The maker of over 570,000 instruments across its august history, the Steinway name is almost a synonym for piano. No school or church or concert stage is complete without a Steinway. Over 1,300 acclaimed Steinway Artists play Steinways exclusively. Over ninety-five percent of last season’s solo performances with the most highly regarded symphony orchestras used Steinways. And what Sergei Rachmaninoff, Arthur Rubinstein, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Billy Joel all have in common is—Steinway.
Steinway & Sons is an inseparable part of our musical culture and heritage for over a century and a half. (Steinway & Sons recently celebrated its 154th anniversary.)
Yet few of us know the modest beginnings of Steinway & Sons, and how it became the foremost maker of the instrument, justly renowned for creating the world’s finest pianos. Founded in 1853, the distinguished and refined Steinway & Sons we know today is the result of a fascinating history, richly colored by the fruits of imagination and hard work, overcoming adversity and the winds of historical events, and unflagging dedication and commitment to innovation and excellence.
The story begins with Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, born in 1797 in the village of Wolfshaven, Germany. Later, upon coming to the United States, Heinrich Americanized his name to Henry and the Steinweg name to the now familiar Steinway.
A master cabinetmaker previously apprenticed to an organ builder in Goslar, Henry built his first piano in the kitchen of his home in Seesen, Germany, in 1835. He presented it as a wedding gift to his beautiful young bride, Juliane Thiemer, in February 1836.
Thereafter, Henry began exhibiting his pianos, notably at the fair at Brunswick, and the brilliance of his designs and his workmanship became more widely known and respected. The Duke of Brunswick—in whose militia he’d previously served—reportedly paid handsome sums for his pianos, furthering his reputation.
But this was a time of political and economic upheaval in Europe. Germany still staggered under the aftereffects of Napoleon’s devastation and the later insurgency of the Prussians. Henry feared for the safety of his family, and saw dim prospects for successfully building his business in a climate of turmoil and uncertainty.
In 1851, Henry, his wife, three daughters, and his sons, Heinrich Jr., Albert, William and Charles emigrated from Germany to the United States. His remaining son, Theodor, stayed behind for a time to run the piano business in Germany.
After working for several years for various piano makers and learning the language and business practices of their new home, it was time for the family members to come together and launch their own enterprise.
Steinway & Sons was established as a verbal partnership on March 5, 1853 in a small, crowded workshop on Varick Street in Manhattan. The first piano produced by the fledgling company was sold to a New York family for $500—a considerable sum, in those times. (It is now displayed at New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.) Doretta, the oldest Steinway daughter, was the star salesperson; and she offered free piano lessons to make a sale.
New York City was one of the major centers of piano-making in North America during the mid-1800’s, but it wasn’t long before Steinway & Sons began rising to the top amidst the fierce rivalry of dozens of competing firms.
Within a year Steinway & Sons outgrew its small Varick Street shop. In quick succession, the company moved to larger and larger facilities across the next few years; and the quality and innovation of Steinway pianos spurred remarkable growth and ever-growing demand. By 1859, Steinway & Sons was producing about 500 pianos a year. Barely a year after they were making 1,800 pianos a year—and the Steinways suddenly found they were heading the world’s largest piano company… a mere seven years after founding the company.
The crucial element in Steinway & Sons’ success was continually improving the instrument, literally reinventing it, amassing a formidable array of patents in the forthcoming years. By the end of the nineteenth century, Steinway & Sons had accrued an astonishing 114 different patents, encompassing the most significant developments in the history of piano technology.
One of the first of many such awards was for Henry Steinway’s “overstrung” design [Patent #26532, Dec. 20, 1859]. A major structural improvement, it used a full cast-iron frame to support the soundboard and overstrung bass—a seminal advance of such magnitude that it revolutionized both the industry and the instrument. Capable of holding heavy-gauge strings under enormous tension, the overstrung design provided a brilliant and powerful voice; while the improved shape and string placement created a fuller, richer, more uniform tone.
In 1855, Steinway & Sons’ newly designed piano was introduced at the American Institute Fair at New York’s Crystal Palace, where it won the prestigious “Grand Gold Medal of Honor” for excellence in manufacturing and engineering. One of the most distinguished awards in America; it set the stage for what was to follow.
At the Paris Exposition in 1867, Steinway & Sons stood head-and-shoulders above a crowded field of more than 400 pianos, triumphing with the top award—one of the pivotal events in piano history. Henceforth, the center of the growing piano-making industry revolved around Steinway innovations.
Steinway & Sons continued to garner top awards and prizes in virtually every exhibition in which they participated, catapulting the development of the instrument forward. In addition to American manufacturers, many European piano makers also began adopting Steinway designs and techniques; and the Steinway influence on the entire industry transformed the instrument into the piano we know today.
And the timing was right. In the world performance community, mid-nineteenth century composers like Chopin and Liszt were creating repertoire of such power that it outstripped and shattered older designs. But the robust Steinways were equal to the demands, and the Steinway instruments rapidly became the “piano of choice” for the greatest pianists of the times—treasured then as they are now for their exceptional sound quality, power and responsiveness.
Each Steinway concert grand piano is a masterpiece,
comprised of some 12,000 parts, and the product of
300 highly skilled craftsmen.
Today, the Steinway piano, the piano of Horowitz, of Van Cliburn, of Rachmaninoff and Liszt, is the performance piano chosen by ninety-five percent of piano soloists performing at the world’s most renowned concert halls.
Steinway & Sons crafts approximately 5,000 pianos a year worldwide, sold by nearly 200 authorized dealers around the globe. For over 15 decades there have been 18 distinctive models of Steinway pianos built. Each Steinway concert grand piano is a masterpiece, comprised of some 12,000 parts, and the product of 300 highly skilled craftsmen.
Through a century and half, through two world wars and economic cycles, the company’s hard work and determination kept it on course through difficult times. Now known as Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc., the parent holding company also owns Conn-Selmer, the nation’s leading manufacturer of orchestra and band instruments.
“From the Civil War through the Great Depression in the 1930’s to the flourishing 1990’s, Steinway & Sons pianos have endured,” said Henry Z. Steinway, great grandson of the founder. “This is a testament to the piano-making standards my grandfather established in 1853…”
It seems fitting in its commitment to quality and innovation that this Authorized Steinway Virtual Piano follows firmly in the footsteps of the Steinway & Sons tradition; a bridge across history foreshadowed in the work of still another giant of the past, Thomas Alva Edison. It was a Steinway & Sons piano that was used to make the first successful sound recording at Thomas Edison’s New Jersey laboratory—effectively, the first sampled instrument.
Thomas A. Edison wrote a letter to Steinway & Sons in June of 1890, saying that he wanted to purchase a Steinway piano because, “for some reason unknown to [him],” it gave better results than any others he had tried.
We believe you will agree with Mr. Edison.