The Story And Family Behind Steinway Pianos

Mrs. L American stories stories about a brand name. We all know Steinway man you don't know Henry Steinway began the story were about to hear the story about resiliency in a man's search for freedom is great as guest dine on succulent roasted found in mouth watering marinated oysters washing their pallets with ice cold champagne piano music is an occasion opening the new Steinway factory in New York on April 1, 1860 a correspondence from a local newspaper declares it is conceding that the Steinway piano and make tone sweetness precision and durability is the most perfect instrument of that class to be had anywhere in the world. The road to victory began 60 earlier in wolves.

Hagen, a small forest hamlet nestled in the slopes of the upper Hartz Mountain in Northwest Germany were Heinrich Stein, Vic, founder of Steinway and Sons is born. Church records reveal that the Stein figs were master charcoal burners lived in the woods and like most charcoal burners were regarded with deep suspicion by townspeople who rarely saw them. Stein figs childhood is marked by many tragedies and twists of fate at the age of eight.

During the harsh winter. His mother and most of his siblings die from exposure is orphaned until his father and brothers once thought to have been killed in action returned from the Napoleonic wars and claiming then that 15 is orphaned once again penniless and living on the street he seeks refuge in the German army. Two years later he's fighting against Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo on June 18, 1815 family legend has it that when an advance is made in Napoleon.

The charges signaled by a lone bugler Heinrich Stein think. According to this tale is awarded a bronze medal for bugling in the face of the enemy when not heading off to battle. He is in the barracks, making mandolins and other instruments and occasionally striking up a tomb with the military band after six years of military service, Stein Vic begins an apprenticeship with this churches organ builder is also introduced to the piano through his Jewish friend Carl brand Stein Vic learns to build a piano by copying brands as he changes the pipes of church organs.

He becomes interested in notes Octave's and corks thirsting for knowledge. He appears every Friday evening at his church to listen to the organist rehearse for Sunday services. Every German craftsman in 1935 has to belong to a guild or what we would call you since Steinway doesn't have a master craftsman diploma as an instrument maker is not allowed to build pianos officially, so he becomes a cabinetmaker, but he still very much interested in building instruments, gears, master piano builder Chris Martin has his thoughts. I think many instruments you have seen them have combative them that he has made his own concept his own piano… For time was better than the instruments he has seen all 10.

Apart from being skilled in working with wooden special tools building a keyboard instrument requires musicality in a complex knowledge of mathematics and physics. But Stein Vic relies on intelligence and intuition. Cabinetmaker decides to start building forte pianos in court the woman he falls madly in love with Cooley on a team, the daughter of a well established glove maker for the wedding. Stein Vic wants to impress Cooley. Anna with a very unusual gift in 1835. He gives his bride's first square piano that he designed himself.

Here's Heinrich Stein. Figs. Great great-grandson Miles Chapman that is consistent little bit with this image of a businessman. If your first product is very complex, technically complicated you want to sell it because it might break in which case your reputation is ruined before it's even been made so for him to take his first piano and give it to his wife. I think that's wonderful here you play this honey and tell me if it works newlywed and raring to go. Heinrich Stein. Vic wants to build not only could pianos but the best pianos in the world with meticulousness and passion. He begins building his first grand piano in 1836, which he later sells to the Duke of Brunswick for 3000 marks this piano was later named the kitchen piano and is now on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art along with the square piano he gave to his wife believe he started out as a cabinetmaker, but if you think about it from a businessman's point of view with the amount of labor in the amount of time it takes to make one thing that's this big okay if this thing is a chest of drawers you can sell it for X but in this thing that you're making is takes longer to make. You can sell it for five times X6 10 times X so that his product could be more valuable to him and his profit margins will be greater. I don't think he was driven musically at all. I don't think he was driven creatively at all. I think he was purely my take is purely a businessman in a product that was a higher value product and he would get a higher profit from easier to transport easier to build at home.

He could have one at a time going and that was why he wanted and what a story or hearing about the Stein Vic family which of course become the Steinway family and miles Chapman what a point he made about the reason and what drove Steinway to make pianos and it was an art.

It was commerce it was profit and so often we share the story about free enterprise serves the public without that profit motive remain out of the Steinway expertise and the brilliance of these piano he was driven to not be a cabinetmaker and to make more profit with everything he did.

