Charles H. Steinway

Biography

Charles H. Steinway was born June 3, 1857, in a room above the first Steinway and Sons warerooms on Walker Street, New York, son and grandson of the firm's founders. Educated in Germany from age ten and later at a New York military college and Packard's Business College, he entered Steinway and Sons as a factory apprentice on January 2, 1874, spending four years learning piano-making before moving into the firm's financial and commercial side. His uncle William Steinway put him in charge of inventories and balance sheets, and in 1883 he successfully reorganized the business of Mathias Gray and Company, the Steinway representative in San Francisco. In 1884 he was sent to London to buy out an unwilling resident partner in the Steinway London branch, which he accomplished despite his youth. From 1890 he oversaw the firm's European business. In May 1891, hearing Ignace Paderewski play in London, Charles cabled New York urging Paderewski's engagement for an American tour, predicting a success equal to Rubinstein, Adelina Patti, or Jenny Lind; the resulting 1891 tour, backed by a Steinway credit account and guarantees, earned Paderewski 300,000 francs, and a later tour grossed 1,250,000 francs. After William Steinway's death on November 30, 1896, Charles was elected president of Steinway and Sons on December 4, 1896, steering the firm through a severe national financial panic by instituting a cash basis and eliminating contingent liabilities, and under his leadership the firm's output roughly doubled. He introduced modern advertising methods, served since 1884 as a director of the Pacific Bank and the Citizens' Savings Bank of New York (and for a time as the latter's vice-president), and received numerous foreign decorations, including the Legion of Honor of France and orders from the German Emperor, the Sultan of Turkey, and the Shah of Persia. Steinway was honored by the Emperor of Germany, who granted him an audience at the Imperial Palace in Berlin. He belonged to many leading clubs of New York, including the Chamber of Commerce and the Philharmonic Society, but was described as primarily a family man who devoted his leisure hours to music. He was an accomplished pianist and composer; more than forty of his compositions were published, among which 'Album Blaetter' and 'Marche Triumphal' were especially well received by the musical world. The text describes him as one of the 'silent workers' essential to the success of great institutions, working without seeking the limelight. Steinway, son of the late Charles Steinway, served as president of the Steinway & Sons corporation. He was honored by the Sultan of Turkey with the Order of the Liakat, by the Republic of France with the Cross of the Legion of Honor, by the Shah of Persia with the Order of the Lion and Sun, and by the Emperor of Germany with the Order of the Red Eagle. In the generation following the founders, he directed the commercial and financial policy of the corporation, with his brother Frederick T. Steinway in charge of the factories. Steinway is noted as the brother-in-law of Frederick Reidemeister, Steinway and Sons' director and treasurer, whom Reidemeister assisted with painstaking care in managing the firm's finances. From Spillane (1890): Charles H. Steinway, born June 3, 1857, was a member of the firm of Steinway & Sons and one of three sons of the late Charles Steinway who joined the firm, along with his brothers Henry W. T. and Frederick T. Steinway. All three were described as highly educated and practically trained in all departments of piano construction and its acoustics.

Highlights

• Son of the late Charles Steinway; president of the Steinway & Sons corporation
• Honored by the Sultan of Turkey, the Republic of France, the Shah of Persia, and the Emperor of Germany
• Directs the corporation's commercial and financial policy
• Discovered pianist Ignace Paderewski in London in 1891 and arranged his record-breaking American tour
• Became president of Steinway & Sons in December 1896 after the death of his uncle William Steinway, guiding the firm through a severe financial panic while doubling its output
• Decorated by the German Emperor (Order of the Red Eagle, 1908), the Republic of France (Legion of Honor, 1903), the Sultan of Turkey (Order of the Liakat, 1900), and the Shah of Persia (Order of the Lion and the Sun, 1907)
• Received the exceptional honor of an audience at the Imperial Palace in Berlin, granted by the Emperor of Germany
• An accomplished pianist and composer with more than forty published compositions
• Compositions 'Album Blaetter' and 'Marche Triumphal' were especially well received by the musical world
• Brother-in-law of Frederick Reidemeister, who served as his valuable financial assistant
• One of three sons of the late Charles Steinway serving in the firm as of 1890.
• Described as highly educated and practically trained in piano construction and acoustics.

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 312; Vol. II (1913), pp. 177, 178, 179, 181, 188.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), p. 222.

Public domain.