I’ve previously mentioned my tremendous appreciation of Steingraeber pianos – I rate these instruments very highly indeed. I recently received a visit from the owner of the piano company, Udo Steingraeber and chatting to him about the history of Steingraeber pianos was fascinating.
I thought this might be a good opportunity briefly to outline some of the more important company milestones.
Although not widely known in the UK, the company boasts a long and illustrious history. Steingraeber have always been based in Bayreuth, Germany and records show that the “pianoforte” factory was founded in the year 1852 by Eduard Steingraeber.
Rapid company development took place for the remainder of the century and Steingraeber quickly became the largest piano factory in Bavaria. By July 1900, 10,000 pianos had been produced. By December of 1966, the number had risen to 30,000.
In 1980, Udo Steingraeber joined the company as manager of the family business and a period of modernising of the workshops was undertaken from 1981 to 1993.
The seventh generation of the Steingraeber family is now involved in the business, which I think is a remarkable and possibly unique achievement in the world of piano making.
I’ve only scratched the surface here of course. If you would like to discover more about Steingraeber pianos, I’m always happy to have a chat. Better still, why not try playing one? You certainly know where they can be found!