Heinrich Steinway

German manufacturer of famous pianos who emigrated to the USA. The founder of Steinway and Sons in New York City, the company gained international recognition in 1867 at the Paris Exhibition when it was awarded the prestigious "Grand Gold Medal of Honor" for excellence in manufacturing and engineering. It was the first time an American company had received this award.

Born Heinrich Steinweg, by the time he was 15 all of his brothers and his father were dead. Apprenticed as a cabinetmaker, he had an interest in making instruments, but in 1815 he was drafted into the army. In 1818 he became the organist of a village church. Steinway became interested in making pianos in 1820 and as a master cabinetmaker, he built his first piano in the kitchen of his Seesen, Germany home. In 1839 he received first prize at a fair in Brunswick, Germany for his pianos. His business failed soon thereafter. Moving his family to New York City, at first he worked in various piano factories there, then on 5 March 1853 he and his sons created a company together, starting their own business. By the time Steinway & Sons was established, Henry had built 482 pianos. The first piano produced by the company, number 483, was sold to a New York family on 16 September 1853 for $500. It is now displayed at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Starting in 1855, Steinway pianos received gold medals at several U.S. and European exhibitions. In July 1864 Steinweg and his sons had their name legally changed to Steinway. In 1866 Steinway & Sons opened the first Steinway Hall on 14th Street in Manhattan. With a main auditorium of 2,000 seats, it became New York City's artistic and cultural center, housing the New York Philharmonic until Carnegie Hall opened in 1891.

Builder of the first grand piano, it took less than a generation for the Steinways to emerge as the leader of 826 instrument makers in New York City and hundreds more throughout the U.S.