Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, celebrated family of German-American piano manufacturers. The founder of the firm was Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (b. Wolfshagen, Germany, Feb. 15, 1797; d. N.Y., Feb. 7, 1871; in 1864 he Anglicized his name to Henry E. Steinway). He learned cabinetmaking and organ building at Goslar, and in 1818 entered the shop of an organ maker in Seesen, also becoming church organist there. From about 1820 he became interested in piano making and worked hard to establish a business of his own. He built his first piano in 1836. In 1839 he exhibited one grand and 2 square pianos at the Braunschweig State Fair, winning the gold medal. The Revolution of 1848 caused him to emigrate to America with his wife, 2 daughters, and 4 of his 5 sons: Charles (actually, Christian Karl Gottlieb) Steinweg (b. Seesen, Jan. 4, 1829; d. there, March 31, 1865); Henry (actually, Johann Heinrich Engelhard) Steinweg (b. Seesen, Oct. 29, 1830; d. N.Y., March 11, 1865); William (actually, Johann Heinrich Wilhelm) Steinweg (b. Seesen, March 5, 1835; d. N.Y., Nov. 30, 1896); and (Georg August) Albert Steinweg (b. Seesen, June 10, 1840; d. N.Y., May 14, 1877). The management of the German business at Seesen was left in charge of the eldest son, (Christian Friedrich) Theodore Steinweg (b. Seesen, Nov. 6, 1825; d. Braunschweig, March 26, 1889). The family arrived in N.Y. on June 29, 1850, and for about 2 years father and sons worked in various piano factories there. On March 5, 1853, they established a factory of their own under the above firm name, with premises on Varick St. In 1854 they won a gold medal for a square piano at the Metropolitan Fair in Washington, D.C. Their remarkable prosperity dates from 1855, when they took first prize for a square over-strung piano with castiron frame (an innovation then) at the N.Y. Industrial Exhibition, hi 1856 they made their first grand, and in 1862 their first upright. Among the numerous honors subsequently received may be mentioned first prize at London, 1862; first grand gold medal of honor for all styles at Paris, 1867 (by unanimous verdict); diplomas for “highest degree of excellence in all styles” at Philadelphia, 1876. In 1854 the family name (Steinweg) was legally changed to Steinway. In 1865, upon the death of his brothers Charles and Henry, Theodore gave up the Braunschweig business and became a full partner in the N.Y. firm; he built Steinway Hall on 14th St., which, in addition to the offices and retail warerooms, housed a concert hall that became a leading center of N.Y. musical life. In 1925 headquarters were established in the Steinway Building on 57th St. Theodore was especially interested in the scientific aspects of piano construction and made a study of the acoustical theories of Helmholtz and Tyn-dall, which enabled him to introduce important improvements. He returned to Germany in 1870. On May 17, 1876, the firm was incorporated and William was elected president; he opened a London branch in 1876, and established a European factory at Hamburg in 1880. In the latter year he also bought 400 acres of land on Long Island Sound and established there the village of Steinway (now part of Long Island City), where since 1910 the entire manufacturing plant has been located. Control and active management of the business, now the largest of its kind in the world, has remained in the hands of the founder’s descendants. Theodore E. Steinway (d. N.Y, April 8, 1957), grandson of Henry E. Steinway, was president from 1927; also a stamp collector, he was honored by Liechtenstein with his portrait on a postage stamp on Sept. 7, 1972; in 1955 he was succeeded by his son, Henry Steinway. The firm was sold to CBS in 1972, although the Steinway family continued to be closely associated with the business. In 1985 CBS sold the firm to Steinway Musical Properties. In 1988 Steinway & Sons celebrated its 135th anniversary with a special concert in N.Y. and the unveiling of its 500, 000th piano. In 1995 the firm was purchased by the Selmer Co.
Bibliography
O. Floersheim, W. S.(Breslau, 1894); E. Hubbard, The Story of the S.s (East Aurora, N.Y., 1911); T. Steinway, People and Pianos (N.Y., 1953; second ed., 1961); C. Ehrlich, The Piano: A History (London, 1976); D. Fostle, The S. Saga: An American Dynasty (N.Y., 1994); R. Lieberman, S. & Sons (New Haven, 1995).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire