C.F. Theodore Steinway
Encyclopedia
Christian Friedrich Theodor Steinweg, anglicized name C.F. Theodore Steinway, (November 6, 1825, in Seesen
– March 26, 1889, in Brunswick
), piano
maker, and the eldest son of the famous piano maker and piano company founder, Henry E. Steinway
.
He was 25 years old in 1850 when his parents, brothers and sisters emigrated to New York City
. The piano factory in Seesen
, near the Harz
mountains, which his father, Henry E. Steinway
, had founded in 1835, was transferred into his name. Soon afterwards he moved the factory to Wolfenbüttel
. In 1858 the piano maker Friedrich Grotrian, a man with some capital and with experience of piano manufacturing in Saint Petersburg
, became a partner in the business. Production was moved to the neighbouring city of Brunswick
.
C.F. Theodor Steinweg held many patents for innovations in piano manufacturing, and exchanges of ideas with his family in America led to several more innovations. In 1865 he sold his share of the Brunswick business to Wilhelm Grotrian and the company was renamed as Grotrian-Steinweg, Helfferich, Schulz, formerly Theodor Steinweg. After his brothers Henry Steinway, Jr. and Charles G. Steinway died in 1865, C.F. Theodor Steinweg followed his family to New York, where he called himself Theodore Steinway. In 1880 he returned to Brunswick to live out his last years, and in his will he bequeathed his collection of musical instruments to Brunswick's city museum.
Like Wilhelm Raabe
, Ludwig Hänselmann, Konrad Koch, among others, C.F. Theodor Steinweg was a member of Die ehrlichen Kleiderseller zu Braunschweig, also known as Kleiderseller, (in English: Honorable Clothiers' Company of Brunswick), a society to share social, hospitable and musical interests in Brunswick.
s and soundboards from Steinway & Sons
in New York City, which they installed in their own piano cabinets and sold under the brand name "Mangeot-Steinway", mostly in France
and England
. This collaboration is not documented in the Steinway archives.
Upon the death of their father, Henry E. Steinway
, in 1871, C.F. Theodore Steinway and his younger brother William Steinway
took over the management of Steinway & Sons
. After the Steinway pianos had won gold medals at the world expositions in London, Paris (1867)
, and Philadelphia (1876)
, C.F. Theodore Steinway and William Steinway began planning a European factory, in order to save costs in customs and transportation expenses as well as to maintain connections with the highly sophisticated German piano-making industry. For shipping convenience, they decided upon a location in the major port city of Hamburg in Germany, where they opened a new Steinway & Sons
factory in 1880. The Hamburg plant was a separate business unit solely owned by C.F. Theodore Steinway and William Steinway, apart from the other partners of the New York-based Steinway & Sons
company.
C.F. Theodore Steinway followed the wish of his father, that he would support the family's business after the two younger brothers had died. He was chief technician of the Steinway & Sons
until his death and was CEO of the company from 1865 until 1889, but he never liked living in the United States, preferring to live in Germany. In 1880, he returned to Germany, first to start the new Hamburg plant, then to live again in Brunswick. As the eldest son, C.F. Theodore Steinway often gave peremptory advice to his much younger brother William Steinway, addressing him in letters and telegrams as "Young man, do this, leave that..."
of a single defective key without either disturbing the neighbouring keys or disassembling any non-defective elements. Also the reinstallation of the elements is supported with high accuracy on the one hand and on the other a quite simple adjustment to perfect working conditions. The precise bearing of the hammer and the whippen on specially profiled brass tubes is still today one of the core elements of Steinway's grand piano mechanism and has not been not modified since 1871: a new hammer fits on a tubular fixture of 1871, and vice versa. Theodore's key innovation was the use of a stiff metal fixture with wooden sticks inserted. These permit the continuation of the old and trusted use of wood screws – but provide much higher precision and stability.
The next most important innovation was C.F. Theodore Steinway's rim bending block patent of 1880, which is still used in every grand piano all over the world: long thin strips of sawn wood are glued together and clamped on a wing-shaped fixture with screwed pressing bars. The previous method of casemaking for grands was much more expensive and time consuming: it demanded the fitting together of wooden corner pieces and in particular the right-hand wall bent by steam into an S curve. The steam bending process required very experienced workers, and a high proportion of the bent pieces had to be rejected. So C.F. Theodore Steinway's invention, which glued together thin saw-cut sheets was very economical: it permitted more cases to be made in a shorter time, with less loss of wood which had already been expensively dried over a period of years.
