At last post I said I was going to brief you all on my trip to Steinway & Sons in NY. Well, let me just say it was over the top, off the hook awesome. Steinway, the premier piano builder in the world, was founded and operates a factory and performance hall in NY. I went there for a three-day training seminar conducted by the VP of Sales & Promotions. While there I learned so much about the history of the Steinway family, the humble beginnings to the world-leader in pianos, got to meet the current President of the company, tour Steinway Hall, the world-renowned, historical factory, got to see Carnegie Hall, Times Square (among other well known sites), as well as dine at a couple of the best Greek and Italian restaurants in Manhattan.
What a city! I would HATE to live there, but it was a lot of fun to visit. There truly is no other place like it in the US. Every square inch covered in concrete and efficiently accounted for. Millions of people going in every direction. Bumper to bumper taxi cabs. Surprisingly clean and safe (NYPD at every intersection). Walking in downtown Manhattan feels like being in a cavern, with ginormous skyscrapers towering above both sides of the street blocking any chance for direct sun light. Lots of energy. Life moves much faster there (that's why they never sleep). Seeing the city at night was breath-taking. But back to Steinway...
I won't bore you with details, but if you'd like, check out the web link. http://steinway.com/factory/
I was in each one of these factory stations. We only got three hours, but I could have stayed three weeks and it would not have been long enough! I saw it all. I smelled the wood being dried in the massive kilns, and the lacquer being applied to several new grand pianos in production. I saw the (mostly) women, because of their small hands, assembling the hammers and building the key action. I walked into the sound-board drying room, which is kept at a toasty temperature of 130 degrees (F). I didn't stay long. I walked into the "pounding" room, where each piano is, let's just say, broken in quite nicely. The sound is enough to make anyone go bonkers. Image 4 kids, each one beating the keys with all their might for a solid hour. Can you say migraine? Thankfully it's in a sound-proof room. Each piano is hand-crafted and custom-built. They only produce 9 per day. The last guy in line is the master piano builder/technician. Nothing leaves the factory until he says it's perfect. He has the authority to reject a completely built (finished) piano if it doesn't meet his expectations (after spending several days or so with each to make it "sing"). This pic is from the outside of the oldest building of the factory (1871). You can barely make out the painted Steinway name at the top (original sign).
At Steinway Hall, I saw the desk where Heinrich Steinweg (later Americanized to Henry Steinway) re-invented the modern grand piano, and developed many of his early patents. I sat in Henry Z. Steinway's office - the chair at the end of the table in front of the fireplace (he was in Vermont for the day...that was a bummer).
He is the last in the line and only remaining "Steinway" son (great-grandson of founder) alive today. He is 93 years old. I experienced the room, in the basement, where music’s most accomplished concert artists have selected their Steinway concert grand pianos prior to performing. Rubinstein, Horowitz, Van Cliburn, and so on.
Did you know that Steinway built Mercedes cars and wooden airplanes during WWII?
I know, I'm rambling. Needless to say, I had a great time. Now if I can just sell one!! Soon...
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