And of course, came the excellence in the mess. Everything else.

When we come back more of this remarkable story. The story of the Steinway family and the Steinway piano you on our American stored when the baby or the host about American stories everyday on the show for bringing inspiring stories from across this great country course more big cities and small towns, but we truly can't do the show without our stories are free to listen to what they're not free to make if you love what you hear go to L American stories.com and click the donate button give a little give a lot go to L American stories.com and give and we continue here on our American stories with the life story of Henry Steinway and let's return to Greg Hendler and to where we last left off Heinrich Stein figs first grand piano is an enormous success to meet the growing demand Stein.

Vic decides to train his young voice, even his five-year-old has to help out in the work is musically talented daughter Doretta is only allowed to watch the crafts are strictly for men with the help of his son Stein Vic can make 10 to 12 instruments a gear in 1840 riots in golf.

Most of Europe because of political instability and economic uncertainty spawning movements toward socialism.

Heinrich's second son Charles is on the front lines 5 people sovereignty against an absolutist prince in the civil liberties for the Christian middle-class. The socialist revolution fails to produce a redistribution of wealth, land or power, but it does paralyze businesses throughout Europe, thereby encouraging businessman like Heinrich Stein, Vic to consider leaving here in reprisals for their son Charles leaves Germany sales to New York City in 1849 where he is to find a safe haven for both himself and for the Stein Vic piano business June 1849 Charles Lanza New York the heart of professional musicmaking in America and of America's piano industry. The other major piano manufacturing cities are Boston, Baltimore and Philadelphia. All centers for German immigrants pianos have only been in America since the revolution. Most of them brought in from shipwrecks by pirates as part of their booty.

The rest were imported by John Jacob Astor, the German millionaire for trader who occasionally bartered first for pianos six weeks after his arrival. Charles writes to his family for the first time praising the quote progressive spirit of America, unquote to loving parents, brothers and sisters. New York seems to be in El Dorado for keyboard instruments. I soon found employment with the piano manufacturer. It's a pretty well-paying job. The growth of wealth in the United States promises great opportunities for piano manufacturers, you'll hardly believe it. In nearly every household is a piano family music as part of daily life here. Be courageous and do not hesitate to long frustrated by an assortment of government regulation, interference in unjust taxes, tens of thousands of Germans leave their homeland and flee to America. Here again is Heinrich Steinberg's great great-grandson.

Miles Chapman was a time of great political upheaval in Germany.

In Europe all through Europe. It was not a climate conducive to business and the Steinway's if anything were businessmen and Heinrich if anything was a businessman and he lived in the small town in the hearts Mountain regions Asian and he made his pianos one by one at home but to sell them. He had to take them places and to take the places he had to cross borders and when he crossed borders. There were tariffs that were added costs that were going into his pocket and he was ambitious. I think he just decided rationally to leave Germany to set up a shop in New York City. The Stein figs along with their three daughters and three sons board the first German ocean liner in Hamburg on her maiden voyage. The Stein figs reached New York City. Just 30 days. Their eldest son Theodore stays in Germany to run the rest of the company. When the Stein figs arrive they face no restrictions no questions no Ellis Island kendo Statue of Liberty to quickly move into a small rented apartment on Hester Street in the middle of 1/4. That's known as little Germany, the Stein figs apartment is certainly very different from their spacious home back in Germany with more than 600,000 German immigrants. New York is a German enclave. By 1861 out of every four New Yorkers is German born only Berlin and Vienna have more German citizens.

These Germans brought with them classical music culture that didn't exist in America. Here's Kathleen Holzer from the New York historical Society, speaking to us in St. Mark's Place just between second and third Street you can see how productive Germans were when I got to America. That would be pretzel sours along the stream people selling Bed women selling calls.

The Germans were really good at founding their own groups they like to get together things together so they had to run for a club man. They had their beer gardens where the whole family would go and they had things like gun club what you can see right on this street still here. The gun club. This should shop thing that was not just about shooting targets. It was also about men enjoying each other's company and drinking beer.

