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Steinway & Sons facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Two pianos - grand piano and upright piano
Steinway grand piano and upright piano

Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway, is an American-German piano company. It was founded in 1853 in Manhattan, New York City, the United States, by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The employees at Steinway were mostly German immigrants. The company's growth led to the opening of a factory in Queens, New York City, the United States, and a factory in Hamburg, Germany. The factory in Queens supplies the Americas and the factory in Hamburg supplies the rest of the world.

Steinway is a prominent piano company making pianos of high quality. Many inventions within piano development have been made at the Steinway factories. Steinway has been granted 126 patents in piano making – the first patent was granted in 1857. The company's share of the high-end grand piano market is over 80 percent.

Steinway pianos have got many awards. One of the first is a gold medal in 1855 at the American Institute Fair at the New York Crystal Palace. From 1855 to 1862, Steinway pianos got 35 gold medals. Many awards and recognitions followed, for example three medals at the world's fair of 1867 in Paris. The European part of the company holds a royal warrant of appointment to Queen Elizabeth II.

Steinway pianos are made at the factories in Hamburg and Queens. In addition to the flagship Steinway piano line, Steinway markets two cheaper brands of piano. They are sold under the secondary brand names Boston and Essex. The Boston brand is for the mid-level market and the Essex brand is for the entry-level market. Boston and Essex pianos are designed by Steinway engineers. To take advantage of lower costs of part production and labor, they are made in Asia by other piano makers under the supervision of Steinway employees.

Related pages


Images for kids

  • Steinway fab 4th ave nyc

    Steinway's factory in Manhattan, 1876

  • Steinway factory Schanzenstrasse Hamburg Germany

    Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany, 1915

  • Buying tickets for a Charles Dickens reading at Steinway Hall, New York, New York, 1867

    Crowd of spectators buying tickets for a Charles Dickens reading at the Steinway Hall in New York City, 1867

  • Piano in Entrance Hall

    The White House's Steinway art case piano from 1938 in the Entrance Hall

  • Steinway advertisement 1922

    Steinway & Sons ad 1922

  • Steinway No.500000

    Steinway piano No. 500,000 from 1988

  • One of John Lennons Steinway pianos, MIM PHX

    John Lennon's Steinway upright piano sold at auction to George Michael in 2000 for £1.67 million

  • Steinway & Sons concert grand piano, model D-274, manufactured at Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany

    Steinway & Sons concert grand piano, model D-274, manufactured at Steinway's factory in Hamburg, Germany

  • Clark Art Institute - piano a

    Steinway art case piano designed by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema on display at the art museum Clark Art Institute

  • Boston piano

    Boston grand piano

  • Steinway grand piano interior

    Interior of a Steinway grand piano showing the rim, plate, soundboard, bridges, keys, and strings

  • Keyboard of grand piano - Steinway & Sons (Hamburg factory)

    Keys of a Steinway grand piano

  • Rachmaninoff playing Steinway grand piano

    Sergei Rachmaninoff at a Steinway grand piano

  • Keith Jarrett-commons

    Keith Jarrett performing on a Steinway grand piano

  • Opening of Chopin Year in Warsaw 2010

    Lang Lang next to a Steinway grand piano

  • All-Steinway School - Logo

    Logo of All-Steinway Schools

  • Sudden Mania to Become Pianists created upon hearing Steinway's Piano at the Paris Exposition

    "Sudden Mania to become Pianists created upon hearing Steinway's Pianos at the Paris Exposition." This lithograph by Amédée de Noé a.k.a. Cham conveys the popularity of the Steinway piano, the musicality of which had just been demonstrated by pianist Désiré Magnus at the 1867 Exposition Universelle in Paris. (Harper's Weekly, August 10, 1867, reporting on the world exposition).

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Steinway & Sons para niños