May Berlin Pianos

May-Berlin, a respected piano company in Berlin from 1920 to 1989, was first established in 1868 as May Bernhard. It became May-Berlin in 1920.

The name May Berlin is now owned by Schimmel. Interlinked with Wilhelm Schimmel and his fourth generation family members who own and manage Wilhelm Schimmel, Pianofortefabrik GmbH, today's May Berlin instruments benefit by retaining their strong "German connection" and their long-established reputation in Germany as a good piano.

In May of 1885, in the Leipzig district of Reudnitz, the first Schimmel pianos were made.

Pervaded by the rich musical legacy of Leipzig's immortal Johann Sebastian Bach, and other famous German composers and pianists (e.g., Johannes Brahms, Dietrich Buxtehude, Georg Friedrich Handel, Gustav Mahler, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Carl Orff, Max Reger, Arnold Schönberg, Heinrich Schütz, Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Richard Strauss, Georg Philipp Telemann, Richard Wagner, Carl Maria von Weber, and Kurt Weill), the name Schimmel has been associated with high-quality-piano-making and German Made craftsmanship for over 140 years.

Today, the Schimmel piano factory is located in Braunschweig (Brunswick) where skilled craftsmen and technical precision find common expression in the production of trade names that are known to people on all five continents: Cameras from Rollei and Voigtänder; pianos from Schimmel and Grotrian-Steinweg; and vehicles from VW and MAN-Büssing.

May Berlin is a line of good and affordable uprights and grands, designed
by Schimmel and manufactured in Asia, according to Schimmel's
specifications and standards. With its time-honored German name
for quality and value, May Berlin pianos continue to receive high
marks from pianists and technicians, alike, when compared to quality
American and Japanese pianos of similar size, features, specification, and price.

In a word, the warm, full-bodied tone of a May Berlin piano sounds European. An important consideration is that all May Berlin instruments receive final voicing and regulation . . . and undergo rigorous final quality control inspection . . . in Braunschweig before shipment.

The use of premium German Roslau Strings, Hard Maple Rims, and the Finest Spruce for the Sounding Boards in May Berlin instruments, as found in all Schimmel and Vogel pianos, are reasons why May Berlin pianos have such a distinctive tone quality.

Premium features like full sostenuto pedal, slow close fallboard, and longer bass strings ― as found on most competitor's small baby grands, but at higher cost ― are standard on May Berlin grand pianos.

Customers who appreciate the “German connection” of May Berlin instruments know that they are purchasing a quality piano with lasting value ― a piano which Schimmel is proud to have linked with its revered name and reputation.