C.F. Theodore Steinway was the European correspondent in the frequent exchange of letters, and later telegrams, between the Steinway brothers on either side of the Atlantic. This exchange of ideas for better, cheaper and more reliable piano manufacturing led to the final phase of the development of the piano between 1860 and 1885 and a large number of US patents. With the letters and sketches from C.F. Theodore Steinway in Germany, the younger brothers often applied to the US patent office and obtained protection for these ideas. Several further patents, which are not directly connected with C.F. Theodore Steinway's name, nevertheless originate from his work and ideas.
Seesen
Seesen is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx...
– March 26, 1889, in Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
), piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
maker, and the eldest son of the famous piano maker and piano company founder, Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway made pianos in Germany and the United States. He was the founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons....
.
Life
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The piano factory in Seesen
Seesen
Seesen is a town and municipality in the district of Goslar, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range, approx...
, near the Harz
Harz
The Harz is the highest mountain range in northern Germany and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The name Harz derives from the Middle High German word Hardt or Hart , latinized as Hercynia. The legendary Brocken is the highest summit in the Harz...
mountains, which his father, Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway made pianos in Germany and the United States. He was the founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons....
, had founded in 1835, was transferred into his name. Soon afterwards he moved the factory to Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel
Wolfenbüttel is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, located on the Oker river about 13 kilometres south of Brunswick. It is the seat of the District of Wolfenbüttel and of the bishop of the Protestant Lutheran State Church of Brunswick...
. In 1858 the piano maker Friedrich Grotrian, a man with some capital and with experience of piano manufacturing in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, became a partner in the business. Production was moved to the neighbouring city of Brunswick
Braunschweig
Braunschweig , is a city of 247,400 people, located in the federal-state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located north of the Harz mountains at the farthest navigable point of the Oker river, which connects to the North Sea via the rivers Aller and Weser....
.
C.F. Theodor Steinweg held many patents for innovations in piano manufacturing, and exchanges of ideas with his family in America led to several more innovations. In 1865 he sold his share of the Brunswick business to Wilhelm Grotrian and the company was renamed as Grotrian-Steinweg, Helfferich, Schulz, formerly Theodor Steinweg. After his brothers Henry Steinway, Jr. and Charles G. Steinway died in 1865, C.F. Theodor Steinweg followed his family to New York, where he called himself Theodore Steinway. In 1880 he returned to Brunswick to live out his last years, and in his will he bequeathed his collection of musical instruments to Brunswick's city museum.
Like Wilhelm Raabe
Wilhelm Raabe
Wilhelm Raabe , German novelist, whose early works were published under the pseudonym of Jakob Corvinus, was born in Eschershausen ....
, Ludwig Hänselmann, Konrad Koch, among others, C.F. Theodor Steinweg was a member of Die ehrlichen Kleiderseller zu Braunschweig, also known as Kleiderseller, (in English: Honorable Clothiers' Company of Brunswick), a society to share social, hospitable and musical interests in Brunswick.
Influence on Steinway & Sons
In 1866, C.F. Theodore Steinway began a cooperative venture with the Mangeot brothers in Nancy, France, who for several years in the late 1860s imported harpHarp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s and soundboards from Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
in New York City, which they installed in their own piano cabinets and sold under the brand name "Mangeot-Steinway", mostly in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. This collaboration is not documented in the Steinway archives.
Upon the death of their father, Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway made pianos in Germany and the United States. He was the founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons....
, in 1871, C.F. Theodore Steinway and his younger brother William Steinway
William Steinway
William Steinway, also Wilhelm Steinway, born Wilhelm Steinweg , son of Steinway & Sons founder Henry E. Steinway, was a businessman and civic leader who was influential in the development of Astoria, New York....
took over the management of Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
. After the Steinway pianos had won gold medals at the world expositions in London, Paris (1867)
Exposition Universelle (1867)
The Exposition Universelle of 1867 was a World Exposition held in Paris, France, in 1867.-Conception:In 1864, Emperor Napoleon III decreed that an international exposition should be held in Paris in 1867. A commission was appointed with Prince Jerome Napoleon as president, under whose direction...
, and Philadelphia (1876)
Centennial Exposition
The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia. It was officially...
, C.F. Theodore Steinway and William Steinway began planning a European factory, in order to save costs in customs and transportation expenses as well as to maintain connections with the highly sophisticated German piano-making industry. For shipping convenience, they decided upon a location in the major port city of Hamburg in Germany, where they opened a new Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
factory in 1880. The Hamburg plant was a separate business unit solely owned by C.F. Theodore Steinway and William Steinway, apart from the other partners of the New York-based Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
company.
