The Grandest Pianos: Steinway

As mentioned in the previous post, one of the main reasons Steinway became such a pre-eminent instryment on over 95% of the concert stages in America, was due to its unique and aggressive artost-endorsement program, started by William Steinway in the late 1800s.

Naturally, every great and small piano maker would love to have several famous pianists endorse their instruments for both stage play and home use. In the mid 19th century, many of the fine piano makers tried to secure these endorsements by literally giving a large grand piano, free of charge, to one or more renowned artists of the day. Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, and many other superb composers and players received such largess.

Instead, William Steinway entreated upon the great Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein to play Steinway pianos during his American concert tour of 1872, and later convinced one of the greatest pianists ever, Paderewski, to tour America in a railroad car, playing over 100 concerts in under 4 months, all on a Steinway-furnished concert grand.

The result was sheer perfection for the marketing of the Steinway piano. When every piano player from the most beginning student to the world’s most accomplished artists saw these greats playing Steinway and nothing but Steinway, they all declared "I must own a Steinway piano!"

This was the beginnings of the lauded Steinway Artist Program, which provides a fine Steinway grand, delivered and tuned free of charge, to any Steinway Artist currently on their roster, in any major city where Steinways are available.

And to make sure there are many, many Steinways to choose from for major concerts in metropolitan areas, Steinway maintains at least 3 "piano banks" in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. These are acoustically accurate storerooms housing as many as 30 Steinway "D" and "B" models (their two larger concert grands) from which the Steinway artist can audition and choose their favorite for their impending concert, knowing it will be onstage and properly serviced prior to the show’s start. A brilliant concept.

The one downside is that if Steinway catches you performing on a competitors instrument in any American or European city where you could have procured a Steinway for the show, they can drop you from their Steinway Artists roster, a policy which has met with significant controversy over the years.

If you really want to learn an immense amount about the slow, exacting and methodical process of building a fine piano, or just enjoy a fascinating field trip for any pianist, you should plan a trip to the Astoria district of Queens in New York City to tour the Steinway factory. They do have an online virtual tour, and there are documentaries available on DVD that show many parts of the process and factory, but trust me, there’s nothing like watching it done in  person.

You’ll see several strong men bend the outer rim of a new grand piano case around a huge press, the making of soundboards, the precise chiseling of bridges, and so much more. I’ve spent quite a bit of time at the Steinway factory, and believe me, it’s a trip to be treasured.

For more check out these related posts

• No Related Post