the Steinway factory in New York with some participation from the Hamburg Steinway
factory. In 1995, Steinway Musical Properties, parent company of Steinway & Sons,
merged with the Selmer Company and formed Steinway Musical Instruments which
acquired the flute manufacturer Emerson in 1997, then piano keyboard maker Kluger in
1998 and the Steinway Hall in 1999. The new combined company made more
acquisitions in the following years and since 1 996 Steinway Musical Instruments Inc is
traded at the New York Stock Exchange under the name LVB (Ludwig van Beethoven).
By 2000 Steinway had made its 550,000th piano. The company updated and expanded
production of its two other brands, Boston and Essex pianos. More Steinway showrooms,
salons and halls opened across the world, particularly in Japan, Korea and China.
Steinway New York produces seven sizes of grand piano and two sizes of upright piano:
Grand: S-155, M-170, L-179, O-180, A-188, B-211 and D-274
Upright: professional models 1098 and K-52
Steinway Hamburg produces seven sizes of grand piano and two sizes of upright piano:
Grand: S-155, M-170, O-180, A-188, B-211, C-277 and D-274
Upright: V-125 and K-132
Many of the great pianists of the past, called ‘The Immortals’ by Steinway, and many
concert pianists today have expressed a preference for either the New York or the
Hamburg piano. Vladimir Horowitz played a New York model D. Arthur Rubinstein
preferred the Hamburg model D. Sergei Rachmaninoff owned two New York Steinways
in his Beverly Hills home and one New York D in his New York home but chose a
Hamburg D for his Villa Senar in Switzerland. The differences between New York
Steinways and Hamburg Steinways are less noticeable today although some objective
differences are well known. New York models have a black satin finish and square or
Sheraton corners. Hamburg models have a high gloss polyester finish and rounded
corners.
At present 2,500 Steinway pianos are built in New York every year and 1,500 are built in
Hamburg. The market is loosely divided into two sales areas, New York Steinway
supply North and South America with their pianos and Hamburg Steinway supply their
pianos to the rest of the world. At all main Steinway showrooms across the world pianos
can be ordered from both factories. New York and Hamburg factories exchange parts
and craftsmanship and Steinway parts from both factories come from the same places.
Canadian maple is used for the rim and soundboards are made from Sitka spruce from
Alaska. Both factories use similar crown parameters for their diaphragmatic soundboards.
Recently Steinway has taken over its suppliers of keyboards and iron frames in order to
maintain quality.
William Steinway had engaged the Russian pianist Anton Rubinstein to play an
American concert tour in 1872, with 215 concerts in 239 days. It was a triumph for both