Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Whatever happened to Manuela Seiler?

Here are some questions for piano historians. Seiler dealers and distributors might be able to answer this as well.

Ed. Seiler Pianofortefabrik has been making pianos since 1849. Steffen Seiler, the fourth generation of the founding family, died in 1999 without a male heir. However, Steffen and Ursula Seiler had a daughter, Manuela, who was supposedly being groomed to take over from her parents. She supposedly helped her widowed mother run the company for a while. If she had taken over the helm of her family's company, she would have joined Annekatrin Forster and Zuzana Petrofova as the only female owner-managers of major pianos companies still owned and run by the founding families.

Well, that didn't happen. Ursula Seiler sold the company to Samick, the giant Korean pianomaker, in 2008.

What happened to her daughter Manuela? Did the young woman die? Did the she lose interest in the piano business? Was she unable to effectively manage the family firm? Did the Seiler family go bankrupt, forcing the sale of the company to Samick? Was the acquisition by Samick a hostile takeover?

Can anybody answer these questions?

Well I wasn't there for the negotiations, but my understanding is it was a very amicable given the economic climate at the time. Samick had pursued several German makers even as they were pursuing Steinway. I believe Ursula was pleased that the German factory would be kept, given stronger backers and understood that additional lines at more attainable prices would introduce new generations to the Seiler name. It was neither hostile nor through bankruptcy, but the global recession meant there were bargains to be had. Look at what Yamaha paid for Bösendorfer.

I don't know Manuela, but I understand she is an accomplished pianist in her private life but pursuing her own business interests that did not involve the family business.

Ursula was the original owner's Ed Seiler's secretary whom he married after his previous wife had died before.
Like her mother, Manuela was/is stunning looking and guaranteed to be "in good hands" by now.
Had some pretty good ones herself... saw her once playing in Berlin venue.
Perhaps now off to better and bigger things.
P.S. last time I visited factory in Kitzingen there were only 7 workers left.
Wishing them best.
Norbert

I saw a You Tube video about the Seiler piano company, in which she played the first Chopin Ballade while her parents looked on. It was a very good performance.

SEVEN workers? When was that, Norbert?

If your Kitzingen visit was very recent, it looks like the hand-built German Seilers will soon be a thing of the past. Sad. Very sad.

Not exactly sure what's going on in Kitzingen.

My latest information tells me that Julius Feurich has recently been appointed production manager there.

Apparently he just suffered a small accident injuring one finger. Hope he will be o.k.

Norbert