The Steinway Story
A History of Steinway & Sons - Maker of the World's Finest Pianos
Steinway & Sons was founded in New York City in 1853 by German immigrant Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg. Henrich changed his name to Henry E. Steinway in 1850, when he and his family moved to the United States. In 1853, after acquainting himself with the ways of the New World, Henry E. Steinway rented a loft with his sons on Varick Street in Manhattan. There they began handcrafting what would be called "the standard piano of the world".
Henry was a master cabinet maker. He built his first piano in 1836 in the kitchen of his home in Seesen, Germany. By the time he established Steinway & Sons, he had already created 483 pianos. The company's first piano, serial number 483, was sold to a New York family named Griswold for $500. It is now displayed at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Over the next forty years Henry Steinway and his sons developed the modern piano. Roughly half of the company's more than 120 patented inventions were made during that period. Many of these late-nineteenth-century inventions were based on emerging scientific research, such as the acoustical theories of the renowned physicist Hermann von Helmholtz.
Combining these inventions with existing techniques resulted in the famous "Steinway System", which remains the basis for building a piano. All pianos today are to some extent built according to this system. Only the Steinway piano, however, benefits from the extensive knowledge of more than 120 innovations.
Building With Success
By 1860 Steinway & Sons had outgrown its rented quarters and opened a "pianoforte manufactory" at Park Avenue and 53rd Street. Ten years later, with no more room available for expansion, the companymoved to its present location in Queens, New York, "where land was abundant".
The Steinway family purchased 400 acres, in what is now the Astoria section of the Borough of Queens, and built Steinway Village. Virtually its own town, Steinway Village not only had its own foundries, factory and housing for employees but also its own post office, kindergarten, library, parks and a ferry company.
In 1866 Steinway & Sons opened Steinway Hall, its retail showroom, on 14th Street, then the hub of New York's cultural life. For nearly 25 years (1865-1890) the Concert Hall within Steinway Hall was amoung the city's leading concert venues. In 1890, the Concert Hall was closed, and its significance as a concert hall was passed on to Carnegie Hall. In 1925 the copany relocated its retail showroom, Steinway Hall, to its present location - 109 West 57th Street in New York City.
Building The Steinway Reputation
To earn the respect of the international community, Steinway & Sons entered and won gold medals at several U.S. and European exibitions. The Steinway piano captured prizes in Londaon in 1862 and Philadelphia in 1876. But it was at the Paris Exhibition in 1867 that the company was thrust to international fame. Steinway & Sons was the first American company to receive the Exhibition's prestigous "Grand Medal of Honor", for excellence in manufacturing and engineering. The recognition of Steinway's innovative techniques sparked a revolution in the industry that altered the trade of piano manufacturing. The Steinway piano became the piano of choice for many members of royalty and won the respect and admiration of the world's great pianists.
Building With Artists
Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Steinway & Sons managed the careers of many great artists. The first major artist brought to the United States by Steinway & Sons was Anton Rubinstein, who toured the U.S. from 1872 to 1873. Ignace Paderewski also made his first U.S. tour, from 1891 to 1892, under the auspices of Steinway & Sons. The preference for the Steinway piano by such famed artists further oosted the instrument's reputation as "the piano of international fame", but the company eventually left the artist management business. Under a new arrangement, a Steinway Artist was assured a concert-ready Steinway piano at public performances anywhere in the world.
Today, Steinway & Sons continues its close association with the world's greatest pianists. Over 1500 prominent concert artists and ensembles worldwide bear the title Steinway Artist. No artist or ensemble is a paid endorser of the piano. Each Steinway Artist personally owns a Steinway model 'B' or 'D' and has chosen to perform on the Steinway piano professionally.
The Steinway piano is the overwhelming choice of today's concert artists. More than 98% of solo artists performing with major symphony orchestras us a Steinway piano.
Building With The Future
Drawing from more than a century of experience, in 1986 Steinway & Sons set about creating a new kind of piano. Using the most sophisticated computer modeling, the company adapted proven patents, concepts and materials for the special requirements of high-technolgy manufactuing. Today, More than 65,000 Boston pianos have been sold to individuals and institutions around the world - pianos which continue to delight and inspire their owners. Playing the Boston pianos is proff that technology can indeed enhance performance, not compromise it.
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.
On March 5th, 2003 Steinay & Sons celebrated their 150th Anniversary. While the Carnegie Hall concerts were a focal point of the anniversary, celebratory activities for the anniversary will take place throughout the year, including:
The ringing of the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on March 5th, 2003- The search for the oldest Steinway in America
- The reissuing of the book, Steinway, written by Ronald Ratcliffe with Stuart Isacoff, which chronicles the 150 year history of the Steinway piano, the Steinway family, and the artists who perform on Steinway pianos.
- Free public tours of the Steinway factory in Astoria, Queens, to experience the yearlong hand crafting process of creating Steinway instruments.
In 2006, Steinway & Sons unveiled the third member of the Steinway Family: Essex Pianos. In a break from tradition, and as part of an effort to highlight the significance of a major product launch, Steinway & Sons hosted a mid-year dealer meeting for the company's entire North American dealer organization. Dealers at the three day event, held in Oakbrook, Illinois, June 5-7, saw the unveiling of a completely revamped Essex line of pianos. With dozens of new designs and styles, as well as aggressive pricing, and bold marketing strategies, the new Essex line represents Steinway's most forceful bid to date to expand its share of the world's piano market.
In 2008, the great grand son of William E. Steinway, Henry Z Steinway, died in New York at the age of 93. Henry Z. Steinway was the former president and chairman of Steinway & Sons. 
Throughout the world approximately 5,000 Steinway pianos (grands and verticals) are made each year. Built with a commitment to the highest quality, the Steinway piano continues to earn its reputation as "The Instrument of the Immortals", "The Piano by Which All Others are Judged" and "The Piano of International Fame".