Steinway, from Glory to Controversy: The Family, the Business, the Piano

Desmond Maley is the music librarian at the J.W. Tate Library,
Huntington College, Laurentian University and editor of the Newsletter
of the Canadian Association of Music Libraries, Archives, and
Documentation Centres.

Despite the promise of the book’s title, there isn’t much
controversy in the history of America’s most prestigious pianomaker.
Steinway did come under investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade
Commission in the 1980s, when there were allegations that an unusual
number of new piano soundboards were cracking and that the quality of
the pianos was deteriorating. But no charges were laid, and Steinway is
still the instrument of choice for more than 90 percent of the world’s
concert pianists.

“The instrument of the immortals” (as a copywriter dubbed it) was
the brainchild of Henry Engelhard Steinway, who built his first piano in
the kitchen of the family home in Seesen, Germany, in 1825. In 1850, he
emigrated to New York. Especially under his sons Theodore and William,
who introduced numerous technical innovations as well as marketing
flair, the Steinway product became the most sought-after piano in
America. Declared Franz Liszt, “Your new grand is a glorious
masterpiece in power, sonority, singing quality, and perfect harmonic
effect.”

Steinway’s pre-eminent position was subsequently consolidated by
successive generations of family members, including Theodore Edwin and
Henry. The company has registered 125 patents, and the “Steinway
artists” have included Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Anton and Artur
Rubinstein, Paderewski, and Glenn Gould. In 1972, the Steinway family
sold the company to CBS, which strove to improve Steinway’s somewhat
antiquated business and production methods. It has changed hands twice
since then, with neither new owner having a background in pianomaking.

Steinway—From Glory to Controversy is based on archival sources and
on interviews with members of the Steinway family, family friends,
performers, executives, employees, and dozens of others connected to the
piano industry in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. One gets
an inside look not only at Steinway but also at the intense competition
with rivals like Chickering, Baldwin, and Yamaha. The narrative is also
generously sprinkled with interesting anecdotes about the Steinway
family, great pianists, and celebrity owners. The result is a thoroughly
researched, well-written chronicle that represents a significant
contribution to the history of the piano.