Wendl & Lung

Wendl & Lung was an Austrian piano-making and piano-restoration brand based in Vienna. It began in 1910 as a collaboration between Stefan Lung and Johann Wendl, establishing a business associated with the manufacture and servicing of pianos in the Austrian capital. The company’s early history is comparatively lightly documented, but by approximately the 1930s its activities appear to have shifted increasingly toward piano rebuilding and restoration rather than remaining focused solely on new-instrument production. The business later passed to Peter Veletzky, Stefan Lung’s great-grandson, who took over in 1994. Under Veletzky, Wendl & Lung developed international technical and commercial links, particularly with China. In 1999, Veletzky became a technical adviser to several Chinese piano manufacturers. A business relationship formed through Ernest Bittner’s Chinese wife subsequently led to a partnership between Bittner and Veletzky in 2000. These connections helped position the Vienna-based company within a broader European-Chinese piano-manufacturing network. Wendl & Lung returned to a more visible role as a maker of new grand pianos during the 2000s. In 2004 it introduced two grand-piano models: the 161-centimetre Professional I and the 178-centimetre Professional II. The company also discussed plans for larger instruments, including models measuring approximately 218 and 288 centimetres, with commercial production anticipated for the latter part of the decade. Further models were planned, although the available reference material does not establish the complete production history of those instruments. The brand was also associated with technical experimentation. Innovations attributed to work involving Wendl & Lung and collaborating piano technicians included a double-repeat mechanism and a harmonic pedal. The practical results and musical value of these features were subject to discussion, but they reflected the company’s effort to differentiate its instruments through action and pedal design rather than relying only on traditional construction. A major change came in 2011, when the German piano manufacturer Feurich was acquired. Following that acquisition, Wendl & Lung piano models were renamed Feurich, effectively ending the use of Wendl & Lung as the principal product identity for the company’s pianos. The corporate entity Feurich - Wendl&Lung GmbH was later renamed Feurich Pianoforte GmbH in 2021. Accordingly, Wendl & Lung is best understood as a historical Austrian piano brand whose manufacturing and technical activities were ultimately absorbed into the Feurich organization. Its legacy combines Vienna-based restoration expertise, family continuity, international technical cooperation, and a brief period of renewed grand-piano development before the Feurich rebranding.

Wendl & Lung was established in Vienna in 1910 through a collaboration between Stefan Lung and Johann Wendl. The available historical account identifies the company as a piano-manufacturing business, although its early product range and detailed organizational development are not extensively recorded. The company’s identity was rooted in Vienna’s established piano tradition and remained connected to both instrument production and technical servicing. From around 1930, Wendl & Lung appears to have concentrated more heavily on rebuilding and restoration. This activity placed the company within a specialized segment of the piano trade: maintaining, reconstructing, and technically improving existing instruments rather than relying exclusively on the sale of newly manufactured pianos. The restoration orientation also provided continuity for the business across periods when independent European piano makers faced changing market conditions. A later generational transition occurred in 1994, when Peter Veletzky, described as Stefan Lung’s great-grandson, took over the business. Veletzky subsequently developed links with the Chinese piano industry. In 1999 he became a technical adviser to a number of Chinese piano manufacturers. A relationship involving the Chinese wife of Ernest Bittner contributed to the formation of a business partnership between Bittner and Veletzky in 2000. These developments connected the Vienna business with manufacturing and technical networks outside Austria. During the 2000s, Wendl & Lung expanded its activity as a producer of new grand pianos. Two named models were launched in 2004: the 161 cm Professional I and the 178 cm Professional II. Plans were also reported for substantially larger grand pianos, including instruments of approximately 218 cm and 288 cm, with commercial production expected to begin in the latter part of the decade. The reference material does not confirm the full outcome of those plans or provide a complete catalogue of production models. The company’s technical work included collaboration with other piano technicians on features such as a double-repeat mechanism and a harmonic pedal. These devices were presented as innovations, although the assessment of the double-repeat mechanism was not universally positive. Their inclusion in the company’s story nevertheless shows that Wendl & Lung sought to combine conventional piano construction with mechanical experimentation. The decisive change in the brand’s history came in 2011, when the German piano manufacturer Feurich was acquired. Following the transaction, all Wendl & Lung piano models were renamed Feurich. This moved the commercial product identity away from Wendl & Lung and into the Feurich brand architecture. The associated legal entity, Feurich - Wendl&Lung GmbH, was renamed Feurich Pianoforte GmbH in 2021. Wendl & Lung therefore survives primarily as a historical brand and as part of the corporate and technical lineage that led into the modern Feurich organization.

• 2021

  Corporate name changed to Feurich Pianoforte GmbH

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  Feurich - Wendl&Lung GmbH adopted the name Feurich Pianoforte GmbH.

• 2011

  Wendl & Lung models rebranded as Feurich

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  After Feurich was acquired, the Wendl & Lung piano models were renamed Feurich.

• 2004

  Professional grand-piano range launched

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  Wendl & Lung introduced the 161 cm Professional I and 178 cm Professional II grand pianos.

• 2000

  Partnership with Ernest Bittner

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  Veletzky formed a business partnership with Ernest Bittner in the context of the company’s Chinese industry relationships.

• 1999

  Technical advisory work expands into China

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  Veletzky became a technical adviser to several Chinese piano manufacturers.

• 1994

  Peter Veletzky takes over the business

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  Peter Veletzky, a great-grandson of co-founder Stefan Lung, assumed control of the company.

• 1930

  Shift toward rebuilding and restoration

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  From approximately this period, the company appears to have focused increasingly on piano rebuilding and restoration.

• 1910

  Wendl & Lung established in Vienna

  [1]Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org

  Stefan Lung and Johann Wendl began the piano business as collaborators in Vienna, Austria.

A Vienna-rooted piano maker and restoration specialist combining traditional Austrian craftsmanship with technical development and international manufacturing relationships.

• Grand piano · 2004

  Professional I

  A 161-centimetre grand piano introduced by Wendl & Lung in 2004. It formed part of the company’s renewed effort to present a defined range of new grand instruments during the 2000s, alongside the larger Professional II.

• Grand piano · 2004

  Professional II

  A 178-centimetre grand piano launched in 2004 as the second model in the Professional series. It represented a larger performance instrument within the company’s contemporary Wendl & Lung range.

• Piano service

  Piano rebuilding and restoration

  From approximately the 1930s onward, Wendl & Lung was increasingly associated with rebuilding and restoring pianos. This service tradition became an important part of the company’s historical identity alongside its later production of new instruments.

• 2021

  Rename the associated company as Feurich Pianoforte GmbHStrategy

  Background

  After the Wendl & Lung models had been transferred to the Feurich identity, the corporate naming structure was further simplified.

  Action taken

  Feurich - Wendl&Lung GmbH was renamed Feurich Pianoforte GmbH.

  Aftermath

  The legal name no longer prominently used Wendl & Lung, reinforcing the brand’s status as a historical rather than active commercial identity.

  Source

• 2011

  Acquire Feurich and consolidate the product identityM&A

  Background

  Feurich was acquired as the company sought to organize its piano activities around the German manufacturer’s established brand.

  Action taken

  Wendl & Lung piano models were renamed Feurich after the acquisition.

  Aftermath

  The Wendl & Lung name ceased to be the principal identity for the company’s piano models, and the brand became part of the Feurich lineage.

  Source

1. 1Wendl & Lungen.wikipedia.org