Did you know that the world class Steinway Grand Piano had a humble beginning, being made in a cabinet maker's kitchen?
Today, this ultimate of grand pianos is still painstakingly handcrafted, in factories in the United States and Germany. These piano makers have a piano production of approximately 2,500 per year. Let's have a look at the history of a family who revolutionized the piano industry with their inventions and continue to set the standard for producing pianos.
Steinway History.
Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg started making pianos in 1825. He was a cabinet maker by trade and lived in Seesen, close to Brunswick in Germany. As we mentioned earlier, this piano company started in the Steinweg's kitchen. In 1849, Heinrich sent his son, Carl, to the United States with a view to starting a piano production company there. In June 1850, Heinrich, now aged 53, and most of his family departed for the United States with the intention of producing pianos of the most superior quality. When the family reached the shores of the United States, they anglicized their names. Heinrich became Henry. Steinweg became Steinway.
Steinway and Sons started business on 5th March, 1853. The first piano to be sold by the new piano company was the 483 rd that they had produced. This piano now calls the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art home, but at the time it was sold to a New York family for $500.
In 1859, Henry Jr. patented the overstrung scale. This was the start of the invention of grand pianos. For Steinway and son, it was the beginning of an entirely new entity that would result in Steinway grand pianos. By 1860, 350 men were employed in a brand new piano building factory, and their piano production output was increased to 5 grand pianos and 30 square pianos per week.
Between the years 1855 and 1867, Steinway and son started to win gold medals at various exhibitions in Europe and the United States. Probably their most historically momentous, was their winning the "Grand Gold Medal of Honor" in Paris in 1867. This award honored excellence in manufacturing and engineering, and prior to this had never been awarded to a piano company in the United States.
In 1871, Henry Sr. Steinway died.
In 1875, Carl Steinway, who incidentally was himself a masterful piano player, created a patent for the modern grand piano. Carl was primarily responsible for the fine and measured phase of producing pianos. Carl actually managed to lodge another 40 patents relating to all the intricacies of piano building. Currently, Steinway and son have 115 patents pertaining to almost all of the 12.000 components that make up a piano.
Steinway and Sons Today.
Due to their stringent hand crafting procedures, each Steinway grand piano can take up to a year to make. Mass production is not a philosophy that this piano company aspires to. There are currently approximately half a million Steinway pianos located around the world, from concert halls to private homes.
Over 90% of performing piano players the world over select grand pianos from the Steinway and son piano company as their instrument of choice. As Henry Steinway said himself "Make no compromise in quality".
