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Is Steinway the name of a place? The article seems to suggest that, but it's hard to tell. Is it is a place name, then where is it? I would have expected this article to be about the piano makers, but I suppose that might live at Steinway Company or something if this is indeed a place. I keep meaning to expand the piano related entries, not got round to it yet. --Camembert

Don't think it's the name of a place. It's just one Herr or Mister Steinway and his extended family.

POV

The article contains claims that would seem more appropriate in an advertising spiel - e.g. saying that their pianos are better than any others, for whatever reason. I doubt if this was ever the case.

Quote from The Economist: 'Since 1853, artists have praised their instruments. Claude Debussy remarked that piano music should only be written for Bechsteins. For Wilhelm Furtwängler, Blüthner was best. “Blüthner pianos can really sing, which is the most wonderful thing you can say about a piano.”'

One thing missing is the Steinway Artist programme: this was a scheme set up after WWII with the effect of virtually forcing every concert hall to buy a Steinway.

Another quote from The Economist: "Meanwhile, Steinway thrived in America, establishing a near-monopoly in concert grands. Most attribute Steinway's success to clever marketing as well as to the quality of its pianos. (...)

Steinway is also skilful at marrying pianists to the brand, and there is an official roster of about 1,300 “Steinway artists”, from Alfred Brendel to Billy Joel. Musicians must own a Steinway to become a member of the club; in return, the nearest local salesroom will provide a piano wherever they are performing."

I just don't think Wiki should say or imply that one brand of piano is superior to all others. --Tdent 14:26, 9 September 2005 (UTC)

Brand worship will be crushed and destroyed. Shawnc 08:25, 12 October 2005 (UTC)

Although claiming that Steinways are the best violates NPOV, it is generally true. In an attempt to log the thoughts of the time, one could mention that when the average pianist is asked which is the best brand, most say Steinway. Many schools and institutions claim to be "all-Steinway" schools, which is a mark of distinction. While being careful to not violate NPOV, it should be stated that most pianists do think they are the best. -Chewbacca 09:05, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

"when the average pianist is asked which is the best brand, most say Steinway." tosh. pianists like different pianos for different reasons. saying that is like saying that 'Bach was 'the best' composer.' obviously, that's not true. he has his merits like any other composer, but one cannot expect to label any of them as 'the best.' much like composers, a pianist's choice of piano is simply a matter of personal taste. i have never met a serious pianist who would say 'steinway pianos are THE BEST.' however, i have met many who say 'i prefer steinways.' equally, i have met many people who say 'i prefer becksteins.' it is so false to talk of 'best and worst' in this context. i personally own two pianos - a bluthner and a steinway. which one i play depends on the type of music i am playing. the subtle and light bluthner is, i find, better for playing wishy washy impressionism, whereas the stentorian steinway is great for more percussive music, like prokofiev or grieg. faced with something light and classical, like mozart or hayden, i would prefer the enormous dynamic range of a yamaha. which piano one prefers is a matter of the type of music one is playing, and one's personal taste. so whoever is soapboxing for Steinway in the article either works for the company, is a trendy piano-fascist or doesnt know the first thing about pianos. it makes me wince when people talk of 'the best.' rant over. thanks for listening.

I don't know whether the article has been amended since the above posted their comments, but it does not say anywhere that Steinway is the best, or "the finest." There is little, if any, violation of NPOV here. Furthermore, some of the comments on this Talk Page are in error: Steinway does not insist that a Steinway artist own a Steinway; but I believe that the company gives a piano to an artist when he signs on, at least to the most-desired artists, and the youngest at time of signing. While it is indeed true that pressure exists on pianists to become Steinway artists because they know that they will have difficulty finding good Concert Grands when they play in smaller towns without Steinway's services, one must also realize that the reason why Steinway was able to offer these services was that the overwhelming number of concert venues had already owned Steinway instruments by the time such persuasion was able to exist. Having said that, it is the case--and the article makes this clear--that Steinway instruments have suffered a major loss in quality, relative to other pianos. The article, however, is woefully lacking in discussion of much relevant information: the important Steinway technical innovations and patents, the Accelerated Action, the Duplex Scale, the scandal of the Teflon bushings, the switch to plastic keys from Ivory, etc. I myself have owned and played on many different manufacturers' instruments and, while I believe that the pianos that Steinway manufactured up until about 1955 were mostly superb instruments, I think that the threat to Steinway today comes more from companies like Yamaha and Baldwin, than from Bosendorfer, whose instruments, while producing a more bell-like tone, have a much more limited range of tonal color and especially volume. The most recent Yamahas and Baldwins truly do remind one of the Steinways of the golden age of the 1920s through the 1940s. My opinions, for what they're worth. 66.108.4.183 00:39, 24 June 2006 (UTC) Allen Roth

Mr Roth, thanks for your imput. It seems the POV, soapboxing comments, such as "when the average pianist is asked which is the best brand, most say Steinway" , have been rightly removed.

