Steinway & Sons
Encyclopedia
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway , is an American and German manufacturer of handmade piano
s, founded 1853 in Manhattan
in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg
(later Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a factory and company town
in what is now the Astoria
section of Queens in New York City and the opening of a factory in Hamburg
, Germany. Steinway is a prominent piano company, known for making pianos of high quality and for its influential inventions within the area of piano development. The company holds a royal warrant by appointment to Queen Elizabeth II.
Steinway pianos have been recognized with numerous awards. One of the first official recognitions was a gold medal won in 1855 at the American Institute Fair at the New York Crystal Palace
just two years after the company's foundation. In 1855–62 Steinway pianos received 35 gold medals. Several awards and recognitions have followed, including 3 medals at the 1867 Exposition Universelle
in Paris. Steinway has been granted around 130 patent
s in piano making, most of which have expired.
Other than the high-quality Steinway & Sons piano brand, Steinway markets two lower-quality brands: Boston and Essex. The Boston and Essex pianos are made using lower-cost components and labor and are produced in Asia by other piano manufacturers.
in New York City. A year later, demand was such that the company moved to larger premises at 82–88 Walker Street. It was not until 1864 that the family anglicized their name from Steinweg to Steinway.
By the 1860s, Steinway had built a new factory and lumber yard. With a workforce of 350 men, production increased from 500 to 1,800 pianos per year. The pianos themselves underwent numerous substantial improvements through innovations made both at the Steinway factory and elsewhere in the industry based on emerging engineering and scientific research, including developments in the understanding of acoustics. Almost half of the company's around 130 patented inventions were developed by the first and second generations of the Steinway family. Steinway's pianos won several important prizes at exhibitions in New York City, Paris and London. By 1862, Steinway pianos had received more than 35 medal
s in the United States alone.
Around 1870–80, William Steinway
established a professional community, the company town
Steinway Village, in what is now the Astoria section of Queens in New York City. Steinway Village was built as its own town, and included a new factory (still used today) with its own foundries, post office, parks and housing for employees. Steinway Village later became part of Long Island City
. Steinway Street
, one of the major streets in the Astoria and Long Island City neighborhoods of Queens, is named after the company.
To reach European customers who wanted Steinway pianos, and to avoid high European import taxes, William Steinway and Theodore Steinway established a new piano factory in the free German city of Hamburg in 1880. The first address of Steinway's factory in Germany was at Schanzenstraße in the western part of Hamburg St. Pauli
. Theodore Steinway became the head of the German factory, and William Steinway went back to the factory in New York City. The Hamburg and New York City factories regularly exchanged experience about their patent
s and technique despite the large distance between them, and they continue to do so today. More than a third of Steinway's patented inventions are under the name of Theodore Steinway.
In 1890, Steinway received their first royal warrant, granted by Queen Victoria. The following year the patrons of Steinway included the Prince of Wales
and other members of the monarchy
and nobility
. In subsequent years Steinway was granted royal and imperial warrants from the rulers of Italy, Norway, Persia, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
Steinway Hall
is the name given to buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway pianos. In 1864 William Steinway
, the son of Henry E. Steinway who is credited with establishing Steinway's remarkable success in marketing, built a set of elegant new showrooms housing more than 100 pianos on East 14th Street in Manhattan, New York City. In 1866, William Steinway oversaw the construction of the first Steinway Hall to the rear of the showrooms. The Steinway Hall seated more than 2,000 and quickly became an important part of New York City's cultural life, housing the New York Philharmonic
for the next 25 years until Carnegie Hall
opened in 1891. Concertgoers had to pass through the piano showrooms; this had a remarkable effect on sales, increasing demand for new pianos by four hundred in 1867 alone. The Steinway factory was then on Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue) and East 55th Street in Manhattan.
In 1880, a Steinway-Haus was established in Hamburg as a sales showroom with concert halls, practice studios, sales departments and piano storage space. In 1909, another Steinway-Haus opened in Berlin. A Steinway-Haus is similar to a Steinway Hall. Further concepts developed by the company include Steinway Piano Galleries, Homes of Steinway, Steinway Rooms and Steinway Salons. Today Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Berlin and Vienna.
By 1900, Steinway factories produced more than 3,500 pianos a year. In 1857 Steinway began to produce a line of highly lucrative art case pianos, designed by well-known artists. These pianos today command high prices in auctions around the world. In 1903 the 100,000th Steinway grand piano was given as a gift to the White House
; it was decorated by the artists Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Maria Oakey Dewing under the supervision of the head of Steinway's Art Piano Department, Joseph Burr Tiffany
. The 100,000th Steinway grand piano was replaced in 1938 by the 300,000th, which remains in use in the White House. The piano is normally placed in the largest room of the White House, the East Room. The 2002 White House Christmas Card features this piano.
Later Steinway diversified into the manufacture of player piano
s. Several systems such as the Welte-Mignon
, Duo-Art
, and Ampico were incorporated. During the 1920s Steinway had been selling up to 6,000 pianos a year. In 1929, Steinway constructed one double-keyboard
grand piano. It had 164 keys
and four pedals
. (In 2005, Steinway refurbished this instrument). After 1929, piano production went down, and during the Great Depression
, Steinway produced only a little more than 1,000 pianos per year. In the years between 1935 and World War II
, demand rose again.
During World War II the Steinway factory in New York City received orders from the Allied Armies to build wooden gliders to convey troops behind enemy lines. Few normal pianos could be made, but some 3000 special models were built by Steinway, the Victory Vertical or G.I. Piano. It was a small piano, able to be lifted by four men, painted olive drab, gray or blue, designed to be carried aboard ships or dropped by parachute from an airplane, in order to bring music to the soldiers.
The factory in Hamburg, Germany, being American-owned, could sell very few pianos during World War II. No more than a hundred pianos per year left the factory. In the later years of the war, the company was ordered to give away all the prepared and dried wood from the lumber yard, to be used for war production. In an air raid over Hamburg, the factory was hit by several Allied bombs and was nearly destroyed. After the war, Steinway completed the restoration of the Hamburg factory with some help from the Marshall Plan
. Eventually, the post-war cultural revival boosted demand for entertainment and Steinway increased piano production at the New York City and Hamburg factories, going from 2,000 in 1947 to 4,000 pianos a year by the 1960s.
In 1972, after a long-running financial struggle, legal issues with the Grotrian-Steinweg brand, and a lack of business interest among some of the Steinway family members, the firm was sold to CBS
. At that time CBS owned many enterprises in the entertainment industry, including guitar maker Fender, electro-mechanical piano maker Rhodes
, and the baseball team New York Yankees
. CBS had plans to form a musical conglomerate
that made and sold music in all forms and through all outlets, including records, radio, television, and musical instruments. This new conglomerate was evidently not as successful as CBS had expected, and Steinway was sold in 1985, along with classical and church organ maker Rodgers
and flute and piccolo maker Gemeinhardt
, to a group of Boston-area investors. These investors founded the musical conglomerate Steinway Musical Properties (later Steinway Musical Instruments
, a publicly traded company (NYSE
: LVB)), which is the parent company of Steinway.
In 1995, Steinway Musical Properties, parent company of Steinway, merged with the Selmer Company to form Steinway Musical Instruments
, which acquired the flute manufacturer Emerson in 1997, then piano keyboard maker Kluge
in 1998, and the Steinway Hall in 1999. The conglomerate made more acquisitions in the following years. Since 1996, Steinway Musical Instruments has been traded at the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) under the abbreviation LVB, for Ludwig van Beethoven
. The Korean piano and guitar maker Samick Music Corporation is the largest shareholder, controlling 33% of Steinway stock; Samick Chairman Jong Sup Kim has been a member of the Steinway board of directors since November 2009.
bought a Steinway piano with the £450 he had won in the Charlemagne Prize for leading Britain into the European Economic Community
. He placed the piano at 10 Downing Street
.
In 1988, Steinway made its 500,000th piano. The piano was designed by artist Wendell Castle
. All the 800-plus Steinway Artists signed the piano with their names, including Vladimir Horowitz
and Sir Elton John
. The piano is taking an extended global concert tour.
In 1994, Steinway opened the C.F. Theodore Steinway Academy For Concert Technicians, also known as the Steinway Academy; the world's first academy for concert technicians worldwide. Georges Ammann, concert technician with Steinway's factory in Hamburg, said, "We were getting a lot of complaints from pianists all over the world – they said that getting their pianos tuned was a disastrous process every time and that the local technicians were hopeless. The artists kept begging us to do something about this ... From that perspective, it was clear that an institution like the Steinway Academy was a necessity." The Steinway Academy provides professional concert technicians with a two-week intensive course..
Steinway is a member of the Luxury Marketing Council founded 1994, a cooperative marketing organization aimed at affluent buyers.
By the year 2000, Steinway had made its 550,000th piano. The company updated and expanded production of its two other brands, Boston and Essex pianos, in addition to the flagship
Steinway & Sons. More Steinway Hall
s, Steinway Piano Galleries, Homes of Steinway, Steinway Rooms and Steinway Salons opened across the world, mainly in China, Japan and Korea.
In 2003, Steinway celebrated its 150th anniversary at Carnegie Hall
's largest auditorium, Isaac Stern Auditorium, with a gala series of three concerts on June 5, 6 and 7, 2003. The concert on June 5 featured classical music
with Kit Armstrong
(a music child prodigy
), Van Cliburn
, Eroica Trio
, Gary Graffman
, Ben Heppner
, Yundi Li and Güher and Süher Pekinel
. The host was Charles Osgood
. On June 6 was a concert of jazz
featuring Peter Cincotti
, Herbie Hancock
, Ahmad Jamal
, Al Jarreau
, Ramsey Lewis
, Tisziji Muñoz
, Chucho Valdés
and Nancy Wilson, hosted by Billy Taylor
. Pop music
was the focus of June 7, with Paul Shaffer
hosting performances by Art Garfunkel
, Bruce Hornsby
, k.d. lang
, Michel Legrand
, Brian McKnight
, Peter Nero
and Roger Williams
. As part of the 150th anniversary, renowned international fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld
created a commemorative Steinway art case piano.
In April 2005, Steinway celebrated the 125th anniversary of the establishment of Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany. Steinway employees, together with artists, dealers and friends from around the world celebrated the anniversary at the Laeiszhalle
(former Music Hall Hamburg) with a gala concert, culminating in a showcase performance by the Steinway Artists Lang Lang
, Vladimir and Vovka Ashkenazy
and Detlef Kraus
. As part of the celebration, the 125th anniversary limited edition Steinway art case piano by renowned designer Count Albrecht von Goertz
was presented to the public.
