Making beautiful music
- Peter took over his father’s workshop in 1989
- Every single staff member is also a musician
- His instruments are sold as far away as Japan and the US
Peter practically grew up on his carpenter father's bench and decided to start his apprenticeship just after finishing school, becoming the second generation in his family to join its instrument making business, which was founded in 1956. In the following years, building traditional alpine musical stringed instruments became Peter's true passion and, by then a master, he established the brand Mürnseer. Nowadays, the brand stands for outstanding instruments, especially single pedal harps with exceptional sound quality, which are often referred to as Stradivari for harpists. Mürnseer is now the biggest Austrian manufacturer of stringed instruments and a world-leading producer of single pedal harps.
Interview
- What kind of clients are interested in a Mürnseer instrument?
- Nowadays, the significance of making music at home and learning to play an instrument as a child is increasing in our society – fortunately. Therefore, I’m proud that around 90 percent of my customers are private musicians and pupils, and 10 percent are professionals.
- Do they all choose their instruments in your workshop?
- Yes, and although we work to order so that every musician gets a unique instrument, we always have some objects in our workshop to try out. Clients come from all over the world to discuss the idea and the phonetic nuances of their future instrument here in my workshop.
- Is there a unique Mürnseer sound?
- The Mürnseer harp is renowned for its very well-balanced, compact and carrying tone. We produce harps in three different types of wood (spruce, maple and cherry wood) to achieve three different types of sound, but each of them has a special timbre; treble and bass are perfectly in balance.
- What makes you particularly happy?
- There are some moments with your customers that you never forget, for example the sparkle in the eyes of a child receiving their first ever dulcimer. But what I love most is making an aesthetic object with a perfect finish that is not only beautiful, but that you can also make and enjoy music with!
Peter Mürnseer is a master artisan: he began his career in 1989 and he started teaching in 1990
Works
Where
Peter Mürnseer
