Steinway pianos have a long and illustrious history. They have their roots in Grotrian-Steinweg, a German piano developed in 1835 by Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg.  In 1853 Steinweg emigrated to the US where he changed his name to Henry Steinway and opened his factory, Steinway & Sons, in New York. The factory in Hamburg, Germany, followed in 1880. Most Steinways sold in Europe are from Hamburg and this one is no exception.  It was shipped from Hamburg to Steinways, London, in 1905 so probably was built in 1903/4. Since then it had various owners until 1967 when my husband, Cecil Aronowitz, the distinguished violist, bought the piano as a wedding present for me.

 

From the start, it was obvious that here was an instrument of supreme quality. Apart from anything else it looked beautiful in its Rosewood case. Nowadays pianos with Rosewood cases cost much more than the common black ebony. Rosewood has become rare through over-use and is now a protected species. 

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It was a lovely instrument to practise on. It probably was at its peak during those London years and although it is still a fine instrument there was something very special about the quality of sound back then. It was extremely responsive to touch and could produce the mellowest of sounds. At that time we acquired a second Steinway which we looked after for a few years. That piano was an American one, built more or less at exactly the same time as mine and the same Model ‘O’ size but strikingly different in touch and tone. Both pianos lived for many happy years in London but it was mine which had pride of place in the lounge downstairs. It was much played on for rehearsals, musical evenings and accompanying. It was played on by many famous pianists, Daniel Barenboim being one, Benjamin Britten another. 

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It’s a matter of preference, but many consider the Hamburg pianos to be of superior quality to the American ones because of the beauty of their tone. However, concert pianists often prefer the American pianos because of the brilliance and carrying power of their sound. In terms of quality there is no difference in the craftsmanship, attention to detail and the quality of all the parts that make Steinway pianos so admired. Most concert halls throughout the world have the Model ‘D’ concert grand. However, there are a few rivals, most notably Bosendorfer which many pianists such as Andreas Schiff, Alfred Brendel and even Oscar Peterson favour. More recently the Fazioli has been achieving great popularity because of its unique craftsmanship and evenness of tone throughout. 

 

After Cecil’s death the piano remained with me in London for a few years and continued to be used for practising, chamber-music and teaching. It then travelled around with me for a few years which wasn’t terribly good for it, but being a strong instrument it survived and is now happily residing in the Unitarian Church in Brighton.