Until his death on September 18, 2008 at the age of 93, Henry Z. Steinway
, the great-grandson of the Steinway founder, still worked for Steinway and put his signature on custom-made limited edition pianos. At several public occasions, Henry Z. Steinway represented the Steinway family. He started at the company in 1937 after graduating from Harvard University
. He was president of the company in 1955–77 and was the last Steinway family member to be president of Steinway.
On January 24, 2009, Steinway installed the world's largest solar-powered rooftop air-conditioning and dehumidification system, at a cost of $875,000, to dehumidify the factory in New York City, and protect the pianos. Lower humidity in the factory provides a more stable environment, with no moisture to threaten the construction of the pianos. The massive HVAC
system will function as a beta test site for solar technology in the Tri-State Region.
After the 2008 economic downturn, Steinway grand piano sales fell by half and 30% of the union employees were laid off from the New York factory between August 2008 and November 2009. Total piano sales of Steinway Musical Instruments, including Boston and Essex brands, were down 21% in 2009.
Steinway's factory in New York City produces six models of grand piano and three models of upright piano.
Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany, produces seven models of grand piano and two models of upright piano.
, Louis Comfort Tiffany
and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
have created original designs for Steinway pianos. These specially designed pianos fall under the series Steinway Art Case Pianos or Steinway Limited Edition Pianos.
Steinway began creating art case pianos in 1857 and the making of art case pianos reached its peak in the late 19th century. Today, Steinway only builds art case pianos on rare occasions. The art case pianos are unique, because Steinway builds only one of each. Some of Steinway's most notable art case pianos are the Alma-Tadema grand piano from 1887, the 100,000th Steinway piano from 1903, the 300,000th Steinway piano from 1938 and the Sound of Harmony from 2008. The Alma-Tadema grand piano was designed by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema and received great public acclaim when it was exhibited in London. The piano has a complicated hand-carved case, lid and legs and is decorated with paintings and 2,200 mother-of-pearl inlays. It was bought by Henry Gurdon Marquand
for his New York City mansion. In 1997, it was sold at Christie's
auction house in London for $1.2 million, setting a price record for a piano sold at auction. It is now displayed at the art museum Clark Art Institute
. The 100,000th Steinway piano was given as a gift to the White House
in 1903 and is made of cherry tree
with gold leaf
. It is decorated with coats of arms
of the thirteen original states of America and painted by Thomas Dewing
with dancing figures representing the nine Muse
s. The 100,000th Steinway piano was replaced in 1938 by the 300,000th Steinway piano. The gold
gilded
mahogany legs of the 300,000th piano are carved as eagle
s and are moulded by sculptor Albert Stewart
. The piano remains in use in the White House. The Sound of Harmony is decorated with inlays of 40 different woods, including the lid which replicates artwork by Chinese painter Shi Qi. It took about four years to build the grand piano and it was priced at €
1.2 million. The piano was chosen for use at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China.
The series of limited edition pianos encompasses pianos of new designs and replicas of historic Steinway pianos. Examples of pianos of new designs include The S.L.ED by Karl Lagerfeld created to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Steinway company in 2003, and the 125th anniversary grand piano by Count Albrecht von Goertz
designed to celebrate the 125th anniversary in 2005 of the foundation of the Steinway factory in Hamburg. An example of replicas of historic Steinway pianos is the 150th anniversary grand piano, which are exact copies of the grand piano played by Ignacy Jan Paderewski
on his famous United States concert tour in 1892–93. Another example of replicas of historic Steinway pianos is the William E. Steinway grand piano, which are exact copies of the award-winning Steinway grand piano, that was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition
in 1876.
In 1999, Steinway introduced a new line of special designed pianos, the Steinway Crown Jewel Collection. The collection consists of grand and upright pianos in Steinway's traditional design, but instead of the traditional ebony finish the pianos of the crown jewel collection are made in veneers of rare woods from around the world. The collection contains wood veneer
s such as Macassar ebony (The Ruby), East Indian rosewood
(The Sapphire), kewazinga bubinga (The Opal) and Santos rosewood
(The Emerald).
Other than the expensive Steinway & Sons brand, Steinway markets two budget brands: Boston for the mid-level market and Essex for the entry-level market. Boston and Essex pianos are made using lower-cost components and labor. These pianos are designed by Steinway but manufactured in Asia by other piano manufacturers.
Steinway maintains a "piano bank" from which performing pianists, especially Steinway Artists, can select a Steinway piano for use in a certain concert, recording or tour. The idea is to provide a consistent pool of Steinway pianos with various characteristics for performing pianists' individual touch and tonal preferences. Performing artists choose a piano for use at a certain venue after trying some of the pianos of the "piano bank". This allows a range of Steinway pianos with various touch and tonal characteristics to be available for artists to choose from. Steinway takes responsibility for preparing, tuning and delivering the piano of the artist's choice to the designated concert hall or recording studio. The artist bears the cost of these services. The pianos for the "piano bank" are selected by Steinway's experts.
The "piano bank" is worldwide and consist of more than 400 Steinway pianos, mostly grand pianos model D-274
. Approximately 300 pianos of the "piano bank" are located around the United States and are valued collectively at more than $25 million. The headquarters of the "piano bank" is below street level in the basement of the Steinway Hall
in Manhattan, New York City.
or at Steinway's factory in Hamburg
. Vladimir Horowitz
played a New York model D-274
; Arthur Rubinstein
preferred the Hamburg model D-274. Sergei Rachmaninoff
owned two New York models in his Beverly Hills home and one New York model D-274 in his New York home; however, he chose a Hamburg model D-274 for his Villa Senar
in Switzerland. The difference between the New York and Hamburg Steinway pianos is less noticeable today. Emanuel Ax
, concert pianist and piano teacher at the prestigious Juilliard School
, says that "... the differences have more to do with individual instruments than with where they were made." Some visual differences are well known, for example: the New York models have a black satin finish and square or Sheraton
corners; Hamburg models have a high gloss polyester finish and rounded corners.
At present, 2,500 Steinway pianos are built in New York every year, and 1,500 are built in Hamburg. The market is loosely divided into two sales areas: the New York Steinway factory which supplies North and South America, and the Hamburg Steinway factory which supplies the rest of the world. At all main Steinway showrooms across the world, pianos can be ordered from both factories. The New York and Hamburg factories exchange parts and craftsmanship in order to "make no compromise in quality", in the words of Steinway's founder Henry E. Steinway. Steinway parts for both factories come from the same places: Canadian maple
is used for the rim, and the soundboards are made from Sitka spruce
from Alaska
. Both factories use similar crown parameters for their diaphragmatic soundboards. Steinway has acquired some of its suppliers in order to maintain high quality: the German manufacturer Kluge
in Wuppertal, which supplies the keyboards, was bought in December 1998; in November 1999, Steinway purchased the company which supplies its cast iron
plates, O.S. Kelly Co. in Springfield.
Each Steinway grand piano consists of more than 12,000 specific parts assembled by 450 people. A Steinway piano is handmade and takes a year to build.
in the bottom of the grand pianos or in the backs of the vertical pianos provide additional support. The process used to make the Steinway rim called rim-bending was invented by Steinway in 1878, and had been covered by a patent, now expired. The process is strictly adhered to today, more than 130 years later. For braces and posts, Steinway pianos use spruce
, a wood known for its tensile strength. After the rim-bending process, the rim has to "relax" from the tremendous shock of being bent. It is placed in a conditioning room between 10 and 16 weeks, depending on thickness and size of the rim. The room's temperature is set at 85°F
(30°C
) and the relative humidity is 45%.
Inside the piano, a cast iron plate provides the strength to support the string
tension of up to 20 ton
s. The iron plate is installed in the case above the soundboard and is bronze
d, lacquered, polished, and decorated with the Steinway logo. In grand pianos, the iron plate, soundboard and strings are horizontal, while in vertical pianos, these three components are upright. Steinway fabricates plates in its own foundry using a sand-casting method.
and Alaska. This wood is chosen for its acoustic qualities and is selected to be free of defects. Individual pieces of spruce are matched to produce soundboards of uniform color and tonal quality. The soundboards found in Steinway pianos are double-crowned and feature Steinway's Diaphragmatic design. The Diaphragmatic Soundboard, which was granted a patent in 1936, features a soundboard that tapers in thickness from the center to the edges. This design permits freedom of movement and creates a richer, more lasting tonal response.
are glued to the top side of the soundboard to transmit vibrations from the strings to the soundboard. Steinway bridges are made of vertically-laminated hard rock maple with a solid maple cap. They are bent to a specifically defined contour to optimize sound transmission. The bridge is measured for specific height requirements for each piano and is hand-notched for precise string bearing. The bridges are then glued and doweled into the ribs to ensure the structural integrity of the entire soundboard.
On December 20, 1859, U.S. patent 26,532 was granted to Steinway's founder, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, for the Overstrung Plate. Treble strings are made of steel
, and bass strings are made of copper
-wound steel. The strings are all uniformly spaced with one end coiled around the tuning
pins, which in turn are inserted in a laminated wooden block called the pin-block or wrestplank. The tuning pins keep the strings taut and are held in place by friction. The strings found on a Steinway piano are made of tensile Swedish steel. The bass strings are wound with pure copper, and the tuning pins are steel with rust resistant nickel-plating. Steinway also employs front and rear duplex scales. Steinway's relationship with Hermann von Helmholtz
led to the development and Steinway patent in 1872 of front and back aliquots, allowing the traditionally-dead sections of strings to vibrate with other strings for a richer tone and longer sustain.
is made of Bavarian spruce with a polymer
surface. The polymer key surfaces are more durable; the white keys do not yellow over time and are easier to replace than their ivory
predecessors. Each of the keys transmits its movement to a small, felt
-covered wooden hammer which strikes one, two or three strings when the note is played. The hammers are evenly aligned and have the ability to reset quickly and repeat any note rapidly. Dampers are felt-covered action parts which, when placed against the strings, dampen the vibration. The damper pedal
raises all of the dampers, which allows sound to continue even after the key is released. The quarter-sawn maple action parts are mounted on a Steinway Metallic Action Frame, which consists of seamless brass tubes with rosette-shaped contours, force-fitted with maple dowel
s and brass hangers to ensure the stability of the regulation. In 1936, Steinway designed Accelerated Action in response to demands for a quicker-responding action. In 1962, Steinway introduced its Permafree action which used teflon parts in place of cloth bushings and were intended to withstand wear and humidity changes better than cloth. The teflon bushings resulted in certain unforeseen problems, however, and were discontinued after 1981.
to play Steinway pianos during an American concert tour in 1872, with 215 concerts in 239 days. It was a triumph for both Rubinstein and Steinway. Thus, the Steinway Artists program was born. Later Ignacy Jan Paderewski
played 107 concerts in just 117 days, traveling through America with his own railroad car and a Steinway concert grand piano.
