FURTADOS
The Furtados story begins in 1865. L M Furtado & Co, a retailer of print music and music instruments, was founded by Luis Manoel Furtado. B X Furtado & Sons, owned by his brother, Bernard Xavier Furtado, was established soon after. In 1905, both showrooms moved to their current location at Jer Mahal Estate, a historic building at Mumbai's (then Bombay) Dhobitalao.
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Storefront of L M Furtado & Co in the first half of the twentieth century, before John Gomes bought it.
In 1953, John Gomes took ownership of B X Furtado & Sons in a public auction at the young age of 26. In 1959, he also purchased L M Furtado & Co and thus began his musical journey. The name Furtados remains to this day. John Gomes revamped the business and kept the businesses vibrant during the times of import restrictions. Furtados was the largest importer of printed sheet music, which was supplied to virtually every musician, teacher and student across the country, a position it holds till today. He had a vision to create a hub for Western musical instruments for the music community and today, Furtados is that and much more for the music community in India.
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From the beginning, John Gomes set out to start a new approach to the company. Taking pride in his cultural Goan roots, he inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs. His successors along with their team of dedicated co-workers continue to spearhead the company while retaining the work culture and values. It is this legacy of over 150 years that has cemented the Furtados brand as a bastion of Musical Instruments and Music Education in India and across the world. From being a single music store in the heritage district of Mumbai, Furtados today is spread across 19 showrooms and multiple warehouses — selling the very best brands in musical instruments and print music and providing support to music making in India, through quality products, assurance and value for all musicians, educators and students.
Con Brio 2010 winner Chelsea De Souza presents a recital at the L M Furtado & Co showroom in Mumbai in 2018.
Every day, Furtados hopes to delight its customers through music with a vast selection of quality musical instruments, an innovative approach to music education and expert advice, continuously striving for excellence with pride in their values and service. This is the Furtados Mission and Vision. Read more about Furtados and browse through the Furtados website for their extensive catalogue of musical instruments and books to make purchases online.
THE STEINWAY CONNECTION
In 2011, to provide Con Brio — the competition and festival — with the best facilities, Furtados procured a brand new Steinway Model D concert grand piano. Ever since the competition has been conducted on Steinway instruments, and for a few years, winners were presented with an Essex upright piano (from the Family of Steinway Pianos). For rehearsals, the pianists are also provided with grand pianos from the Family of Steinway Pianos — Steinway, Boston & Essex. The festival has sometimes required multiple pianos on stage for specific works, and the Furtados inventory of Family of Steinway Pianos has continued to grow to provide for and enable the performances of these works. This substantial inventory of Steinway instruments now serves as the backbone of the rental services offered by Furtados for concerts, events, competitions and music festivals around the year, in various parts of the country. Furtados takes great pride in its Steinway dealership. Two Con Brio winners (Chelsea De Souza and Neville Bharucha) and the sole Honorary awardee (Nadine Crasto) are Young Steinway Artists, part of an international roster of young pianists recognised by Steinway. For more information, please visit the Steinway & Sons India website.