The Steinway—once called the "instrument of the immortals"—is more than the preeminent American piano. It is also a symbol of Old World craftsmanship combined with American capitalism, of technological innovation, and of remarkable family management. This authoritative and entertaining book tells the story of the Steinway piano company and the people behind it. The first book based on the rich archive of Steinway business and family papers at LaGuardia Community College in New York, as well as on interviews with family members and company employees in the United States, Germany, and England, Steinway & Sons describes the making and marketing of an American cultural icon. Founded in New York in 1853 by a German immigrant, the Steinway company quickly rose to prominence on the strength of the distinctive "Steinway sound." For five generations Steinways steered their company in the face of vigorous domestic and foreign competition, bitter labor disputes, temperamental musicians, a fluctuating economy, and wars. Members of the Gilded Age elite, the family also contended with adultery, alcoholism, emotional depression, and long court battles over money. Lieberman discusses the company town the Steinways built in Queens in the 1870s to "escape the machinations of the anarchists and socialists" in the city; the decision to manufacture in both New York and Hamburg, which led to Steinway factories supplying both sides in World War II; the improvements in piano technology that made the Steinway the envy of other piano makers; the company's creative marketing techniques, such as booking celebrated European pianists into American concert halls; the competition from the Japanese-owned Yamaha company; and the sale of the financially troubled company to CBS in 1972. Weaving together themes from social, music, business, labor, and immigrant history, and lavishly illustrated with pictures from the Steinway archive, Steinway & Sons is a rich narrative that casts new light on American cultural history and on a unique family enterprise.

This history of the iconic piano brand chronicles the story of an immigrant family, American ingenuity, and more than a century of musical excellence. The legendary piano maker Steinway & Sons holds a unique place in American history. The name alone conjures many things: a symbol of class and elegance, an American success story, an area of New York City, and the height of craftsmanship. From their factory in Queens, located on Steinway Place, the company has touched the hearts of millions across the world, from piano teachers and students to world-class musicians, and from salespeople to artisans, audiences, and music lovers. After leaving his native Germany for America in 1850, Henry E. Steinway established his new enterprise with a simple but ambitious mission “to build the best piano possible.” In the late 19th century, Steinway emerged as the standard-bearer in piano design and manufacturing, outshining and outlasting other brands including Chickering and Weber. Today, the Steinway piano is still built by hand in New York City according to the same stringent processes developed by Henry E. Steinway and his sons more than a century ago.

The history of New York City’s urban development often centers on titanic municipal figures like Robert Moses and on prominent inner Manhattan sites like Central Park. New York Recentered boldly shifts the focus to the city’s geographic edges—the coastlines and waterways—and to the small-time unelected locals who quietly shaped the modern city. Kara Murphy Schlichting details how the vernacular planning done by small businessmen and real estate operators, performed independently of large scale governmental efforts, refigured marginal locales like Flushing Meadows and the shores of Long Island Sound and the East River in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The result is a synthesis of planning history, environmental history, and urban history that recasts the story of New York as we know it.

First Published in 2011. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.