The Stein figs don't go into business right away. Instead, they decide to work for others until they get their feet on the ground and learn some English in New York methods Heinrich and his sons select the best New York piano makers to work for so they can learn the latest and finest techniques but three years after their arrival, and economic depression hits New York Heinrich sons are unemployed.

He's very low days pay as an employee piano. Heinrich quits his job opens his own piano workshop with his sons no longer have very much to lose with this move now have potential to achieve a lot to help with sales business friends advise the Stein figs to Americanize the name so Heinrich Stein becomes Henry Stein humble attic on Varick Street just below Canal Street on the west side of Manhattan becomes their very first company headquarters on March 5, 1853 with only a verbal contract and a capital investment of just $6000 Steinway and Sons is found. It is a good time to be in the piano business musical life in America is flourishing in the piano is at the center of the increasing interest in music. Most piano pupils are women. Other instruments being seen as detracting from feminine attractiveness, shallow demands that a woman spread her legs and the harp rooms are posture, but at the piano, she can sit and merely feet together, even courtship increasingly takes place at the keyboard from the beginning. The women were there to support the men assist the men for clean up after the men, but it was a man's business. Beretta one of the daughters of the original Steinway's she gave piano lessons, but I don't think she ever worked for the company she was ever a salaried employee of Steinway and since you probably own diffuse shares in the company herself, but she didn't work there.

My mother was the Steinway in the family and she had four older brothers who she watched one by one, go off and work the family business. So naturally when she came of age. She asked her father.

When do I start family business and the story goes that he brought her to the piano and said come here open the piano read me what it says Steinway concerns, please don't embarrass me.

There's no women in Steinway and Sons.

Even my secretaries cannot forget here's Annie Gorbachev's vice president of Steinway and Sons, New York will is amazing to me is that in the 10 years from 1853, 1861. The start of the factory. The very big factory on Park Avenue here one from scratch to building the most campground panels.

Many other piano manufacturers and I think that's a credit to not only the excellent design and craftsmanship tremendous. I think businessmen and marketers and sales and what a story this is the Steinway coming. The Steinway classic immigrant story were no restrictions here in America. There were no Henry Steinway, the family story continues here on our American stores and we continue here with our American stories and with the story of Henry Steinway. Let's return to Greg Engler and pick up where we left off each Steinway and Sons. Grand piano is handcrafted and comprises 12,000 individual parts assembled by as many as 450 people. The process takes over a year to complete. Although it's always the same construction plans and materials. No two pianos ever sound like Steinway grand pianos all have their own individual sound and personality. Here's Lang Lang, who is considered by many to be one of the finest concert pianist of all time. Lane compares the best pianos to great actors for their ability to convey extremes of emotion and attitude. It was the flamboyant pianist in a Tom and Jerry cartoon. He says that originally drew him to the instrument. Go to both stop in New York most is huge, but when they start almost like you found out there working on Swiss watch this detailed supersize like they're making them hourly and are making some smaller items like wood and imagine that's the fact of producing such a big monster and precise work transferred to the sound. There is a unique person in Steinway's factory makes the final tuning for all pianos before delivery with an expert touch. You can quickly discern the questionable keys and makes chalk marks. Then he patiently adjusts the hammers to achieve the perfect string strokes because of his acute gift.

He is known as Steinway's ear.

Walter boot is the heart and soul Steinway and Sons is been working in the piano factory in New York for over 50 years.

Not a single Steinway piano leave the building until it satisfies and Barb Caskey and Miles can.

My job is to even out the tell I get the piano out the catalyst all done ready to go to somebody's house and I like fine tune it. I listen to it.

I play it I make it without even so I'm happy.

What when I'm happy.

What I know you. I love what I might my whole life on the all the work in factory. They call me uncle Wally come here and look like a piano when it leave it sound like I do love in the piano Mossad Rachmaninoff we go through multiple tuning multiple regulations multiple voicings, so it is a really a circle of refinement were constantly trying to get that last ounce of of Tony out of it. We will baby that hammer will pull out as much as we can in the early days, Henry Junior was the mastermind CF Theodore Steinway was back in Germany and he was still making pianos and he was working on his pianos in this correspondence back and forth between Brunswick in New York and they were trying out different ideas, but Henry Junior was really the one here who was who was getting the patents and really making the advances from an engineering perspective. If there was any single patent that made the most difference would be the over strong one-piece cast iron frame. That's what differentiated Steinway piano in its day it was the first piano company to bring a grand piano with a one-piece cast iron frame to market successfully.