C.F. Theodore Steinway followed the wish of his father, that he would support the family's business after the two younger brothers had died. He was chief technician of the Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade pianos, founded 1853 in Manhattan in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg...
until his death and was CEO of the company from 1865 until 1889, but he never liked living in the United States, preferring to live in Germany. In 1880, he returned to Germany, first to start the new Hamburg plant, then to live again in Brunswick. As the eldest son, C.F. Theodore Steinway often gave peremptory advice to his much younger brother William Steinway, addressing him in letters and telegrams as "Young man, do this, leave that..."
Influence on piano development
C.F. Theodore Steinway was one of the most innovative inventors and patent holders in the history of the piano: more than 45 patents originate from his development work. The most important development is considered to be the single key mechanism fitted to the newly invented tubular frame built with tubes of brass which contain wooden sticks inside to allow accuracy and a simple screwing, patent gained 1871 for Steinway. Since the Vienna mechanism disappeared at the beginning of the 20th century, all grand pianos have been built using the single key principle, mainly developed by C.F. Theodore Steinway and his younger brothers. With this system it is possible to replace the hammer and also the wippenAction (piano)
The piano action mechanism, or the key action mechanism, or simply the action of a piano or other musical keyboards, is the mechanical assembly which translates the depression of the keys into rapid motion of a hammer, which creates sound by striking the strings. Action can be referred to a pianos...
of a single defective key without either disturbing the neighbouring keys or disassembling any non-defective elements. Also the reinstallation of the elements is supported with high accuracy on the one hand and on the other a quite simple adjustment to perfect working conditions. The precise bearing of the hammer and the whippen on specially profiled brass tubes is still today one of the core elements of Steinway's grand piano mechanism and has not been not modified since 1871: a new hammer fits on a tubular fixture of 1871, and vice versa. Theodore's key innovation was the use of a stiff metal fixture with wooden sticks inserted. These permit the continuation of the old and trusted use of wood screws – but provide much higher precision and stability.
The next most important innovation was C.F. Theodore Steinway's rim bending block patent of 1880, which is still used in every grand piano all over the world: long thin strips of sawn wood are glued together and clamped on a wing-shaped fixture with screwed pressing bars. The previous method of casemaking for grands was much more expensive and time consuming: it demanded the fitting together of wooden corner pieces and in particular the right-hand wall bent by steam into an S curve. The steam bending process required very experienced workers, and a high proportion of the bent pieces had to be rejected. So C.F. Theodore Steinway's invention, which glued together thin saw-cut sheets was very economical: it permitted more cases to be made in a shorter time, with less loss of wood which had already been expensively dried over a period of years.
C.F. Theodore Steinway was the European correspondent in the frequent exchange of letters, and later telegrams, between the Steinway brothers on either side of the Atlantic. This exchange of ideas for better, cheaper and more reliable piano manufacturing led to the final phase of the development of the piano between 1860 and 1885 and a large number of US patents. With the letters and sketches from C.F. Theodore Steinway in Germany, the younger brothers often applied to the US patent office and obtained protection for these ideas. Several further patents, which are not directly connected with C.F. Theodore Steinway's name, nevertheless originate from his work and ideas.
In English
- Susan Goldenberg, Steinway - From Glory to Controversy - The Family - The Business - The Piano, Mosaic Press, Oakville, Ontario, 1996, ISBN 0-88962-607-3
- Richard K. Lieberman, Steinway & Sons, ISBN 0-300-06364-4, Yale University Press, 1995
- Ronald V. Ratcliffe, Steinway, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1989, ISBN 0-87701-592-9
- Theodore E. Steinway, Steinway, People and Pianos - A Pictorial History of Steinway & Sons, Classical Music Today, 2005, Amadeus Press, Newark, New Jersey, ISBN 157467112X
In German
- Horst-Rüdiger Jarck and Gerhard Schildt (editors): Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. Jahrtausendrückblick einer Region. Brunswick 2000
- Richard K. Lieberman: Steinway & Sons. Eine Familiengeschichte um Macht und Musik. Kindler, München 1996, ISBN 3-463-40288-2
- Ronald V. Ratcliffe: Steinway & Sons. Propyläen-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main (u.a.) 1992, ISBN 3-549-07192-2
- Dirk Stroschein: Von Steinweg zu Steinway. Eine deutsch-amerikanische Familiensaga (Hörbuch auf Audio-CD). ISBN 3-455-32013-9