Nannette Streicher

Nannette Streicher, née Anna-Maria Stein (2 January 1769, Augsburg, Germany — 16 January 1833, Vienna, Austria) was a distinguished German piano maker, entrepreneur, music educator, and writer, a close friend of Ludwig van Beethoven. After relocating her father's J.A. Stein workshop to Austria in 1794, she became one of the most prominent European piano manufacturers. Anna-Maria grew up in Augsburg, the sixth child of a renowned organ builder and fortepiano maker, Johann Andreas Stein (1728—1792), and received early piano lessons from him; by 1786, she became a prolific concert pianist. German composer and musicologist Johann Friedrich Reichardt praised Anna-Maria's talents; in his letter published in the 1793 issue of "Musikalisches Wochenblatt" journal, Reichardt described a unique Crescendo fortepiano that Stein constructed especially for his daughter, with knee levers for high-precision control of suspension and other parameters (a unique feature inherited from Stein's 1769 Poly-Tono-Clavichordium, a hybrid piano-harpsichord). Around late 1790, as 62-year-old Johann Andreas decided to retire, she took over the "J.A. Stein" piano workshop. In 1793, Anna-Maria Stein married a German pianist and composer, Johann Andreas Streicher (1761—1833), changing her name to "Nannette Streicher;" the following year, they moved the family business to Vienna. Between 1794 and 1802, Nannette partnered with her younger brother, Matthias Andreas Stein (1776—1842), operating under the "Geschwister Stein" brand and signing the instruments as Frère et Soeur Stein d'Augsbourg à Vienne ("Brother and sister Stein from Augsburg to Vienna"). After the siblings parted ways, she continued making fortepianos as "Nannette Streicher née Stein." In 1824, Nannette's son, Johann Baptist Streicher (1796—1871), became her partner and later the factory's sole owner, producing over fifty grand pianos annually, acquiring numerous patents, and shipping its products worldwide. His son and Nannette's grandson, Emil Streicher (1836—1916), joined the family business in 1857 and continued running the company after his father's death. In 1896, Emil sold the factory to brothers Wilhelm (1860—1908), Ignaz (1861—1915), and Gustav Stingl (1868—1906), proprietors of the renowned Gebrüder Stingl company.