This article is about the founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons. For his great-grandson, see Henry Z. Steinway.
Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, anglicized name Henry Engelhard Steinway, (February 22, 1797 – February 7, 1871)[2] was a German-American piano maker who made pianos in both Germany and the United States.[3] He was the founder of the piano company Steinway & Sons.[4]
Henry E. Steinway
Henry E. Steinway. This studio photo was taken by Mathew Brady, a noted Civil War-era photographer.
Steinway was born Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg in Wolfshagen im Harz,[1]Duchy of Brunswick in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation (modern Lower Saxony, Germany).[4][2] His childhood was marked by many tragedies and twists of fate.[5] He attended public school in his home town. At the age of 8, he was an orphan and thrown upon his own resources, until his father and brothers, once thought to have been killed in action, returned and claimed him once more. Then, at 15, he was orphaned once again, and it was at this time that he joined the German Army.[4] In 1814, he joined the Schwarze Schar, the volunteer corps of Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the war against Napoleon's occupation of parts of Germany but remained in the garrison throughout the Napoleonic War campaign of the Hundred Days in 1815.[2]
CareerEdit
He left service on June 23, 1822, and began to work as a carpenter, and later he became an apprentice to an organ builder in the town of Goslar. He soon discovered his love for music and became an organ player in the church.[citation needed]
He started building instruments, though hidden in the kitchen of his house because of the strong rules of the guild. In Braunschweig, he started by building guitars and zithers, and then graduated to pianos, of small proportions initially and gradually increasing in size.[citation needed]
In 1835 he made his first square piano, which he presented to his bride Juliane at their wedding. In 1836 he built his first grand piano in his kitchen in the town of Seesen.[citation needed] This piano was later named the "kitchen piano", and is now on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art with a Steinweg 1836 square piano.[6] In 1839, he exhibited three pianos at the state trade exhibition in Braunschweig, Germany and was awarded a gold medal.[7]
Because of the unstable political climate following the revolutions of 1848 in the German states and the limited economic opportunities for a man working outside a guild,[8] Steinweg decided to leave the country. He emigrated from Braunschweig to New York City in 1850 with five of his sons,[9] but before leaving he gave the company to his son, Christian Friedrich Theodor Steinweg. Later in New York, he anglicized his name to Henry E. Steinway upon advice from friends, who concluded that the German surnameSteinweg would be disadvantageous for doing business. In the early 1850s, Steinway and his sons worked for other piano companies until they could establish their own production under the name of Steinway & Sons.[5]
The overstrung scale in a square piano earned the Steinway Piano first prize at the New York Industrial Fair of 1855.[citation needed] In 1862 they gained the first prize in London in competition with the most eminent makers in Europe; and this victory was followed in 1867 by a similar success at the Universal exposition in Paris. According to pianistic giants such as Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, and other high authorities, the Steinways have done more to advance the durability, action, and tone-quality of their instruments than any other makers of Europe or America.[4]
Personal lifeEdit
He married Juliane Thiemer, daughter of Martin Helwig Gottlieb Thiemer, a master glove maker, and Dorothea Julianne von Bierkamp, on May 15, 1825, in Seesen, Germany.[10] He and his wife, Juliane, had ten children:[11]
^ abRatcliffe, Ronald V. (2002). Steinway & Sons. San Francisco : Chronicle Books. ISBN978-081-183389-9
^"Steinway History", Steinway & Sons Official Website. Accessed February 8, 2010. January 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^Hoover, Cynthia Adams (1981). "The Steinways and Their Pianos in the Nineteenth Century". Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society. Shreveport, Louisiana: American Musical Instrument Society. 7: 51. ISSN 0362-3300.
^Torp, Claudius. "Heinrich Engelhard Steinway." In Immigrant Entrepreneurship: German-American Business Biographies, 1720 to the Present, vol. 2, edited by William J. Hausman. German Historical Institute. Last modified October 10, 2013.
^Klueber, Karl Werner. "Der erste deutsche Ozeandampfer machte nur drei Ueberfahrten." In Genealogie, vol. 8:3 (Mar. 1967), p. 660.
