Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher.

Breitkopf pianos were highly esteemed in the 19th century by such pianists as Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann.

In the 19th century the company was for many years the publisher of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, an influential music journal.

[2] The company has consistently supported composers and had close editorial collaboration with Beethoven, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Wagner and Brahms.

This tradition continues today with prominent contemporary composers such as Heinz Holliger, Helmut Lachenmann and Wolfgang Rihm.