To celebrate 150 years of Steinway & Sons in the UK capital, John Evans takes a look at a venue that does so much more than just sell pianos.
For 172 years, Steinway & Sons has been producing the world’s finest pianos and for 150 of them there’s been a Steinway centre in London, called Steinway Hall; the second such following the opening of the company’s first, in New York. Consider that enormous span of history for a moment. In 1853, when Steinway was founded in New York, Brahms met Robert and Clara Schumann, Wagner began work on The Ring cycle and Liszt completed his great Piano Sonata in B minor. In 1875, when London’s Steinway Hall opened, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1 was performed in public for the first time as also was Bizet’s opera Carmen, and Ravel was born. Not only can few companies today claim to have existed when these momentous events occurred but even fewer can claim to have become woven so fruitfully into the lives of so many people since.
It's no accident, of course. Steinway may be celebrating 150 years of its fine hall and showroom in central London this year but looking forward to the next 150 years comes more naturally to this far-sighted company. How else do you explain the decision of founder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg to leave his family’s successful piano making business in Germany and emigrate, with his wife and children, to the US where, only a couple of years after his arrival, he founded Steinway & Sons? Or the company’s commitment to innovation, patenting almost 140 inventions, among them the diaphragmatic soundboard, the source of Steinway’s rich, full-bodied sound? Or in 1880, its founding of a second factory, in Hamburg, its support of many of the world’s great music conservatoires and concert halls, its dedication to Steinway Artists from all genres of music and the continuing development and refinement of Steinway Spirio, the world’s finest high-resolution player piano, which can also record?
On such evidence, celebrating 150 years of London’s Steinway Hall is simply the latest stop on a journey that is far from over. That said, it is worth pausing to raise a glass to the company’s UK home. Like Steinway Hall in New York, it was established not only to showcase the firm’s instruments but also to help nurture the capital’s and, ultimately, the UK’s community of music lovers, educators and practitioners, a role it continues to perform.
Stars of the present and the future
‘You never know who is going to walk through the door,’ says Chris Tait, director of finance and operations at Steinway & Sons UK. ‘Pop stars, leading classical artists, jazz performers… many of them come here during their careers and, happily, a lot return again and again. After all, it was always Steinway’s intention that the Hall be a meeting point for emerging and established artists; a place where ideas and experiences can be exchanged. In that spirit, we regularly hold concerts and informal get-togethers designed to entertain but also to encourage ideas and new relationships.’
A young pianist gives a performance in the recital-hall of the showroom
As an example, the Hall regularly hosts concerts by rising young pianists in association with the Keyboard Charitable Trust, with many of the pianists drawn from London’s leading music colleges (see Steinway's website for details of future recitals). The Hall also hosts talks and presentations on subjects beyond music including the visual arts, the written word, architecture and design, and artistry. Meanwhile, its suite of practice rooms, each with a Steinway grand piano, are hugely popular with professional, student and amateur pianists alike.
In the wider world, a vital part of Steinway’s work is its Steinway Artists programme, a scheme that gives both established and emerging performers access to the instruments and support they need to take their music to audiences across the UK. Among the most well-known of them is Lang Lang who’s astonishing playing touches people everywhere.
Meanwhile, a constant source of satisfaction for Craig Terry, managing director of Steinway & Sons UK, is the warm welcome accorded to anyone who enters the Hall – excitable youngsters included. ‘Seeing children and young people here, playing or exploring the pianos, is particularly satisfying,’ he says. ‘The fact is, some of them will be the musicians of tomorrow. Indeed, we know of pianists performing today who, as children, came to Steinway Hall and were sufficiently inspired by the sights and sounds of the pianos here to make the piano their career.’
'Seeing children and young people here, playing or exploring the pianos, is particularly satisfying'
Craig Terry, managing director, Steinway & Sons UK
Craig Terry, pictured, in the Steinway Hall showroom
And if they can’t come to Steinway Hall, the Hall will come to them. Steinway offers free masterclasses by Steinway Artists to students learning the piano at school who apply through their music department. In addition, there is the Steinway Schools scheme committed to providing students and their faculties with the best pianos. The company will even take faculty heads to the factory in Hamburg where they can choose from a selection of pianos.
Always a warm welcome
Back at Steinway Hall, Terry admits to witnessing the awe-struck paralysis that can afflict not only young players starting out but even the most talented pianist on seeing the showroom’s stunning array of polished pianos. ‘It’s a natural reaction,’ he says. ‘However, we don’t mean to be intimidating. What would be the point?’
What indeed? The Hall’s typical customer is not, as you might imagine, the high-flying artist with a repertoire that trips off the fingers but a talented amateur or semi-professional. They may have studied the instrument at college before then following a different career. However, they continued to play and now, some years later, find themselves at a point in life when they can afford to buy a Steinway, their dream piano. It’s a significant moment for them. A selection of pianos to try with no pressure and the time they need to explore their individual qualities is what they require and what Steinway Hall provides.
‘People are searching for the sound that inspires them and which they can connect with,’ says Terry. ‘The selection process can take hours but we absolutely understand that. There is no pressure; we share their excitement and join them on their voyage of discovery. Of course, it helps that we have more Steinways here than anywhere else in Europe! When they find their ideal piano but then aren’t sure if it will fit in their room at home, we give them a template they can lay on the floor and use to judge its dimensions. Our aim is always to make the business of choosing a Steinway as stress-free as possible.’
It's a way of life and an approach to doing business that has seen Steinway Hall through 150 years. Here’s to the next century and a half.
Steinway Hall is located at 44 Marylebone Lane, London W1U 2DB.
Find further information about Steinway & Sons pianos, including product listings from the smallest of uprights to the biggest grands, in Pianist's 2025 Piano Buyer's Guide.