They first showed it in 1867 in Paris, and pretty much you can measure the history of the piano from the time running up to that point and the time running away from that point because today you can't buy a piano that doesn't have a one-piece cast iron over strong frame, but before that time there were not. They were first together with his sons, Henry Steinway's credo is the same as ever to build the best pianos in the world you see pictures of them and there's only a couple of them and he was ramrod straight in his fists jammed into his pocket and set of his jaw just like this was very determined.

Determined to make a successful company to make a success of his life in United States to give his children a better life than he had the classic American star Steinway's future depends first on scale then on national recognition to boost sales. The company founder has an ingenious idea. He realizes that the renowned pianist and composer is a time are the ideal advertisers for Steinway and Sons so he signs the acclaimed artist exclusively to Steinway. They are not bashful. They're not afraid to tell us of something is not 100% with the piano itself. I think we we are very lucky to have this very good feedback information coming back to us from from this that very valuable part of our customer base.

The concert artist here Steinway historian Cornelia Poole said that if people like that play on in this instrument must be of high quality.

They asked for recommendations from the aristocracy as the Queen of Spain to sell Turkey use these recommendations for advertising purposes to one Vanderbilt Steinway Hall here in the Steinway Hall is where concerts took place when you want to go to the concert hall you had to walk through the exhibition rooms and so naturally we did even more advertising for the pianos.

With that New York Times wrote it time the Steinway's can be proud that the most magnificent piano business in the whole world today over 95% of the world's finest penis prefer Steinway pianos 67. Steinway is stream Tatian well anything but then tragedy strikes on March 11, 1865 Henry Junior dies of consumption at the age of just 35 then just days later Henry's other son Charles dies of typhoid fever while visiting his brother in Germany must've been devastating Steinway having to lose not only one song, the two sons made a course that was an era where people died more easily. You didn't live as long children died but it was very, very difficult for him, especially being an immigrant and his whole family he brought with him. They were here and when it's diminished by to what he did have one son back in Germany, but when it's diminished the number there in New York by two. That was when they wanted to bring CF Theodore over to help strengthen the family. It is William's job now to keep the family business running. He writes to his brother Theodore in Germany desperately need him in New York dealer leaves a successful business in Germany and three weeks later he arrives in New York brothers, William and Theodore form the perfect company management. Theodore invents groundbreaking features for grand piano mechanisms and William knows how to sell them their success start spiraling and what a story, and it's so hard to comprehend losing two sons in such a short period of time, especially with the family business, one with real specific knowledge and drive when we come back will continue with the story of Henry Steinway and we returned to the final and moment of this remarkable life worried this quintessential American we heard in the beginning, playing Germany because of so many restrictions and coming to America to just do well do what the Steinway's do make a great product and now rectangular with the final part of the story of Henry Steinway here again is Henry Steinway's great-great-grandson, Miles Chapman, the skill set of the way that the talents of the sons mashed is really what made the difference because the one hand you had CF Theodore Steinway engineering the piano differently than on the other hand, you had his brother William Steinway, who was changing the way you sold pianos changing the marketing of pianos and so when you had a company that had a demonstrably finer product coupled with the CEO corporate officer who knew how to sell that product and was innovative in the ways he was selling that product movement came together and it just made a sum greater than the sum of the parts.

Then in 1863.

Those parts were attacked by the Manhattan workers union strikes disrupting Steinway piano production when the furniture makers union decided to target the piano industry. Steinway was the biggest most prominent name and they decided to target Steinway and Sons at that time he had a country house out here in Bowery Bay, Queens. I think he had a revelation. One day he said wait a minute, New York's over there. I have a house here here's all this land, the water, the ocean is right there I can bring my war materials in here my factory here and I think he deliberately set about doing that buying the acreage out here moving the company out piece by piece digging the tunnel underneath the East River. You know the Steinway tunnel was the first tunnel of the East River.