An author has estimated that more than 90% of concert grand pianos worldwide are from Steinway. According to Steinway, 98% of the world's piano soloists chose to play publicly on a Steinway piano during the 2008–09 North American concert season, and 99% during the 2002–03 worldwide concert season. The majority of the world's concert halls have at least one Steinway concert grand piano model D-274
, some (for example Carnegie Hall
) have model D-274s from both the New York City factory and the Hamburg factory in order to satisfy a greater range of preferences. Today more than 1,600 concert artists and ensembles bear the title Steinway Artist, which means that they have chosen to perform on Steinway pianos exclusively, and each owns a Steinway. None are paid to do so. Steinway Artists come from every genre: classical, jazz and pop. A few examples of Steinway Artists are Vladimir Ashkenazy
, Harry Connick, Jr.
, Billy Joel
, Evgeny Kissin
, Diana Krall
, Lang Lang
, Roger Williams
; and a few examples of "immortals" are Benjamin Britten
, Duke Ellington
, George Gershwin
, Vladimir Horowitz
, Cole Porter
, Sergei Rachmaninoff
and Richard Rodgers
. Also piano ensembles
are on the Steinway Artist list, for example Eroica Trio
, Güher and Süher Pekinel
, Katia and Marielle Labèque
and The 5 Browns
. These ensembles consist of pianists, who are all Steinway Artists. In 2009, Steinway developed a new program for young artists, Young Steinway Artists. The title of Young Steinway Artist gives talented young pianists between the ages of 16 and 35 the opportunity of being affiliated with the Steinway Artist family, and access to the worldwide resources of Steinway and its network of dealers.
The Steinway Artists program has not been without opponents and controversy. Steinway expects Steinway Artists to perform on Steinway instruments where they are available and in appropriate condition, but can accept deviations. Artur Schnabel
complained once that "Steinway refused to let me use their pianos [i.e., Steinway pianos owned by Steinway] unless I would give up playing the Bechstein
piano – which I had used for so many years – in Europe. They insisted that I play on Steinway exclusively, everywhere in the world, otherwise they would not give me their pianos in the United States. That is the reason why from 1923 until 1930 I did not return to America... In 1933,... Steinway changed their attitude and agreed to let me use their pianos in the United States, even if I continued elsewhere to play the Bechstein. Thus from 1933 on, I went every year to America." In 1972, Steinway responded to Garrick Ohlsson
's statement that Bösendorfer
was "the Rolls-Royce
of pianos" by trucking away the Steinway-owned Steinway concert grand piano on which Ohlsson was about to give a recital at Alice Tully Hall
in New York City. Ohlsson ended up performing on a Bösendorfer piano borrowed at the eleventh hour, and Steinway would not let him borrow Steinway-owned instruments for some time. Ohlsson has since made peace with Steinway. Angela Hewitt
was removed from the Steinway Artist roster in 2002 after she purchased and performed on a Fazioli
piano. After the Canadian pianist Louis Lortie
was removed from the Steinway Artist roster in 2003, he complained in a newspaper article, that Steinway is trying to establish a monopoly on the concert world by becoming "the Microsoft
of pianos". A Steinway spokesman said that Steinway naturally does not want anyone on the Steinway Artist roster who does not want to play the Steinway.
The Steinway Artist program has been copied by many other piano brands, but Steinway's program is still unique in the way, that a pianist must promise to play pianos of the Steinway brand only to become a Steinway Artist.
An All-Steinway School is an educational institution in which students perform and are taught exclusively on Steinway pianos. The Oberlin Conservatory of Music
in Oberlin, Ohio, holds the longest partnership with Steinway. They have used Steinway pianos exclusively since 1877, just 24 years after Steinway was founded. In 2007, they obtained their 200th Steinway piano. Other notable All-Steinway Schools are the Juilliard School
in New York City, the Yale School of Music
in New Haven, Connecticut, the George Washington University
in Washington, DC, the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida, and the Union College
in Schenectady, New York. In 2007, the Crane School of Music
, at the State University of New York at Potsdam
, was added to the All-Steinway Schools roster, receiving 141 pianos in one $3.8 million order. In 2009, the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music in Ohio became designated an All-Steinway School, based on a $4.1 million order of 165 new pianos, one of the largest orders Steinway has ever processed.
There are more than 125 conservatories, universities, colleges and schools around the world where students perform and are taught only on Steinway pianos.
in Fort Worth, Texas, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Cleveland International Piano Competition
, Ohio, and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition
, South Carolina. Also well-known music festival
s around the world use Steinway pianos. The festivals feature a range of musical forms and styles. A few examples are the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Canada, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
, Louisiana, the BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall
, London, the Verbier Festival
in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland, and the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto
in the Japanese Alps
near Matsumoto. Since 1936, Steinway too has arranged competitions and festivals such as the Steinway Young Artist Competition in Chicago, Steinway's piano competitions in Hamburg and Berlin, and the Steinway Piano Festival in Denmark, which is a part of the International Steinway Festival. These competitions and festivals are for gifted children and young pianists and are meant to support their talents.
assistance for further study in classical and jazz piano; and providing talented students with a loaned piano and tuition for piano lessons through the establishment of Steinway Piano Galleries. All money raised through memberships, donations, and fundraisers is used to provide scholarships and pianos to young pianists. Steinway Societies also sponsor events such as concerts, recital
s, workshops and master class
es.
Steinway Societies exist in the United States and Canada only, including chapters in Florida, New Orleans, Pennsylvania, Texas and Toronto. There are 20 Steinway Societies.
s; however most have expired. According to a patent attorney
, most of what is needed to know about modern piano manufacturing is covered by Steinway's patented inventions. Some notable examples of Steinway's now-expired patents are:
that follows the construction of a Steinway concert grand piano
for more than a year, from the search for wood in Alaska to a display at Manhattan's Steinway Hall. The documentary film received its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum in November, 2007.
In the documentary, the pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard
, Kenny Barron
, Bill Charlap
, Harry Connick, Jr.
, Hélène Grimaud
, Hank Jones
, Lang Lang
and Marcus Roberts
, are seen testing and talking about Steinway pianos. The Steinway founder's great-grandson, Henry Z. Steinway
, talks about the company's history.
Critics gave the documentary mostly positive reviews. , the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 90% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 20 reviews. The documentary has won 7 awards.
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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...
s, founded 1853 in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg
Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway made pianos in Germany and the United States. He was the founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons....
(later Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to the opening of a factory and company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
in what is now the Astoria
Astoria, Queens
Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. Located in Community Board 1, Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City, Sunnyside , and Woodside...
section of Queens in New York City and the opening of a factory in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany. Steinway is a prominent piano company, known for making pianos of high quality and for its influential inventions within the area of piano development. The company holds a royal warrant by appointment to Queen Elizabeth II.
Steinway pianos have been recognized with numerous awards. One of the first official recognitions was a gold medal won in 1855 at the American Institute Fair at the New York Crystal Palace
New York Crystal Palace
New York Crystal Palace was an exhibition building constructed for the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York City in 1853, which was under the presidency of Mayor Jacob Aaron Westervelt...
just two years after the company's foundation. In 1855–62 Steinway pianos received 35 gold medals. Several awards and recognitions have followed, including 3 medals at the 1867 Exposition Universelle
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...
in Paris. Steinway has been granted around 130 patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s in piano making, most of which have expired.
Other than the high-quality Steinway & Sons piano brand, Steinway markets two lower-quality brands: Boston and Essex. The Boston and Essex pianos are made using lower-cost components and labor and are produced in Asia by other piano manufacturers.
Foundation and growth
Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, piano maker of the Steinweg brand, emigrated from Germany to America in 1850 with his wife and six of their seven children. The son Christian Friedrich Theodor Steinweg remained in Germany, and continued making the Steinweg brand of pianos. In 1853, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg founded Steinway & Sons. His first workshop was in a small loft at the back of 85 Varick Street in Manhattan, New York City. The first piano produced by Steinway & Sons was given the number 483 because Steinweg had built 482 pianos in Germany before founding the company. Number 483 was sold to a New York family for $500, and is now displayed at the Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City. A year later, demand was such that the company moved to larger premises at 82–88 Walker Street. It was not until 1864 that the family anglicized their name from Steinweg to Steinway.
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s in the United States alone.
Around 1870–80, 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....
established a professional community, the company town
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
Steinway Village, in what is now the Astoria section of Queens in New York City. Steinway Village was built as its own town, and included a new factory (still used today) with its own foundries, post office, parks and housing for employees. Steinway Village later became part of Long Island City
Long Island City, Queens
Long Island City is the westernmost neighborhood of the borough of Queens in New York City. L.I.C. is notable for its rapid and ongoing gentrification, its waterfront parks, and its thriving arts community. L.I.C. has among the highest concentration of art galleries, art institutions, and studio...
. Steinway Street
Steinway Street
Steinway Street is a major street in boroughs Queens in New York City, New York, in the United States. Steinway Street is 2.4 mile two-way street that runs north-south, and spans between Berrian Boulevard in Astoria and Northern Boulevard in Long Island City...
, one of the major streets in the Astoria and Long Island City neighborhoods of Queens, is named after the company.
To reach European customers who wanted Steinway pianos, and to avoid high European import taxes, William Steinway and Theodore Steinway established a new piano factory in the free German city of Hamburg in 1880. The first address of Steinway's factory in Germany was at Schanzenstraße in the western part of Hamburg St. Pauli
St. Pauli
St. Pauli , located in the Hamburg-Mitte borough, is one of the 105 quarters of the city of Hamburg, Germany. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the Landungsbrücken are a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. Pauli contains a world famous red light district around the street Reeperbahn...
. Theodore Steinway became the head of the German factory, and William Steinway went back to the factory in New York City. The Hamburg and New York City factories regularly exchanged experience about their patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s and technique despite the large distance between them, and they continue to do so today. More than a third of Steinway's patented inventions are under the name of Theodore Steinway.
In 1890, Steinway received their first royal warrant, granted by Queen Victoria. The following year the patrons of Steinway included the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
and other members of the monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
and nobility
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
. In subsequent years Steinway was granted royal and imperial warrants from the rulers of Italy, Norway, Persia, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Turkey.
