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How the Zildjian Family Kept a 400-Year Cymbal Business Alive
Season 2
Episode 95
Published 5 days, 22 hours ago
Description
Episode 95 of Family Business Stories with Fexingo tells the remarkable 400-year saga of the Zildjian family, the world's oldest family business still in operation. Since 1623 in Constantinople, the Zildjian dynasty has guarded the secret formula for casting cymbals, supplying everyone from Ottoman Janissary bands to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and modern drummers like Dave Grohl. Lucas and Luna explore how the family survived pogroms, wars, and the Great Depression, and why the current generation is betting on apprentice training rather than college degrees to preserve their craft. A rare case of a family business that outlasted empires by staying small, secretive, and stubbornly focused on one product.