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Franz Rausch

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Franz Rausch (1792 in Pest - 17 February 1877 in Vienna[1]) was an Austrian piano maker of the 19th century.

Franz Rausch around 1850, painting by Carl Haunold

Biography

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Rausch was the son of Lorenz Rausch and Magdalena, née Flandorfer. His father originally came from Weitra in the Waldviertel in Lower Austria and had emigrated to Pest as a weaver.[2]  In the piano manufactory of the renowned Viennese piano maker Conrad Graf, Rausch learned the craft of piano maker from 1819 onwards; At that time, Graf's factory was considered the "largest and most renowned in Vienna and the Empire".[3]  Pianos were mass-produced in working groups and from 1821, Rausch was largely foreman or plant manager.[4] He made several instruments in his workshop in Wiedner Hauptstraße in Vienna.[5]

Business card from Franz Rausch, Italian version, 1847–1851.

His fortepianos were awarded the gold medal in 1839 at the "2nd Austrian General Industrial Product Exhibition" for being "most perfect among the many excellent instruments in the exhibition".[6] At the First General German Industrial Exhibition in Munich in 1854, Franz Rausch & Sohn also exhibited "grand piano fortepianos of various constructions" and awarded a medal of honour ("for the production of an excellently executed grand piano-shaped piano of the same good tone").[7]

Twelve children are documented from his marriage to Katharina Wallner (1808–1883[8]), which took place on 20 November 1825 in Schottenfeld near Vienna. The first-born son Franz Georg Rausch Jr. (born 1827) also became a piano maker, patented two improvements for piano construction in 1854, but had to file for bankruptcy in 1865; son Conrad Georg Rausch (born 1833) was an authorized signatory of the Wiener Bankgesellschaft.

Square piano by Franz Rausch in the Reuter-Wagner Museum in Eisenach, Germany.

From 1827 onwards, Rausch's homes and workplaces in the then Viennese suburb of Wieden around Wiedner Hauptstraße are documented.[9]  From 1856 till 1865 he lived in Margareten Castle in Vienna.[10]

Rausch's instruments (selection)

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Relatively few instruments by Franz Rausch Sr. have survived, about as many fortepianos as square pianos. All instruments were built in the design of the Viennese mechanics.

Currently (as of 2024), his instruments are used by numerous pianists in the sense of playing on authentic instruments in accordance with historical performance practice, including pianists like Jörg Demus, Marco Cadario and Eric Zivian.

Rausch exported numerous instruments. For example, about the music teacher and piano dealer Friedrich Wieck (Clara Schumann's father), in Leipzig and Halle, as well as about the Milanese dealer Joseph Prestinari in today's Italy and Slovenia in the Trieste, Milan and Ljubljana area. Below are some examples of instruments:

Recordings on instruments by Franz Rausch (selection)

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  • Franz Schubert: The Shepherd on the Rock (youtube). In: LP Schubertiade with Elly Ameling, soprano, Hans Deinzer, clarinet, Jörg Demus, fortepiano; Harmonia Mundi 20 29315-7, recorded in the Cedar Hall, Kirchheim Castle (1965) on a fortepiano by Franz Rausch (1835)
  • Robert Schumann: Forest Scenes Op. 82, No. 1, recorded by Jörg Demus (1968) on a fortepiano by Rausch (1839) (Meloclassic)
  • Recordings on a fortepiano by Franz Rausch (1841)
  1. Franz Schubert: Trio Op. 100 - Andante con moto. Freivogel, Tomkins & Zivian 4K UHD, D. 929 (2017) (YouTube)
  2. Robert Schumann: Dichterliebe op. 48, voice: Kyle Stegall, fortepiano: Eric Zivian (2023) (YouTube)
  3. Frédéric Chopin: Préludes op. 28, No. 20 in C minor, fortepiano: Eric Zivian (2024) (YouTube)
  4. Frédéric Chopin: Waltz in A minor op. 34 No. 2 "Valse Brillante". Fortepiano: Audrey Vardanega (2023) (YouTube)
  • Johann Ladislaus Dussek: Image of the situation of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, from her imprisonment to the last moment of her life. (YouTube) Recording by Marco Cadario in 2007 on a fortepiano by Franz Rausch (1825)