Thank you. One other thing I forgot to mention: The characteristic "growling Bass" of the American Steinway, which is usually the quality that makes pianists prefer the American one. Frequently, fans of the Hamburg Steinway, or Bosendorfer ridicule the American Steinway with the claim that it has a "vulgar" tone. Well--if the pianist has not learned how to utilize the US Steinway, it can have such a tone. But, while it is truly almost impossible for anyone to produce a vulgar tone on a Bosendorfer, the US Steinway has the capability to produce magnificent barrages of rich stentorian sound, with a bass that not only can be heard in the last row, but, even more importantly, produces a resonant tone that simply is not available to the Bosendorfer player. It has "carry" and projection without being muddy. Even for Mozart, I think the US Steinway is to be preferred, while acknowledging that the performer does have to take somewhat more care with appropriate tone control. This makes possible not only exciting pianism, but also good musicianship, IMO. 66.108.4.183 19:30, 25 June 2006 (UTC) Allen Roth

I have added information on the controversy surrounding the Steinway Artists program. A well known pianist remarked privately to me that he refers to program managers as the "Steinway mafia." Issues Steinway's attempts to suppress use of other pianos is in the May 9, 2004 New York Times article, Piano vs. Piano, by Michael Z. Wise. THD3 19:14, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

van cliburn is not "late"!!!

please clear that up... it sounds as if van cliburn is dead... which he most certainly is not... thank god...

too short

in addition to my previous input about cliburn not being "late", could a wikipedia member please put a little "this-article-needs-lengthening" flag on it??? In terms of Misplaced Pages standards, this is far too short an article for such an interesting topic. I know for a FACT that there is more to Steinway tonality and functionality than is stated in the article. thanks!

Added reference label

I know that there's a list of references at the end of the article, but there are anumber of potentially contoversial claims in the article that are not properly cited. Maethordaer 00:18, 30 April 2007 (UTC)

in the interest of objecvity, please delete...

Thanks for the article. Couple of suggestions regarding the content:

"However, the quality of Steinway Pianos vastly surpasses that of any other make of piano in the world and is it is therefore only right that Steinway defend its position as leading manufacturer of pianos in the world by imposing these penalties."

This statement is incredibly subjective and should be deleted in its' entirety. A case could be made that the build and materials quality of Bluthner, Bosendorfer, C. Bechstein, Mason & Hamlin, and a few others are equal to-- if not superior to that of the Steinway. I'm a fan of S&S, but this really sounds like marketing hype... and doesn't belong on Misplaced Pages.

"both are built to the same exacting standards. The only difference is the action."

This may be better expressed as, "both are built using the same scale designs". The vast majority of pianists and technicians agree that the build quality and finished quality/consistency of the Hamburg instruments is far superior to that of the NY pianos. This does not discount the slight differences in tone quality/action between the two , but the perceived difference in quality control-- right from the factory, anyhow. Your quotation above suggests to me that both pianos are equals in design and construction; many have gone so far as to consider the pianos leaving the NY factory as "unfinished", where countless additional hours of prep work must be done by technicians in order for the instruments to reach their fully impressive potential.

I submit this entry in the interest of the article not sounding like it came from NY Steinway's marketing department. 66.90.140.95 13:24, 14 May 2007 (UTC)

Photographs of all the Steinways

• http://www.steinway.com/steinway/limited_edition/HZ_Brochure.pdf

Like an advertisement

"Steinway's long established reputation and high standard of craftsmanship set the firm apart from other makers". This is like saying that other pianos aren't of high standards which is completely false, and even if it wasn't, it'd still be advertising. Removed. (User:Wormsie not logged in) --83.145.240.253 10:49, 21 May 2007 (UTC)