Wolfgang Förster
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Wolfgang Förster
Interview Date: April 2, 2004
Job Title: Past President
Company: August Förster Piano Company
Birthdate: May 6, 1933
Deceased: June 30, 2012
Wolfgang Förster’s family-owned piano company was formed in 1859 by August Förster, who opened a small piano workshop in "Löbau, Germany. Wolfgang grew up in the family business and recalls as a young boy hiding under the workbench while his father and grandfather worked on building pianos. After nationalization of East Germany in the early 1970s, the company became state-owned, although Wolfgang continued to manage the building of their musical instruments. The family name was added back into the official company name in 1976, the same year the company began its first exports to the United States.