References

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  1. ^ City of Vienna, Death Register No. 180/1877.
  2. ^ ""Rausch, Lorenz • polgár • Pest • 1787.04.11. • takács"".
  3. ^ "Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon online: Conrad Graf". 2002.
  4. ^ Whyte, Deborah (1984). "The pianos of Conrad Graf". Early Music. 12 (4): 447–460.
  5. ^ Company register. Containing in alphabetical order all at the high k.k. Commercial courts in Vienna recorded commercial, factory and commercial companies with details of their domicile; By Emanuel Pernold, Wien, 1865, p. 180 (Original title in German: Firmenbuch. Enthaltend nach alphabetischer Ordnung alle bei dem hohen k. k. Handelsgerichte in Wien protokollirten Handels-, Fabriks- und Gewerbe-Firmen mit Angabe ihrer Domicile. Von Emanuel Pernold, Wien, 1865, S. 180) as well as public notice in the Allgemeine Zeitung, 08.12.1838
  6. ^ Report on the second general Austrian commercial products exhibition, 1840, p. 461 (Original title in German: Bericht über die zweite allgemeine österreichische Gewerbsprodukten-Ausstellung, 1840. S. 461.)
  7. ^ Awards at the General German Industrial Exhibition in Munich, 1854, p. 55, as well as report of the “Assessment Commission” at the General German Industrial Exhibition, Munich, 1854, p. 230. (Original title in German: Auszeichnungen bei der allgemeinen deutschen Industrie-Ausstellung zu München, 1854, S. 55, sowie Bericht der „Beurtheilungs Commission“ bei der Allgemeinen Deutschen Industrie-Ausstellung, München, 1854, S. 230.)
  8. ^ Carl Haunold (painter, 1813—1876): Katharina Rausch, nee Wallner (1808–1883).
  9. ^ Facteurs de pianos en Autriche 1700 - 1849
  10. ^ Ellensohn, Christian (2024). Aufstieg und Fall einer Wiener Familie - Die Vorfahren der Martha Zykan [The rise and fall of a Viennese family - The ancestors of Martha Zykan. See chapter: 1.4 “Franz Rausch, the fortepiano manufacturer.”] (in German). Großebersdorf/Austria: Buchschmiede. p. 97. ISBN 978-3-99152-405-2.
  11. ^ Tafelklavier aus der Eisenacher Wagner-Sammlung
  12. ^ Museo Teatrale Carlo Schmidl in Trieste, Italy
  13. ^ Marco Cadario, pianoforte, fortepiano, clavicembalo, organo
  14. ^ Eric Zivian

Sources

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  • Beatrix Darmstädter, Alfons Huber, Rudolf Hopfner: Das Wiener Klavier bis 1850. Hans Schneider; Tutzing 2007, ISBN 978-3-7952-1243-8.
  • Ellensohn, Christian (2024). Aufstieg und Fall einer Wiener Familie - Die Vorfahren der Martha Zykan [The rise and fall of a Viennese family - The ancestors of Martha Zykan. See chapter: 1.4 “Franz Rausch, the fortepiano manufacturer.”] (in German). Großebersdorf/Austria: Buchschmiede. p. 97-114. ISBN 978-3-99152-405-2.
  • Wolfgang Wenke: Tafelklaviere in der Restaurierungswerkstatt - Vielfalt der Typen und Probleme. In: Boje Schmuhl (Hrsg.): Geschichte und Bauweise des Tafelklaviers. (Restaurierung eines Tafelklaviers von Franz Rausch), Verlag: Stiftung Kloster Michaelstein, Blankenburg 2006, ISBN 3-89512-128-2, p. 325-340.
  • Deborah Whyte: The pianos of Conrad Graf. Early Music Vol. 12, Nr. 4. Oxford University Press, 1984, p. 447–460.
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