Steinway Piano History

Steinway PianoI have always thought that what a Picasso is to the world of art, a German immigrant’s greatest creation is to the world of pianos. This genius master cabinet-maker, whose pianos bear his namesake, was actually born Heinrich Steinweg, before the trip from his native Germany to the bright lights of New York inspired the Anglicization of Steinweg to Steinway.

With a clear and unmatched aptitude for intricate handiwork, Steinway and his seven sons – one remained in Germany to promote the family name via piano construction – waited until they had already built nearly 500 hundred of their uniquely-crafted Grand piano before deciding to turn it into a legitimate business; Steinway & Sons was born. No sooner had the fateful announcement been made, than the awards for their handiwork (one from the Queen of England, no less) began pouring in; the demand for their pianos skyrocketed afterwards. Though of course they always remained firmly at the helm of their company, they had to hire hundreds of hands to aid them in construction to meet this demand, and made sure to file hundreds of patents along the way, so unique were the amendments they made to the classic grand piano structure.

grand pianoI do not exaggerate when I say that kings and queens figuratively bowed before the master craftsmanship of Steinway & Sons; several monarchs followed in the foot-steps of Queen Victoria in endowing the Steinway men with the prestige of royal warrants, which are akin to royal exclamations of “Thank you; you do excellent work!” Such was the effect of the almost magical acoustics engineered by them, those users of Steinway pianos hosting concertos gave the generic name “Steinway Hall” to any public place in which a Steinway was being played. In fact, there is actually a company town called Steinway in Queens, New York!

The Steinway piano brand underwent expected hardship during the World War II years, but emerged like most strong companies from before the war years. For a decades-long spell, they reached their former heights, commemorating the making of their 100,000th, 300,000th and then 500000th Grand Steinway pianos; donating the first two significant numbers to the White House, and giving the last its own personal, worldwide tour. Recently, the company has been hit by the economic climate; but is still synonymous with worldwide excellence. Your very own piece of the illustrious Steinway history can be had from Cooper Pianos in Atlanta.

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