A Cranz (Bruxelle)
Biography
A Cranz was a music publisher located in Brussels, Germany. The company was founded in 1814 in Hamburg. Th founder's son Alwin Cranz took over in 1857.
The company bought publisher Friedrich Schreiber in 1879 after a fusion in 1876 - becoming the main publisher of the Strauß family. The Schreiber purchase included the older Viennese catalogues of Diabelli & Cappi, C.A. Spina, and Pietro Mechetti.
Cranz took over the Hamburg publisher Boehme in 1886, thereby acquiring a large catalog, built up since 1795, and a 300,000 volume lending library. Offices were opened in Brussels (1883) and in London (1890). In 1897 the headquarters were moved to Leipzig, the same year in which August Alwin Cranz (Hamburg 1834 - Vevey 1923) took over his father's company. Famous names of the house include Johann Strauss II, Josef Strauss, Clara Schumann, Max Bruch.
Alwin Cranz's son Oskar Cranz took over in 1896. In 1921 the firm became a Gmbh (limited company) From 1931 Arthur Kirchner and Alwin Henry Cranz were joint managers. In 1937 Arthur Kirchner ledft and was replaced by Oscar Konrad Stölzel.
In 1949 the company moved to Wiesbaden in Hessen. It was finally sold to Schott in 1992 who still use the Cranz imprint, especially for Strauss family works. For a list of works, see the Petrucci Music Library.