The traditional method at the time was to string the piano in parallel. Pianos that use "cross-frame strings" have the bass strings diagonally across the high and middle strings, giving the bass strings a more melodious and full tone. Crossing the strings also moves the bridge (a strip of wood that transfers the string vibrations to the soundboard) to the center of the soundboard. The ringing effect is like hitting the center of the eardrum instead of the edge. Henry's winding method also made the strings radial rather than parallel, which minimized the strings being affected by their own vibrations. Finally, for the action, a mechanical device that converts keystrokes into felt hammer strikes against the strings, Henry improved on the latest invention of the "double escapement" at the time, allowing the player to move the keys for the first time before resetting them. Strike the key a second time to repeat a note.
The piano Henry built in 1859 laid the foundation for Steinway's precious tradition, but he did not live to see the piano be fully appreciated by people. In 1865, the Steinway family suffered a brutal blow when young Henry and Charles—who served in the Union Army and had prevented anti-draft rioters from setting fire to the Steinway factory in a collective riot during the early days of the American Civil War— died within a month of each other. Young Henry died of tuberculosis at the age of 34; Charles died of typhoid fever at the age of 36 while on vacation in Germany.
The death of his two sons brought a serious mental blow to the elderly Heinrich, and Steinway's business was facing a crisis. A strike at the Steinway factory resulted in labor problems. Heinrich was nearly seventy years old at the time (he died six years later), in a state of profound mental distress, and still refusing to learn to speak English. He is completely unfit to run the company.
So the burden of the company fell heavily on William's shoulders. William, who was only 30 years old at the time, became Steinway's first president. Later it turned out that he greatly promoted the development of the company. The Steinway brothers all received a good education and had musical talents; they all played the piano well, and William was an even better singer. Compared to other brothers, William is more able to appreciate the significance of the success of the Steinway Company to the family. With his extraordinary eloquence, elegant manners and the unique shrewdness of the Steinway family, William mingled with the Manhattan elite and often sang for famous artists at social gatherings. He was also a major philanthropist, with generous foundations at the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, and numerous other institutions.
He was determined to make the name Steinway forever associated with the cultivation of American musical taste. One of Willliam's first tasks was to establish a Steinway piano showroom for musicians. In 1866, behind the Steinway Company's 14th street showroom, William established the first Steinway Concert Hall. The building itself is simple yet elegant, and its 2,000 seats make it the city's second largest gathering place. Until Carnegie Hall opened in 1891, Steinway Hall was the centerpiece of New York's musical and cultural life. Not only concerts were held in this concert hall, but also lectures, readings of the works of Charles Dickens, the first piano concert transmitted by telephone (from a concert hall in Philadelphia), and oddly enough, even the occasional séance.
With the opening of Steinway Hall, the Steinway family played an important role in the cultural life of the city. For the Steinway family—especially William—business and art were inseparable. Steinway Hall is more than a cultural tribute to the city of New York; it is a marketing tool. Every night during the performance season, listeners have to queue into the door under the name Steinway on the front of the concert hall, then pass all the way past the many pianos on display in the Steinway Showroom, and finally arrive at the concert hall.
The most important performance event in the history of Steinway Hall was in the autumn of 1872, when the famous Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein held his first concert in Steinway Hall. This is the only U.S. concert tour.
Young Henry's years of hard work earned him celebrity recognition for Steinway pianos, and William convinced Rubinstein to use a Steinway concert grand piano exclusively on tour. The publicity and prestige generated by Rubinstein's tour were unprecedented in the American music industry.
This passionate, elegant musician is admired wherever he goes. In the past eight months, he traveled around the United States and performed a concert almost every day. At his last farewell concert, which was also held at Steinway Hall, when Rubinstein finished his last piece of music, people swarmed onto the stage and pulled at his clothes, trying to pull off a button or a small piece of cloth. commemorate. Weeping female spectators practically hugged him.
For eight feverish months, William and Rubinstei, a German and a Russian, forever changed the cultural landscape of America. From then on, playing a Steinway piano took on a different meaning than before. This means that whether it’s a farmer’s wife in Nebraska, a girl making her social debut in Manhattan, or an ordinary barroom pianist, the moment they sit down at a Steinway and start playing , they can all claim to be connected to the perfect things in the world. Nowadays, famous pianists in the world hope to play Steinway's pianos, which reflects the prestige that Steinway has always maintained. After the deaths of young Henry and Charles, William alone was not enough to save the company. So, he quickly asked Theodore for help. Theodore has been running his own stores in Germany for the past 15 years. It was known throughout the family that he did not want to settle in the United States. But the news of the death of the two brothers forced him to come to the company's headquarters in New York to work with William.
William and Theodore’s 20 years of collaboration have produced tremendous results. William continued to work hard to associate the Steinway name with the world's elite musicians, while Theodore improved the piano designed and built by Henry Jr. Theodore was a capable engineer and acoustician. He personally obtained 41 patents in the past 20 years, adding unimaginable performance to the piano. Unlike the improvements made by little Henry, most of Theodore's innovation patents - which are found in almost every piano today - are brand-new inventions. These patents include a copper-iron alloy material that allows an existing frame to withstand double the string tension, interchangeable action assembly parts, and a device for pressing a single piece of laminated wood into a piano case shell (which makes the shell inflexible). prone to cracking) and perhaps the most original "double string array". Only someone like Theodor, who has the talent to find uses for seemingly useless things, can invent the double chord sequence. Since the invention of the piano, the "sound section" of the strings that vibrate the bridge after being struck by the hammer has been limited by a fixed distance between the bridge and the tuning pegs. Piano manufacturers use felt dampers to prevent the fixed sounding sections of the strings from emitting discordant vibrations. Theodore studied this and decided to adjust the sound section by using a sliding metal strip, also called a "string array", which can vibrate harmoniously with the sound section of the strings. This innovation makes the sound richer, especially in the treble range.
Steinway & Sons has been handcrafting pianos since 1853 in New York, USA, and in Hamburg, Germany since 1880. Strict material selection standards, superb handcraftsmanship and successful business operations have made it the most famous top piano manufacturer in the world. Steinway's sister company, Boston Piano Company (BOSTON), is committed to developing BOSTON and ESSEX pianos designed by Steinway's New York headquarters and manufactured by Steinway's Asian partners, making them more Many consumers can enjoy Steinway’s brand services. All Steinway-designed products are exclusively promoted and sold by Steinway's approximately 160 authorized dealers.
The sound quality of the pianos produced by the Hamburg branch of the Steinway Company is closer to that of European pianos. They are called German Steinway to distinguish the products of the New York branch of the Steinway Company in the United States.
Steinway pianos sold in Asia are basically products of Steinway's Hamburg branch in Germany.
“In the history of modern pianos, there is a famous company.
Her history of world-wide industry dominance is illustrious, with a pervasive influence on technology and quality standards.
In the space of 20 years, the Steinway family immigrated to the United States, improved piano manufacturing technology, created the important characteristics of the pianos used today, occupied a dominant position in the American industry, and came back to conquer Europe.
Today, pianos that predated the Steinway innovation are very attractive to music historians, antiquities researchers and furniture collectors. Pianos made after this time have absorbed the main characteristics of the Steinway.
Pianos manufactured by Steinway since 1880 are still used by musicians today. This cannot be said about pianos other than those made by Steinway. ”