Benefactors and Executive Board
In late 2012, two companies (C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik AG and Kuthe GmbH, represented by Stefan Freymuth) and two private benefactors (Berenice Küpper and Karl Schulze) joined forces to found the non-profit Carl Bechstein Foundation.
Those at the origin of the Carl Bechstein Foundation have enjoyed ties with Bechstein for a number of years. As members of the Executive Board, they are also directly involved in the foundation’s management.
In 2017, Gregor Willmes (Chairman) was appointed to the Board of the Carl Bechstein Foundation, which he helped to establish as project manager. In December 2022, he was elected Chairman of the Board. Gregor Willmes has been writing about music since 1989 and is Head of Cultural Management at C. Bechstein Pianoforte GmbH.
Stefan Freymuth, vice-chairman of the Foundation’s Executive Board, also belongs to the original benefactors. He has a degree in engineering and is both managing director of Kuthe GmbH and General Manager of C. Bechstein Pianoforte GmbH. Having played on a Bechstein when he was young, his passion for the brand has deep roots.
Berenice Küpper is a pianist, musicologist, piano teacher, japanologist and cultural manager who had been marketing manager at C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik AG for 25 years.
Karl Schulze, former CEO of C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik AG and one of the original benefactors of the Foundation, until 2022 as chairman of the Executive Board. A salesman and master piano-maker born in 1948, he had already been an independent businessman since 1974, before he acquired C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik AG in 1986 and restructured the company over the years, reviving its high standing in the piano world. He remained the company’s CEO for more than three decades.