Steinway celebration

A Sreinway

trade banquet

1926 (left) underlines

booming

worldwide

honour included
conductors

of musical

Hermann

Helmholtz,

instruments

who had investigated

and musical

harmony.

1860s, Theodor

Sreinway

taken up by other manufacturers

single-piece
During

laminated

introduced

from Sreinway

as well
itself.

around

in the

refinements

the world,

that

notably

the

War II under

the

piano rim.
factory of Sreinway & Sons was

used to make aircraft parts, wbile tbe German

to produce

Steinway

firm acquired

maker,

partly

international

to America

a whole series of technical

World War II the American

by the Nazis

of

the acoustic foundations

After moving

were eventually

success. Guests

eminent musicians,

and their families,

as luminaries

and acoustician

in Berlin in

the company's

dummy

aeroplanes

the reputation

through

factory was taken over

and rifle butts.

as the world's

developing

close

premiere

relationships

concert artists, many of whom were inclined

The
piano
with

to refuse to

perform on any other kind of piano.

Apart
century
three

from Broadwood

& Sons and Steinway

saw the emergence

of which

Bosendorfer

stand

Austrian

out

for the

of Vienna and Bechstein

on creating instruments
Liszts

of a number

piano

Imperial

also creating

Bosendorfer

of their

the 19th

instruments.

supplied

with additional

themselves

the ferocious onslaught

instruments

Court, and remains the leading Austrian

an instrument

that extended

quality

of Berlin both prided

capable of surviving

playing.

& Sons,

of other great piano firms,

of

to the
piano firm,

notes at the very bottom

the range down to low C below the A that is normally

the lowest note on modern

pianos. Bechsrein

best of the many other developments

skilfully

integrated

in piano manufacture

the

inro their

grand pianos.
Tbe Leipzig-based
beauty

firm of Julius Blurhner

of its insrrumenrs,

early 20th

century,

particularly

and production

was admired

for tbe tonal

in the late 19th century

was revived

auspices of the East German government.

Bluthner

after World

and

made an important

innovation

in

the form of the aliquot system, in which an extra string is added for each note in the
higher register for sympathetic

vibration,

to enhance the singing quality of the tone.

Empress EugEmie Bosendorfer

One of the most famous
world,
designed
Makart

by Viennese

PIANOS FOR THE MACHINE AGE

of the piano prompted

the instrument

into homes where no one could actually play it. The obvious solution

was to mechanise

manufacturers

to try to think of ways to bring

Phillipe

the instrument.

]7

Eugenic,

Napoleon

Hans
in

of stories surround

bur it was certainly

the Empress

The popularity

was'

craftsman

and bui It by Boseridorfer

1867. A number
origins,

pianos in the

this ornate instrument

III.

its

owned by

wife of Louis