I took it this morning when I took the subway to Manhattan. The number seven train goes to Steinway to get the workers out of the social unrest and union riots in Steinway has his Steinway village built in Astoria, Queens, built gymnasiums, libraries, churches, housing for his workers and a lot of it is still there. You can see on the streets. The streets up and renaming out 30th Ave. 31st St. but you can go to some of the housing that was the factory housing you can see, chiseled in stone on the side of the building, Albert Strasse, Friedrich Stross. That was the names that we had for his original city.

Then in 1980, Theodore returns to Germany in order to open and operate a second factory in Hamburg since then, they've split the global market into two parts. Here again is Andy Harb Chesky VP of Steinway and Sons, New York where one company but we do manufacturing to plants here in New York and one in Hamburg, Germany, and there are subtle differences certainly a little in terms of just the finish in the high-gloss versus the set look.

But there also.

Also, some total differences in from our perspective as a global company, we like the choice there are artists that prefer the New York instrument, and in Europe and vice a versa that in North America here. Some prefer the Hamburg to a site we we think that offering a choice is good and we will not change that in the future when the United States enters into World War II, Steinway and Sons are no longer able to build pianos panels were not deemed strategic materials during World War II, the United States, however, some of the things that go into making the piano were deemed strategic materials, copper all the copper in the United States was going into the war effort. So the piano makers were not allowed to use copper wood that they had a factory. Some of it was used for rifle stocks things like that. The government at one point suggested Steinway make coffins.

I think my grandfather, who had four sons in the war, decided he didn't want to make coffee. They did make glider airplanes for the war effort. They did make about 2000 pianos for the war effort olive drab government issue piano. The OD G.I. piano which I love little packing crate had some music, a set of tuning tools. They ship them all over the world 150-year-old company produces about 2000 handmade 9 foot concert grand year here. The approximately 100 other company. These magnificent instruments do not come cheap.

One is shown Steinway show W. 57th St. with a price tag of $3000.

No wonder a prospective buyer is very particular in choosing a specific piano each handmade instrument has its own personality.

The limited production hinges a lot on the brand severe selection standards for timber.

After all, 85% of the Steinway piano is made from wood precious timbers from all over the world are neatly stacked in Steinway's warehouses and there they spent two years in their natural drying process before the next step space between them ensures good air circulation and the pliability after the drying process. Only 50 to 60% passed rigorous quality checks to become piano parts as the soundboard. The central part of the piano. The design and the selection of the materials for must be meticulous artisans select the finest North American Spruce Spruce desired regular brain to ensure residents only 5 to 10% of the timber from one tree can be used for the handmade sound experience Australian concert pianist peers Lane specially flown Hamburg to choose three concert grants for his hometown in Sydney works as well is seeing some with quality not be interesting to compare that one down and peers is attended to by Steinway and Sons sales consultant Garrett Kleiner jots down notes while following peers around the brightly lit show room filled with Steinway grand pianos start with the same thing done see the same fineness of quality is mistrust among top of the same characters in the Netherlands got more cool to the sound.

Compare that after some test-athon of 6 1/2 hours. The pianist makes selections interesting as it makes me play is why the little one is a kind of mixed 05 should use no bliss. Yes, I would find it most, because this extract agree on bondage noted. I like the balance of the kata feels even across the whole right side has the classical transparencies whether detection periodically.

There has been the history of the piano the death bell has been summoned been struck. You know what happened in the 1920s when player piano started when radio came on people subtle.

Nobody will bliss the pianos anymore after World War II with hi-fi television people set old people won't have pianos anymore in the 50s with electric pianos and Hammond organ so no people will never need pianos anymore didn't happen then as it happened. Now you know and still people are are are improving, tinkering, as you say a little bit with the piano just trying to find small improvements to it, but there's nothing that can replace it. Nothing will play after 75 years. In 1871, an unusual life journey comes to an end journey took the orphan from the Harts Mountains in Germany to the highest highs of music in America courage, perseverance, and family strengths. After 150+ years of turmoil, feuds, depression, wars, competition from the Far East. Nothing has silenced the Steinway sound even if what Steinway is now selling is its past, rather than any technical innovation, a New York Times reporter referred to the Steinway factory as a resilient treasure in a city that wonders whether it is lost its soul with his Steinway and Sons piano Henry Steinway has made himself immortal.

I'm Greg Engler and this is our American stories and great job as always Greg Henry Steinway's story here on our American stores