Steinway & Sons – European and international headquarters
Steinway & Sons – American headquarters
The Steinway & Sons Collection in La Guardia and Wagner Archives June 22, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
August 25, 2023
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This article is about the founder of the piano company Steinway amp Sons For his great grandson see Henry Z Steinway Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg anglicized name Henry Engelhard Steinway February 22 1797 February 7 1871 2 was a German American piano maker who made pianos in both Germany and the United States 3 He was the founder of the piano company Steinway amp Sons 4 Henry E SteinwayHenry E Steinway This studio photo was taken by Mathew Brady a noted Civil War era photographer BornHeinrich Engelhard Steinweg 1797 02 22 February 22 1797Wolfshagen im Harz 1 Brunswick Wolfenbuttel Holy Roman Empire now Langelsheim Lower Saxony Germany DiedFebruary 7 1871 1871 02 07 aged 73 New York New York United StatesOccupationPiano manufacturerKnown forFounding the piano company Steinway amp SonsSignature Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life EditSteinway was born Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg in Wolfshagen im Harz 1 Duchy of Brunswick in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation modern Lower Saxony Germany 4 2 His childhood was marked by many tragedies and twists of fate 5 He attended public school in his home town At the age of 8 he was an orphan and thrown upon his own resources until his father and brothers once thought to have been killed in action returned and claimed him once more Then at 15 he was orphaned once again and it was at this time that he joined the German Army 4 In 1814 he joined the Schwarze Schar the volunteer corps of Frederick William Duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttel in the war against Napoleon s occupation of parts of Germany but remained in the garrison throughout the Napoleonic War campaign of the Hundred Days in 1815 2 Career EditHe left service on June 23 1822 and began to work as a carpenter and later he became an apprentice to an organ builder in the town of Goslar He soon discovered his love for music and became an organ player in the church citation needed He started building instruments though hidden in the kitchen of his house because of the strong rules of the guild In Braunschweig he started by building guitars and zithers and then graduated to pianos of small proportions initially and gradually increasing in size citation needed In 1835 he made his first square piano which he presented to his bride Juliane at their wedding In 1836 he built his first grand piano in his kitchen in the town of Seesen citation needed This piano was later named the kitchen piano and is now on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art with a Steinweg 1836 square piano 6 In 1839 he exhibited three pianos at the state trade exhibition in Braunschweig Germany and was awarded a gold medal 7 Because of the unstable political climate following the revolutions of 1848 in the German states and the limited economic opportunities for a man working outside a guild 8 Steinweg decided to leave the country He emigrated from Braunschweig to New York City in 1850 with five of his sons 9 but before leaving he gave the company to his son Christian Friedrich Theodor Steinweg Later in New York he anglicized his name to Henry E Steinway upon advice from friends who concluded that the German surname Steinweg would be disadvantageous for doing business In the early 1850s Steinway and his sons worked for other piano companies until they could establish their own production under the name of Steinway amp Sons 5 The overstrung scale in a square piano earned the Steinway Piano first prize at the New York Industrial Fair of 1855 citation needed In 1862 they gained the first prize in London in competition with the most eminent makers in Europe and this victory was followed in 1867 by a similar success at the Universal exposition in Paris According to pianistic giants such as Franz Liszt Anton Rubinstein and other high authorities the Steinways have done more to advance the durability action and tone quality of their instruments than any other makers of Europe or America 4 Personal life EditHe married Juliane Thiemer daughter of Martin Helwig Gottlieb Thiemer a master glove maker and Dorothea Julianne von Bierkamp on May 15 1825 in Seesen Germany 10 He and his wife Juliane had ten children 11 C F Theodore Steinway 1825 1889 Doretta Steinway 1828 1900 married Jacob Ziegler Charles H Steinway 1829 1865 Henry Steinway Jr 1831 1865 Wilhelmina Steinway 1833 1875 married Theodore Vogel William Steinway 1835 1896 Hermann Steinweg 1836 was passenger on steamer Helena Sloman to New York City being 14 yrs old Albert Steinway 1840 1877 Anna Steinway 1842 1861 Juliane Steinway died in infancy Henry Engelhard Steinway died in New York City United States on February 7 1871 4 References Edit a b Einwohner der Gemeinden und Ortsteile PDF Landkreis Goslar a b c Biography at Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie in German Henry Engelhard Steinway at the Encyclopaedia Britannica a b c d e Wilson J G Fiske J eds 1900 Steinway Henry Engelhard Appletons Cyclopaedia of American Biography New York D Appleton a b Ratcliffe Ronald V 2002 Steinway amp Sons San Francisco Chronicle Books ISBN 978 081 183389 9 Steinway History Steinway amp Sons Official Website Accessed February 8 2010 Archived January 3 2010 at the Wayback Machine Hoover Cynthia Adams 1981 The Steinways and Their Pianos in the Nineteenth Century Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society Shreveport Louisiana American Musical Instrument Society 7 51 ISSN 0362 3300 Torp Claudius Heinrich Engelhard Steinway In Immigrant Entrepreneurship German American Business Biographies 1720 to the Present vol 2 edited by William J Hausman German Historical Institute Last modified October 10 2013 Klueber Karl Werner Der erste deutsche Ozeandampfer machte nur drei Ueberfahrten In Genealogie vol 8 3 Mar 1967 p 660 Maniha Ken Steinway Family Genealogy https americanhistory si edu steinwaydiary family Goldenberg Susan 1996 Steinway from Glory to Controversy Oakville ON Mosaic Press ISBN 0 88962 607 3 pp IX External links EditHenry E Steinway at Wikipedia s sister projects Media from Commons Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Steinway amp Sons European and international headquarters Steinway amp Sons American headquarters The Steinway amp Sons Collection in La Guardia and Wagner Archives Archived June 22 2020 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Henry E Steinway amp oldid 1130797418, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