Steinway Halls / Steinway-Häuser
Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Hamburg, Berlin,...
is the name given to buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway pianos. In 1864 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....
, the son of Henry E. Steinway who is credited with establishing Steinway's remarkable success in marketing, built a set of elegant new showrooms housing more than 100 pianos on East 14th Street in Manhattan, New York City. In 1866, William Steinway oversaw the construction of the first Steinway Hall to the rear of the showrooms. The Steinway Hall seated more than 2,000 and quickly became an important part of New York City's cultural life, housing the New York Philharmonic
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic is a symphony orchestra based in New York City in the United States. It is one of the American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five"...
for the next 25 years until Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
opened in 1891. Concertgoers had to pass through the piano showrooms; this had a remarkable effect on sales, increasing demand for new pianos by four hundred in 1867 alone. The Steinway factory was then on Fourth Avenue (now Park Avenue) and East 55th Street in Manhattan.
In 1880, a Steinway-Haus was established in Hamburg as a sales showroom with concert halls, practice studios, sales departments and piano storage space. In 1909, another Steinway-Haus opened in Berlin. A Steinway-Haus is similar to a Steinway Hall. Further concepts developed by the company include Steinway Piano Galleries, Homes of Steinway, Steinway Rooms and Steinway Salons. Today Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Berlin and Vienna.
Expansion
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
; it was decorated by the artists Thomas Wilmer Dewing and Maria Oakey Dewing under the supervision of the head of Steinway's Art Piano Department, Joseph Burr Tiffany
Joseph Burr Tiffany
Joseph Burr Tiffany was an American interior designer of the late 19th century, today best known for his 1889 decoration of the first floor of Wilderstein, the Rhinebeck, New York home of the Suckley family. His firm, J.B...
. The 100,000th Steinway grand piano was replaced in 1938 by the 300,000th, which remains in use in the White House. The piano is normally placed in the largest room of the White House, the East Room. The 2002 White House Christmas Card features this piano.
Later Steinway diversified into the manufacture of player piano
Player piano
A player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
s. Several systems such as the Welte-Mignon
Welte-Mignon
M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte in 1832.-Overview:...
, Duo-Art
Duo-Art
Duo-Art was one of the leading reproducing piano technologies of the early 20th century, the others being American Piano Company , introduced in 1913 too, and Welte-Mignon in 1905. These technologies flourished at that time because of the poor quality of the early Phonograph...
, and Ampico were incorporated. During the 1920s Steinway had been selling up to 6,000 pianos a year. In 1929, Steinway constructed one double-keyboard
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
grand piano. It had 164 keys
Key (instrument)
A key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument.On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog,...
and four pedals
Piano pedals
Piano pedals are foot-operated levers at the base of a piano which change the instrument's sound in various ways. Modern pianos usually have three pedals, from left to right, the soft pedal , the sostenuto pedal , and the sustaining pedal...
. (In 2005, Steinway refurbished this instrument). After 1929, piano production went down, and during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Steinway produced only a little more than 1,000 pianos per year. In the years between 1935 and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, demand rose again.
During World War II the Steinway factory in New York City received orders from the Allied Armies to build wooden gliders to convey troops behind enemy lines. Few normal pianos could be made, but some 3000 special models were built by Steinway, the Victory Vertical or G.I. Piano. It was a small piano, able to be lifted by four men, painted olive drab, gray or blue, designed to be carried aboard ships or dropped by parachute from an airplane, in order to bring music to the soldiers.
The factory in Hamburg, Germany, being American-owned, could sell very few pianos during World War II. No more than a hundred pianos per year left the factory. In the later years of the war, the company was ordered to give away all the prepared and dried wood from the lumber yard, to be used for war production. In an air raid over Hamburg, the factory was hit by several Allied bombs and was nearly destroyed. After the war, Steinway completed the restoration of the Hamburg factory with some help from the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
. Eventually, the post-war cultural revival boosted demand for entertainment and Steinway increased piano production at the New York City and Hamburg factories, going from 2,000 in 1947 to 4,000 pianos a year by the 1960s.
In 1972, after a long-running financial struggle, legal issues with the Grotrian-Steinweg brand, and a lack of business interest among some of the Steinway family members, the firm was sold to CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. At that time CBS owned many enterprises in the entertainment industry, including guitar maker Fender, electro-mechanical piano maker Rhodes
Rhodes piano
The Rhodes piano is an electro-mechanical piano, invented by Harold Rhodes during the fifties and later manufactured in a number of models, first in collaboration with Fender and after 1965 by CBS....
, and the baseball team New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. CBS had plans to form a musical conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
that made and sold music in all forms and through all outlets, including records, radio, television, and musical instruments. This new conglomerate was evidently not as successful as CBS had expected, and Steinway was sold in 1985, along with classical and church organ maker Rodgers
Rodgers Instruments
Rodgers Instruments Corporation is an American manufacturer of classical and church organs. Rodgers was founded in 1958 by Rodgers W. Jenkins and Fred Tinker, employees of Tektronix, Inc., of Portland, Oregon, and members of a Tektronix team developing transistor-based oscillator circuits...
and flute and piccolo maker Gemeinhardt
Gemeinhardt
Gemeinhardt Co. is the music industry's largest manufacturer of flutes and piccolos. These musical instruments are developed by this company for all levels of musicians, beginners to professionals.History of the Gemeinhardt Company...
, to a group of Boston-area investors. These investors founded the musical conglomerate Steinway Musical Properties (later Steinway Musical Instruments
Steinway Musical Instruments
Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. is a musical instrument manufacturing conglomerate.Through acquisitions and mergers, the company has acquired a large number of musical instrument brand names and manufacturing facilities...
, a publicly traded company (NYSE
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
: LVB)), which is the parent company of Steinway.
In 1995, Steinway Musical Properties, parent company of Steinway, merged with the Selmer Company to form Steinway Musical Instruments
Steinway Musical Instruments
Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. is a musical instrument manufacturing conglomerate.Through acquisitions and mergers, the company has acquired a large number of musical instrument brand names and manufacturing facilities...
, which acquired the flute manufacturer Emerson in 1997, then piano keyboard maker Kluge
Kluge
Kluge is a German-derived surname. Among German-speakers, it is pronounced "KLOO-guh" and is derived from the German adjective klug .Those bearing it include:* Friedrich Kluge , German linguist...
in 1998, and the Steinway Hall in 1999. The conglomerate made more acquisitions in the following years. Since 1996, Steinway Musical Instruments has been traded at the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
(NYSE) under the abbreviation LVB, for Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
. The Korean piano and guitar maker Samick Music Corporation is the largest shareholder, controlling 33% of Steinway stock; Samick Chairman Jong Sup Kim has been a member of the Steinway board of directors since November 2009.
Recent history
In 1973, British Prime Minister Edward HeathEdward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George "Ted" Heath, KG, MBE, PC was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and as Leader of the Conservative Party ....
bought a Steinway piano with the £450 he had won in the Charlemagne Prize for leading Britain into the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
. He placed the piano at 10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street, colloquially known in the United Kingdom as "Number 10", is the headquarters of Her Majesty's Government and the official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is now always the Prime Minister....
.
Wendell Castle
Wendell Castle is an American furniture artist and a leading figure in American craft. He is often credited with being the father of the art furniture movement....
. All the 800-plus Steinway Artists signed the piano with their names, including Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
and Sir Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
. The piano is taking an extended global concert tour.
Steinway is a member of the Luxury Marketing Council founded 1994, a cooperative marketing organization aimed at affluent buyers.
By the year 2000, Steinway had made its 550,000th piano. The company updated and expanded production of its two other brands, Boston and Essex pianos, in addition to the flagship
Flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
Steinway & Sons. More Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Hamburg, Berlin,...
s, Steinway Piano Galleries, Homes of Steinway, Steinway Rooms and Steinway Salons opened across the world, mainly in China, Japan and Korea.
In 2003, Steinway celebrated its 150th anniversary at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
's largest auditorium, Isaac Stern Auditorium, with a gala series of three concerts on June 5, 6 and 7, 2003. The concert on June 5 featured classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
with Kit Armstrong
Kit Armstrong
Kit Armstrong is a British-Taiwanese classical pianist and composer. At 10 he had composed more than 15 works, graduated from Los Alamitos High School, and studied sciences at the University of Utah. At 12 he studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, the Royal Academy of Music and the Imperial...
(a music child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
), Van Cliburn
Van Cliburn
Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn Jr. is an American pianist who achieved worldwide recognition in 1958 at age 23, when he won the first quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow, at the height of the Cold War....
, Eroica Trio
Eroica Trio
The Eroica Trio is an American piano trio consisting of Erika Nickrenz, piano; Susie Park, violin; and Sara Sant'Ambrogio, cello. Park joined the trio in September 2006 . The trio take their name from Beethoven's Eroica Symphony...
, Gary Graffman
Gary Graffman
Gary Graffman is an American classical pianist, teacher of piano and music administrator.Graffman was born in New York City to Russian-Jewish parents. Having started piano at age 3, Graffman entered the Curtis Institute of Music at age 7 in 1936 as a piano student of Isabelle Vengerova...
, Ben Heppner
Ben Heppner
Ben Heppner, CC is a Canadian tenor, specializing in opera and other classical works for voice.Heppner was born in Murrayville, British Columbia, and lived in Dawson Creek...
, Yundi Li and Güher and Süher Pekinel
Pekinel sisters
Güher Pekinel and Süher Pekinel as identical twins, are Turkish pianists performing mostly in duet.-Early years:...
. The host was Charles Osgood
Charles Osgood
Charles Osgood is a radio and television commentator in the United States. His daily program, The Osgood File, has been broadcast on the CBS Radio Network since 1971. He is also known for being the voice of the narrator of Horton Hears a Who!, an animated film released in 2008, based on the book...
. On June 6 was a concert of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
featuring Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He attended the Horace Mann School and Columbia University.-Biography:...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...
, Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
, Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Lewis
Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
, Tisziji Muñoz
Tisziji Munoz
Tisziji Muñoz is an American jazz guitarist.He served as drummer in the 440th U.S. Army band. He left the US Army in 1969. In the 1970s, he lived in Canada and New York City. He played in Pharoah Sanders' band. In 1978, he recorded his first album, on the India Navigation label: Rendezvous with...
