Mr. Steinweg and his children

From secretly built kitchen grand pianos to self-playing miracle pianos: the story of a German family that set out to change the music world.

Playing the piano is like wool sweaters. If you had worn cashmere right away as a child, they wouldn't be synonymous with "scratching." And if you'd had to practice etudes on a Steinway - well, maybe you wouldn't be hailed as the next Mozart right away. But there's a good chance that the instrument wouldn't be held up as a wooden reproach, but as a great love. And that brings us to the only shortcoming of the Steinway company: it only ever sees its private customers once - because you have a Steinway for the rest of your life.

Every Steinway grand piano is unique. This is proven by a look into the warehouse, where the individually made bodies are waiting for their inner workings.

Anyone who travels to Hamburg and wanders through the production halls immediately senses this magic. Here, the 128 patents that the company has registered since its founding in 1853 are carefully handcrafted into shape. It takes a year to complete a grand piano (three if you count the wood drying). If you stroke the result, you automatically do it with the movement of a dancer.

Steinway, that is the symbol of modern grand piano construction. The name stands for absolute excellence, professionalism and beauty. Nine out of ten professional pianists rely on Steinway. Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt had one, Herbie Hancock and Art Garfunkel, Diana Krall, Lang Lang and Lady Gaga are also fans. John Lennon composed "Imagine" on his copy. And then Steinway stands for this incredible story of the American Dream.

Production has taken place in New York City since 1853 (here in the sometimes economically difficult interwar period) and in Hamburg since 1880.

It begins in the Harz Mountains, where Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg was born in 1797. He is the youngest of twelve children - and at the age of 15 outlives his entire family: first his mother and several siblings die fleeing Napoleon's troops, then his father and three brothers when their forester's hut is struck by lightning. Heinrich remains unharmed. The experience does not let him go, but it also makes him a fighter. In Goslar, he trains as a carpenter and organ builder. In 1825 he establishes a workshop in Seesen and marries his childhood sweetheart.

The ten children become his most important accomplices. He shows them how to cut wood, polish it, wind strings and lay keyboards. But since Steinweg does not belong to the guild, he is not allowed to build instruments. So in 1836, he modifies the kitchen into a workshop and secretly builds what will make history as the "kitchen grand piano": a structure with a curved case made of maple and mahogany, leather-covered hammerheads, cross-stringing and a sustainer pedal, measuring an almost infinite 212 centimeters in length.

A Steinway carver at work.

What Steinweg invents with immense research and perfectionism eclipses everything that the Italian Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori brought into the world in 1700 with the first fortepiano, called the "pianoforte". Steinweg constructs the soundboard bridge from one piece instead of two, which gives it enormous vibration potential.

It strengthens the piano body, allowing the sound to develop to its fullest. It lengthens the keys so that they correspond better with the hammerheads. In short: the "kitchen grand" becomes the prototype of the Steinway grand piano as it exists today in seven sizes. The Duke of Brunswick is one of the first customers and pays a whole 300 marks. But political unrest causes the economy to weaken - and so Steinweg moves to New York in 1850. In the New World, he sends his sons to work in piano factories in various fields.

Da capo! In the new "Spirio" version, the "O-180" and "B-211" models become self-playing grand pianos via app - reproducing the interpretation of famous pianists down to the slightest touch.

In their own way, each of them becomes an expert for their own company. Steinweg founded the company in 1853 under the name "Steinway & Sons". The rise is rapid: from a loft in Lower Manhattan, the company soon moves to an entire block on 4th Avenue. The meticulousness and inquiring minds of father and sons, coupled with the sales talent of daughter Doretta, who gives piano lessons to hesitant customers, allow quality and clientele to grow steadily.

In 1866, the "Steinway Hall" with 2000 seats is built as the seat of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Henry Steinway is an American citizen when he dies in 1871. At that time, the family had just built the "Steinway Village" on Long Island: a factory complex with houses, library, kindergarten and parks for employees. No wonder that New York sets the flags at half-mast after the death of heir William in 1896.

Every step is handwork: From cutting the wood (here a carpenter in the Hamburg factory) to the perfect sound, it takes a year to manufacture a Steinway grand piano. If you add the drying of the wood, it takes three.

The factory in Hamburg follows in 1880 under the management of son Theodor and remains to this day the only production facility besides New York, responsible for the world market beyond America. Only during the Great Depression and the war does production limp: Steinway produces coffins and gliders. But the company quickly recovers, continues to experiment, comes up with special editions, such as a dramatic red-and-black Lagerfeld model or the diamond-studded "Crown Jewels" series.

At the same time, all pianos are basically one-of-a-kind. To this day, every Steinway sounds a little different - and waits for the player who suits it. With the self-playing "Spirio" grand piano, you can now even bring the great pianists into your home. Using an app, the grand piano plays with the exact touch of masters like Yuja Wang or Lang Lang. Without any finger cramps or tingling in the arms.