Henry Engelhardt Steinweg (Henry E. Steinway)

Biography

Henry Engelhardt Steinweg (later Steinway) was born February 5, 1797, in Wolfshagen, Germany, the twelfth child of a family devastated by the Napoleonic wars; several brothers were killed and the family home burned, and he was orphaned at 15. Drafted into the army at 18, he fought at Waterloo, then built and played a zither for fellow soldiers, revealing an aptitude for instrument-making despite no formal training. He apprenticed with an organ builder at Seesen, built his first piano as a wedding gift in 1825, and by 1839 exhibited pianos at the Brunswick fair, winning a gold medal recommended by composer Albert Methfessel; the Duke of Brunswick reportedly bought his grand piano for 3,000 marks. Political upheaval in 1848-49 disrupted his business, and his son Charles fled to America; the rest of the family, except Theodore, followed in 1851. After gaining experience in New York factories, Steinway founded Steinway & Sons with his sons on March 5, 1853, renaming the family from Steinweg. He personally planned and oversaw construction of the firm's Fifty-third Street factory and Steinway Hall (1866), insisting on flawless materials. He outlived two sons, Charles and Henry, and died February 7, 1871, at age 74. From Spillane (1890): Henry Engelhard Steinway, founder of Steinway & Sons, was born February 15, 1797, in Wolfshagen, a village in the Duchy of Brunswick, Germany, the youngest of twelve children. By age fifteen he was the family's sole survivor: several brothers were killed in the Napoleonic wars, and an 1812 catastrophe took his father and three remaining brothers, while the family's property was confiscated under the French-created Kingdom of Westphalia. Steinway joined the Brunswick forces against Napoleon in 1815, served through Waterloo, and was honorably discharged at twenty-two. He moved from cabinet-making into organ-building at Goslar, later settled in Seesen, married, and took up pianoforte-making, fathering sons Theodore (b. 1825), Charles (b. 1829), Henry Jr. (b. 1831), and William (b. 1836). In August 1839 he won the prize medal at the Brunswick state fair for an exhibited grand and two square pianos, awarded personally by the composer Albert Methfessel. Steinway emigrated to New York with his wife, William, Charles, and Henry Jr. in 1850 (arriving June 9), leaving Theodore behind briefly to settle business affairs, and worked in established New York shops to learn American methods before founding Steinway & Sons in March 1853 with sons Charles and Henry Jr., later joined by William at age twenty-one.

Highlights

• Founded Steinway & Sons in New York on March 5, 1853, after emigrating from Germany, changing the family name from Steinweg to Steinway
• Orphaned at 15 after Napoleon's wars killed his brothers and burned his home; fought at the Battle of Waterloo at 18
• Won a gold medal at the 1839 Brunswick fair for pianos of his own make, judged by composer Albert Methfessel
• At nearly seventy years old, planned and superintended the construction of Steinway Hall (1866), assisted by his sons.
• Died February 7, 1871, after a short illness.
• Resided in the United States more than twenty years and was "a devoted citizen, generally mourned."
• Founded Steinway & Sons in New York in March 1853 with his sons Charles and Henry Jr., later joined by son William.
• Survived a family catastrophe that killed several brothers in the Napoleonic wars and left him the family's sole survivor by age fifteen.
• Won the prize medal at the 1839 Brunswick state fair, awarded personally by composer Albert Methfessel, for a grand and two square pianos.

Sources

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 299, 300, 301, 302, 303.

Daniel Spillane, History of the American Pianoforte (1890), pp. 213, 214, 215, 216.

Public domain.