, Chucho Valdés
Chucho Valdés
Chucho Valdés is a Cuban pianist, bandleader, composer and arranger. In 1972 he founded the group Irakere, one of Cuba's best-known Latin jazz bands. Together with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Valdés is revered as one of Cuba's greatest jazz pianists...
and Nancy Wilson, hosted by Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and since 1994, he was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in...
. Pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
was the focus of June 7, with Paul Shaffer
Paul Shaffer
Paul Allen Wood Shaffer, CM is a Canadian musician, actor, voice actor, author, comedian, and composer who has been David Letterman's sidekick since 1982.-Early years:...
hosting performances by Art Garfunkel
Art Garfunkel
Arthur Ira "Art" Garfunkel is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and actor, best known as being a member of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel...
, Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Hornsby
Bruce Randall Hornsby is an American singer, pianist, accordion player, and songwriter. Known for the spontaneity and creativity of his live performances, Hornsby draws frequently from classical, jazz, bluegrass, folk, Motown, rock, blues, and jam band musical traditions with his songwriting and...
, k.d. lang
K.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Michel Legrand
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
, Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight
Brian McKnight is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, producer, and R&B/Pop musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays nine instruments: piano, guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussions, trombone, tuba, flugelhorn and trumpet....
, Peter Nero
Peter Nero
Peter Nero is an American pianist and pops conductor.-Early life:Born in Brooklyn, New York, As Bernard Nierow, Nero started his formal music training at the age of seven. He studied piano under Frederick Bried...
and Roger Williams
Roger Williams (pianist)
Roger Williams was an American popular music pianist. As of 2004, he had released 116 albums.-Biography:...
. As part of the 150th anniversary, renowned international fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
created a commemorative Steinway art case piano.
Laeiszhalle
The Laeiszhalle is a concert hall in Hamburg, Germany and home to the Hamburger Symphoniker.The hall is named after the German shipowning company F. Laeisz, founder of the concert venue and was planned by the architect Martin Haller.-External links:...
(former Music Hall Hamburg) with a gala concert, culminating in a showcase performance by the Steinway Artists Lang Lang
Lang Lang (pianist)
Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
, Vladimir and Vovka Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
and Detlef Kraus
Detlef Kraus
Detlef Kraus was a German pianist. He was an internationally known interpreter of the music of Johannes Brahms....
. As part of the celebration, the 125th anniversary limited edition Steinway art case piano by renowned designer Count Albrecht von Goertz
Albrecht von Goertz
Albrecht Graf von Schlitz genannt von Gortz von Wrisburg was a German who designed cars for BMW including the BMW 503 and BMW 507....
was presented to the public.
Until his death on September 18, 2008 at the age of 93, Henry Z. Steinway
Henry Z. Steinway
Henry Ziegler Steinway was the last Steinway president of the piano company Steinway & Sons.He was the great-grandson of the company founder Henry E. Steinway and started at the firm in 1937 after graduating from Harvard University. He was president of the company from 1955 to 1977...
, the great-grandson of the Steinway founder, still worked for Steinway and put his signature on custom-made limited edition pianos. At several public occasions, Henry Z. Steinway represented the Steinway family. He started at the company in 1937 after graduating from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. He was president of the company in 1955–77 and was the last Steinway family member to be president of Steinway.
On January 24, 2009, Steinway installed the world's largest solar-powered rooftop air-conditioning and dehumidification system, at a cost of $875,000, to dehumidify the factory in New York City, and protect the pianos. Lower humidity in the factory provides a more stable environment, with no moisture to threaten the construction of the pianos. The massive HVAC
HVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
system will function as a beta test site for solar technology in the Tri-State Region.
After the 2008 economic downturn, Steinway grand piano sales fell by half and 30% of the union employees were laid off from the New York factory between August 2008 and November 2009. Total piano sales of Steinway Musical Instruments, including Boston and Essex brands, were down 21% in 2009.
Piano models
Steinway pianos are sold by a worldwide network of around 200 authorized Steinway dealers.Grands and uprights
Steinway produces the following models of grand pianos and upright pianos:Steinway's factory in New York City produces six models of grand piano and three models of upright piano.
- Grand pianos: S-155, M-170, O-180, A-188, B-211, D-274Steinway D-274D-274 is the model name of a concert grand piano, the flagship of the Steinway & Sons line, first built in 1884.It is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists....
- Upright pianos: 4510 (Sheraton), 1098, K-52
Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany, produces seven models of grand piano and two models of upright piano.
- Grand pianos: S-155, M-170, O-180, A-188, B-211, C-227, D-274Steinway D-274D-274 is the model name of a concert grand piano, the flagship of the Steinway & Sons line, first built in 1884.It is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists....
- Upright pianos: V-125, K-132
Special designs
Designers and artists such as Karl LagerfeldKarl Lagerfeld
Karl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
, Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
and Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Lawrence Alma-Tadema, OM, RA was a Dutch painter.Born in Dronrijp, the Netherlands, and trained at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, he settled in England in 1870 and spent the rest of his life there...
have created original designs for Steinway pianos. These specially designed pianos fall under the series Steinway Art Case Pianos or Steinway Limited Edition Pianos.
Henry Gurdon Marquand
Henry Gurdon Marquand , American philanthropist and collector, was born in New York City on 11 April 1819. In 1839, upon the retirement from the jewelry business of his brother, Frederick , who was a liberal benefactor of Yale College and of the Union Theological Seminary, he became his brother's...
for his New York City mansion. In 1997, it was sold at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
auction house in London for $1.2 million, setting a price record for a piano sold at auction. It is now displayed at the art museum Clark Art Institute
Clark Art Institute
The Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, usually referred to simply as "The Clark", is an art museum with a large and varied collection located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States...
. The 100,000th Steinway piano was given as a gift to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in 1903 and is made of cherry tree
Cherry Tree
Cherry Tree may refer to:* A tree that produces cherries* An ornamental cherry tree that produces cherry blossomsPlaces* Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania, a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States* Cherry Tree, Oklahoma...
with gold leaf
Gold leaf
right|thumb|250px|[[Burnishing]] gold leaf with an [[agate]] stone tool, during the water gilding processGold leaf is gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades...
. It is decorated with coats of arms
Coat of arms
A coat of arms is a unique heraldic design on a shield or escutcheon or on a surcoat or tabard used to cover and protect armour and to identify the wearer. Thus the term is often stated as "coat-armour", because it was anciently displayed on the front of a coat of cloth...
of the thirteen original states of America and painted by Thomas Dewing
Thomas Dewing
Thomas Wilmer Dewing was an American painter working at the turn of the 20th century. He was born in Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts. He studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, and later settled into a studio in New York City...
with dancing figures representing the nine Muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
s. The 100,000th Steinway piano was replaced in 1938 by the 300,000th Steinway piano. The gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
gilded
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
mahogany legs of the 300,000th piano are carved as eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s and are moulded by sculptor Albert Stewart
Albert Stewart
Albert Stewart was an American sculptor born in Kensington, England.He arrived in America in 1908 and was orphaned shortly thereafter. Through the intervention of a wealthy benefactor, Edwin T...
. The piano remains in use in the White House. The Sound of Harmony is decorated with inlays of 40 different woods, including the lid which replicates artwork by Chinese painter Shi Qi. It took about four years to build the grand piano and it was priced at €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1.2 million. The piano was chosen for use at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China.
The series of limited edition pianos encompasses pianos of new designs and replicas of historic Steinway pianos. Examples of pianos of new designs include The S.L.ED by Karl Lagerfeld created to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Steinway company in 2003, and the 125th anniversary grand piano by Count Albrecht von Goertz
Albrecht von Goertz
Albrecht Graf von Schlitz genannt von Gortz von Wrisburg was a German who designed cars for BMW including the BMW 503 and BMW 507....
designed to celebrate the 125th anniversary in 2005 of the foundation of the Steinway factory in Hamburg. An example of replicas of historic Steinway pianos is the 150th anniversary grand piano, which are exact copies of the grand piano played by Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
on his famous United States concert tour in 1892–93. Another example of replicas of historic Steinway pianos is the William E. Steinway grand piano, which are exact copies of the award-winning Steinway grand piano, that was exhibited at the Centennial Exposition
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...
in 1876.
In 1999, Steinway introduced a new line of special designed pianos, the Steinway Crown Jewel Collection. The collection consists of grand and upright pianos in Steinway's traditional design, but instead of the traditional ebony finish the pianos of the crown jewel collection are made in veneers of rare woods from around the world. The collection contains wood veneer
Wood veneer
In woodworking, veneer refers to thin slices of wood, usually thinner than 3 mm , that are typically glued onto core panels to produce flat panels such as doors, tops and panels for cabinets, parquet floors and parts of furniture. They are also used in marquetry...
s such as Macassar ebony (The Ruby), East Indian rosewood
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
(The Sapphire), kewazinga bubinga (The Opal) and Santos rosewood
Rosewood
Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. All rosewoods are strong and heavy, taking an excellent polish, being suitable for guitars, marimbas, turnery , handles, furniture, luxury flooring, etc.In general,...
(The Emerald).
Piano brands
- Boston: made for the general piano market at lower prices than Steinway's name brand. Boston pianos are manufactured at the KawaiKawaiThe of Japan is best known for its grand and upright pianos, electronic keyboards and electronic synthesizers. The company was established in August 1927, and has its headquarters in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka.-Pianos:...
piano factory in Hamamatsu, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Approximately 5,000 Boston pianos are built every year. There are five sizes of Boston grands and three sizes of Boston uprights available in a variety of finishes. Grand piano models are GP-156 PE, GP-163 PE, GP-178 PE, GP-193 PE and GP-215 PE. Upright piano models are UP-118E PE, (UP-118S PE), UP-126E PE and UP-132E PE. Boston grands feature a wider tail design (a feature of the Steinway models A, B, C and D) resulting in a larger soundboard area than conventionally-shaped pianos of comparable sizes. - Essex: cheaper than Steinway and Boston pianos. Essex pianos are made at the Pearl RiverPearl River Piano GroupThe Pearl River Piano Group is China's largest piano manufacturer and the largest piano factory in the world. The company was established in 1956 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China...
piano factory in GuangzhouGuangzhouGuangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. There are two sizes of Essex grands and three to four sizes of Essex uprights available in a wide variety of finishes and furniture designs.
"Piano bank"
The "piano bank" is worldwide and consist of more than 400 Steinway pianos, mostly grand pianos model D-274
Steinway D-274
D-274 is the model name of a concert grand piano, the flagship of the Steinway & Sons line, first built in 1884.It is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists....
