Steinway & Sons Piano

Steinway grand piano and upright piano

Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway, is an American-German piano company. It was founded in 1853 in Manhattan, New York City, the United States, by German piano builder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The employees at Steinway were mainly German immigrants. The company's growth led to opening a factory in Queens, New York City, the United States, and a factory in Hamburg, Germany. The factory in Queens supplies the Americas, and the factory in Hamburg provides the rest of the world.

Steinway is a prominent piano company that makes high-quality pianos. Many inventions within piano development have been made at the Steinway factories. Steinway has been granted 126 piano-making patents – the first patent was granted in 1857. The company's share of the high-end grand piano market is over 80 percent.

Steinway pianos have received many awards. One of the first was a gold medal in 1855 at the American Institute Fair at the New York Crystal Palace. From 1855 to 1862, Steinway pianos got 35 gold medals. For example, many awards and recognitions followed three medals at the Paris World's Fair of 1867. The European part of the company holds a royal warrant of appointment to Queen Elizabeth II.

Steinway pianos are made at the factories in Hamburg and Queens. In addition to the flagship Steinway piano line, Steinway markets two cheaper piano brands. They are sold under the secondary brand names Boston and Essex. The Boston brand is for the mid-level market, and the Essex brand is for the entry-level market. Steinway engineers design Boston and Essex pianos. To take advantage of lower costs of part production and labor, they are made in Asia by other piano makers under the supervision of Steinway employees.