More Than a Name on the Fallboard
September 16th, 2009
What’s in a name? What is behind the name of the piano manufacturers throughout the world? What does the name on the fallboard of the piano represent? In this article we will discuss what’s behind the ‘Steinway’ name that sets it towering above the names of all other piano brands?
Consider a passage from Cyril Ehrlich’s book The Piano.
In the history of the modern piano one company has been pre-eminent. Its rise to a position of world leadership in the industry was meteoric, its influence upon standards of technology and quality pervasive. Within two decades, Steinway & Sons transformed the instrument’s technology, establishing the essential features of the pianos we use today, assumed leadership of the American industry and then returned to conquer Europe.
What’s Behind The Steinway Name
I. PHILOSOPHY
Since 1853 Steinway & Sons has pursued a single ideal: Make the finest pianos in the world as stated by Henry Engelhard Steinway:
“BUILD THE BEST PIANO POSSIBLE, SELL IT FOR THE LOWEST PRICE, CONSISTENT WITH QUALITY”
Steinway & Sons has adhered to this philosophy consistently for more than 150 years. This philosophy has been upheld by enforcing and implementing the following three uncompromising principles.
1. “Build to a standard, not a price.”
2. “Make no compromise in quality.”
3. “Strive always to improve the instrument.”
II. THE STEINWAY STANDARD
The Steinway standard is to make each instrument the finest ever created and then go further, if possible, with the next one. Steinway & Sons does not build pianos to match a price point or fit short-term marketing schemes. Instead, Steinway builds instruments to exceed the expectations of the world’s most demanding critics – music-lovers.
III. THE STEINWAY TRADITION
Steinway & Sons was founded by master craftsmen trained in the best European tradition. They built pianos one at a time, applying skills handed down from master to apprentice, generation after generation. Steinway & Sons still builds pianos that way. There are no compromises in design, workmanship, or materials. Therefore we make no compromise in quality. Each Steinway piano is meticulously handcrafted over the course of a year. Nothing is hurried.
IV. LEADERSHIP
While Steinway & Sons adheres to the traditional values of hand craftsmanship, it has always led the industry through innovation. The first Steinway pianos were distinguished by their inventive features. Technical improvements, one after the other, have been refining the instrument ever since.
Every Steinway made today reflects this technical leadership. Each benefits from the knowledge of 114 patented innovations and over a thousand unique construction features.
What’s behind the Steinway trade name? Nearly one and a half centuries of excellence and service to music.
“A Steinway is a Steinway and there is nothing else like it in the world.” – Arthur Rubinstein
“It can be said, to put it simply, that either one buys a piano…or one buys a Steinway.” – Larry Fine, A Consumer’s Guide To The Piano