. Approximately 300 pianos of the "piano bank" are located around the United States and are valued collectively at more than $25 million. The headquarters of the "piano bank" is below street level in the basement of the Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall
Steinway Hall is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and Steinway-Häuser are located in world cities such as New York City, London, Hamburg, Berlin,...
in Manhattan, New York City.
New York City and Hamburg
Great pianists of the past and some active pianists today have expressed a preference for Steinway pianos produced at Steinway's factory in New York CityNew 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...
or at Steinway's factory in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
played a New York model D-274
Steinway D-274
D-274 is the model name of a concert grand piano, the flagship of the Steinway & Sons line, first built in 1884.It is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists....
; Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
preferred the Hamburg model D-274. Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
owned two New York models in his Beverly Hills home and one New York model D-274 in his New York home; however, he chose a Hamburg model D-274 for his Villa Senar
Villa Senar
Villa Senar is an estate built in Switzerland by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. He purchased the plot of land near Hertenstein near Lake Lucerne in 1932. The name of the estate originated from the names of Rachmaninoff and his wife: Sergei and Natalia, by combining the first two letters...
in Switzerland. The difference between the New York and Hamburg Steinway pianos is less noticeable today. Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax
Emanuel Ax is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is currently a teacher on the faculty of the Juilliard School. He is considered one of the best known concert pianists of the 21st century.-Early life:...
, concert pianist and piano teacher at the prestigious Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
, says that "... the differences have more to do with individual instruments than with where they were made." Some visual differences are well known, for example: the New York models have a black satin finish and square or Sheraton
Sheraton Style
Sheraton is a late 18th century neoclassical English furniture style, in vogue ca 1785 - 1820, that was coined by 19th century collectors and dealers to credit furniture designer Thomas Sheraton, born in Stockton-on-Tees, England in 1751 and whose books, "The Cabinet Dictionary" of engraved...
corners; Hamburg models have a high gloss polyester finish and rounded corners.
At present, 2,500 Steinway pianos are built in New York every year, and 1,500 are built in Hamburg. The market is loosely divided into two sales areas: the New York Steinway factory which supplies North and South America, and the Hamburg Steinway factory which supplies the rest of the world. At all main Steinway showrooms across the world, pianos can be ordered from both factories. The New York and Hamburg factories exchange parts and craftsmanship in order to "make no compromise in quality", in the words of Steinway's founder Henry E. Steinway. Steinway parts for both factories come from the same places: Canadian maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
is used for the rim, and the soundboards are made from Sitka spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
from Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
. Both factories use similar crown parameters for their diaphragmatic soundboards. Steinway has acquired some of its suppliers in order to maintain high quality: the German manufacturer Kluge
Kluge
Kluge is a German-derived surname. Among German-speakers, it is pronounced "KLOO-guh" and is derived from the German adjective klug .Those bearing it include:* Friedrich Kluge , German linguist...
in Wuppertal, which supplies the keyboards, was bought in December 1998; in November 1999, Steinway purchased the company which supplies its cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
plates, O.S. Kelly Co. in Springfield.
Components
Case
The cases of Steinway pianos are made of multiple laminations of hard rock maple. Strong beamsBeam (structure)
A beam is a horizontal structural element that is capable of withstanding load primarily by resisting bending. The bending force induced into the material of the beam as a result of the external loads, own weight, span and external reactions to these loads is called a bending moment.- Overview...
in the bottom of the grand pianos or in the backs of the vertical pianos provide additional support. The process used to make the Steinway rim called rim-bending was invented by Steinway in 1878, and had been covered by a patent, now expired. The process is strictly adhered to today, more than 130 years later. For braces and posts, Steinway pianos use spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, a wood known for its tensile strength. After the rim-bending process, the rim has to "relax" from the tremendous shock of being bent. It is placed in a conditioning room between 10 and 16 weeks, depending on thickness and size of the rim. The room's temperature is set at 85°F
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees...
(30°C
Celsius
Celsius is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
) and the relative humidity is 45%.
Plate
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
tension of up to 20 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
s. The iron plate is installed in the case above the soundboard and is bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
d, lacquered, polished, and decorated with the Steinway logo. In grand pianos, the iron plate, soundboard and strings are horizontal, while in vertical pianos, these three components are upright. Steinway fabricates plates in its own foundry using a sand-casting method.
Soundboard
The soundboard converts the vibration of the piano string into audible tones. Steinway crafts the soundboard from solid spruce, which allows the soundboard to transmit and amplify sound better than other woods. The soundboard has a curved crown to provide the proper pressure against the string for maximum sound projection. Ribs are placed on the underside of the soundboard in order to maintain the crown, distribute tone along the soundboard, and provide strength. Steinway soundboards are made of close-grained, quarter-sawn Sitka spruce from British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Alaska. This wood is chosen for its acoustic qualities and is selected to be free of defects. Individual pieces of spruce are matched to produce soundboards of uniform color and tonal quality. The soundboards found in Steinway pianos are double-crowned and feature Steinway's Diaphragmatic design. The Diaphragmatic Soundboard, which was granted a patent in 1936, features a soundboard that tapers in thickness from the center to the edges. This design permits freedom of movement and creates a richer, more lasting tonal response.
Bridges
Soundboard bridgesBridge (instrument)
A bridge is a device for supporting the strings on a stringed instrument and transmitting the vibration of those strings to some other structural component of the instrument in order to transfer the sound to the surrounding air.- Explanation :...
are glued to the top side of the soundboard to transmit vibrations from the strings to the soundboard. Steinway bridges are made of vertically-laminated hard rock maple with a solid maple cap. They are bent to a specifically defined contour to optimize sound transmission. The bridge is measured for specific height requirements for each piano and is hand-notched for precise string bearing. The bridges are then glued and doweled into the ribs to ensure the structural integrity of the entire soundboard.
Strings
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, and bass strings are made of copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
-wound steel. The strings are all uniformly spaced with one end coiled around the tuning
Piano tuning
Piano tuning is the act of making minute adjustments to the tensions of the strings of a piano to properly align the intervals between their tones so that the instrument is in tune. The meaning of the term in tune in the context of piano tuning is not simply a particular fixed set of pitches...
pins, which in turn are inserted in a laminated wooden block called the pin-block or wrestplank. The tuning pins keep the strings taut and are held in place by friction. The strings found on a Steinway piano are made of tensile Swedish steel. The bass strings are wound with pure copper, and the tuning pins are steel with rust resistant nickel-plating. Steinway also employs front and rear duplex scales. Steinway's relationship with Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann von Helmholtz
Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...
led to the development and Steinway patent in 1872 of front and back aliquots, allowing the traditionally-dead sections of strings to vibrate with other strings for a richer tone and longer sustain.
Wrestplank/pinblock
The wrestplank is a multi-laminated block of wood into which the tuning pins are inserted. The wrestplank in Steinway pianos is made of hard rock maple, and the tuning pins are force-fitted into the pinblock to maintain the piano strings under extreme tension. The quality of the wrestplank is important in keeping the piano in tune. The Steinway Hexigrip Wrestplank pinblock, patented in 1963, is made from seven thick, quarter-sawn maple planks whose grain is oriented radially for evenly distributed end-grain exposure to the tuning pins.Keys and action
Each of Steinway's 88 keysKey (instrument)
A key is a specific part of a musical instrument. The purpose and function of the part in question depends on the instrument.On instruments equipped with tuning machines, violins and guitars, for example, a key is part of a tuning machine. It is a worm gear with a key shaped end used to turn a cog,...
is made of Bavarian spruce with a polymer
Polymer
A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...
surface. The polymer key surfaces are more durable; the white keys do not yellow over time and are easier to replace than their ivory
Ivory
Ivory is a term for dentine, which constitutes the bulk of the teeth and tusks of animals, when used as a material for art or manufacturing. Ivory has been important since ancient times for making a range of items, from ivory carvings to false teeth, fans, dominoes, joint tubes, piano keys and...
predecessors. Each of the keys transmits its movement to a small, felt
Felt
Felt is a non-woven cloth that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to form construction materials. Felt can be of any colour, and made into any shape or size....
-covered wooden hammer which strikes one, two or three strings when the note is played. The hammers are evenly aligned and have the ability to reset quickly and repeat any note rapidly. Dampers are felt-covered action parts which, when placed against the strings, dampen the vibration. The damper pedal
Sustain pedal
A sustain pedal or sustaining pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all the damped strings on the piano by moving all the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate...
raises all of the dampers, which allows sound to continue even after the key is released. The quarter-sawn maple action parts are mounted on a Steinway Metallic Action Frame, which consists of seamless brass tubes with rosette-shaped contours, force-fitted with maple dowel
Dowel
A dowel is a solid cylindrical rod, usually made of wood, plastic or metal. In its original manufactured form, dowel is called dowel rod.Dowel rod is employed in numerous, diverse applications. It is used to form axles in toys, as detents on gymnastics grips, as knitting needles, as structural...
s and brass hangers to ensure the stability of the regulation. In 1936, Steinway designed Accelerated Action in response to demands for a quicker-responding action. In 1962, Steinway introduced its Permafree action which used teflon parts in place of cloth bushings and were intended to withstand wear and humidity changes better than cloth. The teflon bushings resulted in certain unforeseen problems, however, and were discontinued after 1981.
Steinway Artists
In contrast to other makers, who presented their pianos to pianists, William Steinway engaged the great Russian pianist Anton RubinsteinAnton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
to play Steinway pianos during an American concert tour in 1872, with 215 concerts in 239 days. It was a triumph for both Rubinstein and Steinway. Thus, the Steinway Artists program was born. Later Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
played 107 concerts in just 117 days, traveling through America with his own railroad car and a Steinway concert grand piano.
An author has estimated that more than 90% of concert grand pianos worldwide are from Steinway. According to Steinway, 98% of the world's piano soloists chose to play publicly on a Steinway piano during the 2008–09 North American concert season, and 99% during the 2002–03 worldwide concert season. The majority of the world's concert halls have at least one Steinway concert grand piano model D-274
Steinway D-274
D-274 is the model name of a concert grand piano, the flagship of the Steinway & Sons line, first built in 1884.It is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists....
, some (for example Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
) have model D-274s from both the New York City factory and the Hamburg factory in order to satisfy a greater range of preferences. Today more than 1,600 concert artists and ensembles bear the title Steinway Artist, which means that they have chosen to perform on Steinway pianos exclusively, and each owns a Steinway. None are paid to do so. Steinway Artists come from every genre: classical, jazz and pop. A few examples of Steinway Artists are Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...
, Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, Evgeny Kissin
Evgeny Kissin
Evgeny Igorevitch Kissin is a Russian classical pianist and former child prodigy. He has been a British citizen since 2002. He is especially known for his interpretations of the works of the Romantic repertoire, particularly Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt.-Biography:Kissin was born in Moscow to...
, Diana Krall
Diana Krall
Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...
, Lang Lang
Lang Lang (pianist)
Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
, Roger Williams
Roger Williams (pianist)
Roger Williams was an American popular music pianist. As of 2004, he had released 116 albums.-Biography:...
; and a few examples of "immortals" are Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
, Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
, Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
, Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
and Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
. Also piano ensembles
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
are on the Steinway Artist list, for example Eroica Trio
Eroica Trio
The Eroica Trio is an American piano trio consisting of Erika Nickrenz, piano; Susie Park, violin; and Sara Sant'Ambrogio, cello. Park joined the trio in September 2006 . The trio take their name from Beethoven's Eroica Symphony...
, Güher and Süher Pekinel
Pekinel sisters
Güher Pekinel and Süher Pekinel as identical twins, are Turkish pianists performing mostly in duet.-Early years:...
, Katia and Marielle Labèque
Katia and Marielle Labèque
The French sisters Labèque, Katia and Marielle , form an internationally known piano duo. They have performed and recorded most of the repertoire for two pianos, spanning the instrumental, chamber, and concerto genres encompassing musical periods from Baroque through contemporary.Katia and...
and The 5 Browns
The 5 Browns
The 5 Browns are a classical piano musical group consisting of five siblings. Their repertoire includes mostly popular classical tunes, such as George Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee and Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King.-Background:In...
. These ensembles consist of pianists, who are all Steinway Artists. In 2009, Steinway developed a new program for young artists, Young Steinway Artists. The title of Young Steinway Artist gives talented young pianists between the ages of 16 and 35 the opportunity of being affiliated with the Steinway Artist family, and access to the worldwide resources of Steinway and its network of dealers.
The Steinway Artists program has not been without opponents and controversy. Steinway expects Steinway Artists to perform on Steinway instruments where they are available and in appropriate condition, but can accept deviations. Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel
Artur Schnabel was an Austrian classical pianist, who also composed and taught. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura...
complained once that "Steinway refused to let me use their pianos [i.e., Steinway pianos owned by Steinway] unless I would give up playing the Bechstein
C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik
C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik AG is a German manufacturer of pianos, established in 1853 by Carl Bechstein.-Before Bechstein:...
piano – which I had used for so many years – in Europe. They insisted that I play on Steinway exclusively, everywhere in the world, otherwise they would not give me their pianos in the United States. That is the reason why from 1923 until 1930 I did not return to America... In 1933,... Steinway changed their attitude and agreed to let me use their pianos in the United States, even if I continued elsewhere to play the Bechstein. Thus from 1933 on, I went every year to America." In 1972, Steinway responded to Garrick Ohlsson
Garrick Ohlsson
Garrick Ohlsson is an American classical pianist.Ohlsson was the first American to win first prize in the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, in 1970. He also won first prize at the Busoni Competition in Italy and the Montreal Piano Competition in Canada...
's statement that Bösendorfer
Bösendorfer
Bösendorfer is an Austrian piano manufacturer, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Yamaha. The brand is known for producing pianos with a uniquely rich, singing, and sustaining tone...
was "the Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce (car)
This a list of Rolls-Royce motor cars and includes vehicles produced by:*Rolls-Royce Limited *Rolls-Royce Motors , which was owned by Vickers between 1980 and 1998, and after that by Volkswagen...
of pianos" by trucking away the Steinway-owned Steinway concert grand piano on which Ohlsson was about to give a recital at Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall
Alice Tully Hall is a concert hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. It is named for Alice Tully, a New York performer and philanthropist whose donations assisted in the construction of the hall...
in New York City. Ohlsson ended up performing on a Bösendorfer piano borrowed at the eleventh hour, and Steinway would not let him borrow Steinway-owned instruments for some time. Ohlsson has since made peace with Steinway. Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt
Angela Hewitt, OC, OBE is a Canadian classical pianist. She holds British nationality through her father, Godfrey, who was the organist and choirmaster at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa, Ontario for almost fifty years.-Career:...
was removed from the Steinway Artist roster in 2002 after she purchased and performed on a Fazioli
Fazioli
Fazioli Pianoforti is a piano manufacturing company based in Sacile, Italy.Fazioli currently produces 110 pianos a year from its single factory, and has annual revenues of €6 million.- History :...
piano. After the Canadian pianist Louis Lortie
Louis Lortie
Louis Lortie, OC, CQ is a French-Canadian pianist. He currently lives in Berlin.He is known for his interpretation of Ravel, Chopin and Beethoven...
was removed from the Steinway Artist roster in 2003, he complained in a newspaper article, that Steinway is trying to establish a monopoly on the concert world by becoming "the Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
of pianos". A Steinway spokesman said that Steinway naturally does not want anyone on the Steinway Artist roster who does not want to play the Steinway.
The Steinway Artist program has been copied by many other piano brands, but Steinway's program is still unique in the way, that a pianist must promise to play pianos of the Steinway brand only to become a Steinway Artist.
All-Steinway Schools
Oberlin Conservatory of Music
The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, located on the campus of Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, was founded in 1865 and is the oldest continuously operating conservatory in the United States. Students of Oberlin Conservatory enter a very broad network within the music world, as the school's alumni...
in Oberlin, Ohio, holds the longest partnership with Steinway. They have used Steinway pianos exclusively since 1877, just 24 years after Steinway was founded. In 2007, they obtained their 200th Steinway piano. Other notable All-Steinway Schools are the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
in New York City, the Yale School of Music
Yale School of Music
The Yale School of Music is one of the twelve professional schools at Yale University and one of the premier music conservatories in the world....
in New Haven, Connecticut, the George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in Washington, DC, the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida, and the Union College
Union College
Union College is a private, non-denominational liberal arts college located in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents. In the 19th century, it became the "Mother of Fraternities", as...
in Schenectady, New York. In 2007, the Crane School of Music
Crane School of Music
The Crane School of Music is located in Potsdam, New York, and is one of three schools which make up the State University of New York at Potsdam....
, at the State University of New York at Potsdam
State University of New York at Potsdam
The State University of New York at Potsdam, also known as SUNY Potsdam, or, colloquially, Potsdam, is a public university located in the Village of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York. Founded in 1816, it is among the 50 oldest colleges in the United States...
, was added to the All-Steinway Schools roster, receiving 141 pianos in one $3.8 million order. In 2009, the University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music in Ohio became designated an All-Steinway School, based on a $4.1 million order of 165 new pianos, one of the largest orders Steinway has ever processed.
There are more than 125 conservatories, universities, colleges and schools around the world where students perform and are taught only on Steinway pianos.
Piano competitions and music festivals
Several international piano competitions use Steinway pianos. Some examples are the Van Cliburn International Piano CompetitionVan Cliburn International Piano Competition
The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and is hosted by Van Cliburn Foundation. It was created by Fort Worth area teachers in honor of Van Cliburn, who had won the first International Tchaikovsky Competition four years prior with Tchaikovsky's...
in Fort Worth, Texas, the Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition
The Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition is based in Salt Lake City, Utah and is the second largest piano competition in the United States....
in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Cleveland International Piano Competition
Cleveland International Piano Competition
The Cleveland International Piano Competition takes place biennially in Cleveland, Ohio. The initial Competition in 1975 and the nine others that followed were sponsored jointly by the Robert Casadesus Society and the Cleveland Institute of Music to honor the memory of French pianist Robert...
, Ohio, and the Hilton Head International Piano Competition
Hilton Head International Piano Competition
The Hilton Head International Piano Competition is an annual piano competition held since 1996 at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina's First Presbyterian Church.-Selected list of jurors:...
, South Carolina. Also well-known music festival
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
s around the world use Steinway pianos. The festivals feature a range of musical forms and styles. A few examples are the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Canada, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, often known as Jazz Fest, is an annual celebration of the music and culture of New Orleans and Louisiana...
, Louisiana, the BBC Proms in Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
, London, the Verbier Festival
Verbier Festival
The Verbier Festival is an international music festival that takes place annually for two weeks in late July and early August in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland.Founded by Swedish expatriate Martin T...
in the mountain resort of Verbier, Switzerland, and the Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto
Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto
Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto is an annual classical music festival held in August and September in the Japanese Alps near Matsumoto. Founded in 1992 by music director Seiji Ozawa, the festival's resident orchestra is the renowned Saito Kinen Orchestra....
in the Japanese Alps
Japanese Alps
The is a series of mountain ranges in Japan that bisect the main island of Honshū. The name was coined by William Gowland, the "Father of Japanese Archaeology," and later popularized by Reverend Walter Weston , an English missionary for whom a memorial plaque is located at Kamikochi, a tourist...
near Matsumoto. Since 1936, Steinway too has arranged competitions and festivals such as the Steinway Young Artist Competition in Chicago, Steinway's piano competitions in Hamburg and Berlin, and the Steinway Piano Festival in Denmark, which is a part of the International Steinway Festival. These competitions and festivals are for gifted children and young pianists and are meant to support their talents.
Steinway Societies
A Steinway Society is a local, non-profit society that aims at developing the musical knowledge and talents of disadvantaged youth; providing an opportunity for young piano students to work towards a higher level; encouraging performance experience, audition preparation, and scholarshipScholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
assistance for further study in classical and jazz piano; and providing talented students with a loaned piano and tuition for piano lessons through the establishment of Steinway Piano Galleries. All money raised through memberships, donations, and fundraisers is used to provide scholarships and pianos to young pianists. Steinway Societies also sponsor events such as concerts, recital
Recital
A recital is a musical performance. It can highlight a single performer, sometimes accompanied by piano, or a performance of the works of a single composer.The invention of the solo piano recital has been attributed to Franz Liszt....
s, workshops and master class
Master class
A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....
es.
Steinway Societies exist in the United States and Canada only, including chapters in Florida, New Orleans, Pennsylvania, Texas and Toronto. There are 20 Steinway Societies.
Price records
- The world's most expensive grand piano is a Steinway art case piano built by Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany, in 2008 for €EuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
1.2 million. It took Steinway about four years to build the piano. The piano is named Sound of Harmony and is decorated with inlays of 40 different woods, including the lid which replicates artwork by Chinese painter Shi Qi. The piano is owned by the art collector Guo Qingxiang and was chosen for use at the Expo 2010 Shanghai China.
