Who Owns Bösendorfer?
Bösendorfer has been owned by Yamaha since 2008. Here is the short story, and what it means for the pianos.
From family firm to Yamaha
Bösendorfer was founded in Vienna in 1828 and stayed independent for most of its history. In the twentieth century it passed through several owners, including a spell owned by the American firm Kimball. In 2008 the Japanese maker Yamaha bought it.
What changed, and what did not
Not much changed in the pianos, and that is the point. Yamaha has kept Bösendorfer as a separate, hand-built Viennese marque, still made in Austria in small numbers, rather than folding it into its own factories. So a modern Bösendorfer is still very much a Bösendorfer, with the warm Viennese tone it has always had.