Prosperous German piano tycoons once battened on the parents of flaxen-haired fräuleins. Each apple-cheeked Lorelei of 1914, required, as her minimum working equipment, a revolving stool, a well-tuned upright, and hundreds of sheets of such saccharine music as Die Unglücklichen Herzen (The Unhappy Hearts). Last week a survey of the German piano business showed how strikingly frauleins and times have changed.
Of the 300 old established piano factories nearly all are running part time, with thousands of skilled workmen laid off or reduced to making radios. Four years ago the British...
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