- The world's most expensive grand piano sold at auction was built by Steinway's factory in New York City in 1883–87; it sold for $United States dollarThe United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
1.2 million in 1997 at Christie'sChristie'sChristie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
in London. By setting this record, Steinway broke its own 1997 price record of $390,000. The grand piano is displayed at the art museum Clark Art InstituteClark Art InstituteThe Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute, usually referred to simply as "The Clark", is an art museum with a large and varied collection located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States...
.
- The world's most expensive upright piano was built by Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany, in 1970. The piano was bought by John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
for $1,500; Lennon composed and recorded ImagineImagine (song)"Imagine" is a song written and performed by the English musician John Lennon. It is the opening track on his album Imagine, released in 1971...
and other tunes on it. In 2000, it was sold at auction by a private British collector. Pop musician George MichaelGeorge MichaelGeorge Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...
made the winning bid of £1.67 million.
Awards
The Steinway company and the family members have won numerous awards, including the following:- In 1839, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg exhibited pianos at the State Trade Exhibition at the Aegis Church in Brunswick, won top prize, and made a sale to the DukeDukeA duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
. - In 1854, Steinway attended its first exhibition in the United States – the Metropolitan Mechanics Institute fair in Washington, D.C. Henry Steinway Jr.'s design won 1st Prize.
- In 1855, Steinway exhibited at the American Institute Exhibition in The Crystal Palace at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City. There, it won its first Gold Medal "for excellent quality". A reporter wrote the following: "Their square pianos are characterized by great power of tone, a depth and richness in the bass, a full mellowness in the middle register and brilliant purity in the treble, making a scale perfectly equal and singularly melodious throughout its entire range. In touch, they are all that could be desired."
- In 1855–62 Steinway pianos received 35 medals in the United States alone.
- In 1862, for the International Exhibition1862 International ExhibitionThe International of 1862, or Great London Exposition, was a world's fair. It was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London, England, on a site that now houses museums including the Natural History Museum and the Science...
in London, Steinway shipped two square pianos and two grand pianos to England (two to Liverpool and two to London), and won 1st Prize. - In 1867, at the Exposition UniverselleExposition 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...
in Paris, Steinway won three awards – the Grand Gold Medal of Honor "for excellence in manufacturing and engineering pianos", the grand annual testimonial medal, and an honorary membership in the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. These medals won in Europe increased the demand for Steinway pianos, thus the reason the family looked into opening a store in London. The 1867 Exposition Universelle established Steinway as the leading choice for pianos in Europe. - In 1876, at the famous Centennial ExpositionCentennial ExpositionThe 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...
, Steinway received the two highest awards and a certificate of the judges showing a rating of 95,5 of a possible 96. - In 1952, Theodore E. SteinwayTheodore E. SteinwayTheodore E. Steinway , of the famous Steinway piano family, was a member of the Collectors Club of New York and Board of Trustees of the Philatelic Foundation...
was awarded the first Lichtenstein MedalLichtenstein MedalThe Lichtenstein Medal, also known as the Alfred F. Lichtenstein Memorial Award for Distinguished Service to Philately is given annually to a living individual for outstanding service to philately.-Origin:...
by the Collectors Club of New YorkCollectors Club of New YorkThe Collectors Club of New York, often referred to as the Collectors Club, is a private club and philatelic society in New York City. Founded in 1896, it is one of the oldest existing philatelic societies in the United States...
. - In 2007, the National Medal of ArtsNational Medal of ArtsThe National Medal of Arts is an award and title created by the United States Congress in 1984, for the purpose of honoring artists and patrons of the arts. It is the highest honor conferred to an individual artist on behalf of the people. Honorees are selected by the National Endowment for the...
was awarded to Henry Z. SteinwayHenry Z. SteinwayHenry Ziegler Steinway was the last Steinway president of the piano company Steinway & Sons.He was the great-grandson of the company founder Henry E. Steinway and started at the firm in 1937 after graduating from Harvard University. He was president of the company from 1955 to 1977...
and presented by US President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
on November 15, 2007 in an East Room ceremony at the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. Henry Z. Steinway received the award for "his devotion to preserving and promoting quality craftsmanship and performance; as an arts patron and advocate for music and music education; and for continuing the fine tradition of the Steinway piano as an international symbol of American ingenuity and cultural excellence." The National Medal of Arts is a presidential initiative managed by the National Endowment for the ArtsNational Endowment for the ArtsThe National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
.
Patented inventions
Steinway has registered around 130 patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
s; however most have expired. According to a patent attorney
Patent attorney
A patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition...
, most of what is needed to know about modern piano manufacturing is covered by Steinway's patented inventions. Some notable examples of Steinway's now-expired patents are:
- Patent No. 26,532 (December 20, 1859): The bass strings are "overstrung" above the treble strings to provide more length and better tonal quality. The invention won 1st prize medal at the London Exhibition in 1862. Today, the invention is a standard feature of grand piano construction.
- Patent No. 126,848 (May 14, 1872): Steinway invented the Duplex Scale on the principle of enabling the freely oscillating parts of the string, directly in front of and behind the segment of the string actually struck, also to resound. The outcome is a large range and fullness of overtones – one of the characteristics of the "Steinway sound".
- Patent No. 127,383 (May 28, 1872): In a Steinway piano, the cast iron plate rests on wooden dowels without actually touching the soundboard. It is lightly curved, creating a large hollow between the plate and the soundboard. This cavity acts as a reinforcement of existing resonant properties. An additional function of the plate is to counteract the pull of more than 20 tons of the string tension.
- Patent No. 156,388 (October 27, 1874): Steinway invented the middle piano pedal, called the sostenuto pedal. The sostenuto pedal gives the pianist an ability to create what is called an organ pedal pointPedal pointIn tonal music, a pedal point is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes functions as a "non-chord tone", placing it in the categories alongside suspensions, retardations, and passing...
by keeping a specific note's damper, or notes' dampers, in their open position(s), allowing those strings to continue to sound while other notes can be played without continuing to resonate. - Patent No. 170,645 (November 30, 1875): Steinway's "regulation action pilot" – also known as the capstan screw, which lifts the parts that drive the hammer toward the string. The Steinway device was adjustable, an advance that simplifies the chore of modifying a piano's action to a pianist's liking. Henry Z. Steinway called that patent the birth of the modern grand piano action.
- Patent No. 233,710 (October 26, 1880): The bridge transmits the vibration of the strings to the soundboard. In a Steinway piano, the bridge consists of vertically glued laminations; a principle that ensures that vibrations are easily developed and forwarded.
- Patent No. 314,742 (March 31, 1885): The inner and outer case comprise up to 18 layers of solid, hard-textured, horizontal-grain timber, pressed and bent into shape in one operation. They turn the case into one of the major components of the entire resonant body. It is a special bending process without the application of either heat or humidity.
- Patent No. 2,051,633 (August 18, 1936): The soundboard resembles a membrane. The special molding, gradually tapering from the center to the edge, provides great flexibility and freer vibration across the board.
- Patent No. 3,091,149 (May 25, 1963): The pin-block is specially designed to keep the instrument in tune longer. Steinway uses six glued layers of hard-textured wood, set at a 45° angle to the run of the grain. In this way, the tuning pins have a strong hold in the pin-block against overall pull and tension.
Documentary film
Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037 is an independent documentary filmDocumentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that follows the construction of a Steinway concert grand piano
Steinway D-274
D-274 is the model name of a concert grand piano, the flagship of the Steinway & Sons line, first built in 1884.It is generally described as the first choice of most concert pianists....
for more than a year, from the search for wood in Alaska to a display at Manhattan's Steinway Hall. The documentary film received its U.S. theatrical premiere at New York's Film Forum in November, 2007.
In the documentary, the pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Pierre-Laurent Aimard is a French pianist. He was born in Lyon, where he entered the conservatory. Later he studied with Yvonne Loriod and with Maria Curcio....
, Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron
Kenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Bill Charlap
Bill Charlap
William Morrison Charlap is a jazz pianist born October 15, 1966 in New York City.Bill Charlap comes from a musical background and is a distant cousin to famed jazz pianist Dick Hyman. His mother, Sandy Stewart , is a singer who had a hit in 1962 with My Coloring Book, while his father was Broadway...
, Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
, Hélène Grimaud
Hélène Grimaud
Hélène Grimaud is a French pianist.-Biography:Grimaud was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. Although her autobiography Variations Sauvages suggests a...
, Hank Jones
Hank Jones
Henry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
, Lang Lang
Lang Lang (pianist)
Lang Lang , born June 14, 1982, in Shenyang, Liaoning, China, is a Chinese concert pianist, currently residing in New York, who has performed with leading orchestras in Europe, the United States and his native China. He is increasingly well known around the world for his concert performances,...
and Marcus Roberts
Marcus Roberts
Marcus Roberts is an American jazz pianist who has achieved fame as a stride pianist committed to celebrating classic standards and jazz traditions. Roberts has also distinguished his solos by accompanying himself with walking basslines...
, are seen testing and talking about Steinway pianos. The Steinway founder's great-grandson, Henry Z. Steinway
Henry Z. Steinway
Henry Ziegler Steinway was the last Steinway president of the piano company Steinway & Sons.He was the great-grandson of the company founder Henry E. Steinway and started at the firm in 1937 after graduating from Harvard University. He was president of the company from 1955 to 1977...
, talks about the company's history.
Critics gave the documentary mostly positive reviews. , the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 90% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 20 reviews. The documentary has won 7 awards.
Music
Steinway pianos have appeared in numerous records and concerts. A few examples are:Problems listening to these files? See media help.
External links
- Official website of Steinway's headquarters in New York City
- Official website of Steinway's headquarters in Hamburg
- Nine-part series in The New York Times following the construction of a Steinway concert grand piano at the factory in New York City (May 11, 2003 to April 2, 2004)
- Article in The Atlantic (former The Atlantic Monthly) (August 1982 and March 1997)
- Article in Stern Business – A publication of the Stern School of Business, New York University (Fall/Winter 2003)
- Article in STEP Inside Design (November/December 2003)
- The Steinway & Sons Collection in La Guardia and Wagner Archives (see also the section Steinway & Sons in the article La Guardia and Wagner Archives)
- About the Steinway family, company and village on the website of Greater Astoria Historical Society (see also the article Greater Astoria Historical SocietyGreater Astoria Historical SocietyThe Greater Astoria Historical Society is a non-profit cultural and historical organization located in Astoria, Queens, New York, dedicated to preserving the past and promoting the future of the neighborhoods that are part of historic Long Island City, including; the Village of Astoria,...
) - Video showing an inside view of a Steinway concert grand piano