often being a third or less than the equivalent European piano, have become the most attractive option for many in that market.

A Steinway M or a Blüthner Model 10, or a Bösendorfer 170 is objectively a better piano than a Yamaha GC2, or a Hailun 178, but for most people the prices are enough to drive them in the direction of the Hailun, and the Hailun sounds good enough for many practice situations.

Yes, Roberts Pianos in Oxford, England, sells four models of the Feurich upright and calls them all German/Austrian. They also have a video, posted in 2018, of their visit to the Feurich factory in Vienna: https://youtu.be/8U_R6k8NhYE

The Feurich website shows production locations in Vienna and Ningbo, China.

Interesting that Pianobuyer has no listing for them under any manufacturer's name. And the Feurich website doesn't link to any sellers or distributors.

One interesting Tidbit: I was talking to Seiler Dealer a few years ago. ( I am based in the UK, Seilers aren't well represented here). The dealer recommend I speak directly to the Seiler factory and introduced me via text message to one "Julius Feurich". I believe its the same person (the dealer wasn't sure).

This was in 2018.

Can anyone confirm this?

Yes, Mr. Feurich oversees the production of the German Seiler pianos at their factory in Kitzingen.

In a comment on the video I linked to above, Roberts Pianos says "The frame, strings and back are made in Ningbo but the rest in Austria."

That's interesting - I had no idea Julius Feurich had ended up at Seiler. As mentioned in my original post, I knew he had left to setup JF Pianos but that was about as far as my knowledge extended at the time!

On an unrelated note, it is nice to see this thread revived with some extra information.

Well I certainly am glad someone like Julius Feurich ended up at Seiler. A pre war Seiler was my first piano ever. It is rather sad than Hailun bought the name of Feurich made Feurich's which they claim are now made in Vienna .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feurich Feurich is owned by a Vienese piano manufacturer but they are made in Ningbo China and Burscheid, Germany. I used to work in Burscheid! A great little place near Wuppertahl where they make the worlds greatest saxophones, other brass musical instruments like Tubas, and piano keys and famous for household knives like Wüsthof for example.

My guess would be the Viennese company does the engineering and provides their specifications to their affiliates in China and Germany. Bösendorfer does this with their outsourcing of keys to the Wuppertahl Company mentioned above and the Renner action made in Germany. When they arrive at the Bösendorfer factory they are throughly checked to make sure they meet Bösendorfer's specifications. Bösendorfer's core competency is manufacturing pianos, not keys or actions they outsource to the experts in those areas.