The New World – Steinway & Sons | The Old World – Grotrian-Steinweg | Perspectives
The last 50 years have brought a decisive change for both Steinway & Sons and Grotrian-Steinweg: the transition from a family business to a company managed by an investor.
In 1972, Henry Z. Steinway (1915–2008) sold Steinway & Sons to the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS). CBS has been, and still is, owner of several other music instrument manufacturers, such as Fender Guitars, Rogers Drums and Lyon & Healy Harps. The acquisition for Steinway & Sons meant access to the powerful infrastructure of a large corporation (financing, marketing, technical laboratories). On the other hand, doubts were soon raised about the instruments’ quality under the new management. In 1985, CBS sold Steinway & Sons to the Boston entrepreneurial family Birmingham. Hedge fund manager John Paulson (*1955) has been the new owner since 2013.
Knut Grotrian (*1935) handed over the management of Grotrian-Steinweg to Burkhardt Stein in 2000. In 2015, the company acquired a new shareholder: the Hong Kong-based Parsons Music Group. In fall 2024, the company filed for bankruptcy.
Social, cultural, political and economic developments are affecting piano makers worldwide. The role that the piano plays in people's everyday lives is changing. This development also jeopardizes a piece of cultural and historical identity.
A decisive factor of the current crisis in piano manufacturing is China. For two decades, the Chinese government had strongly promoted piano training for children and young people. Hundreds of piano schools were founded, with the respective demand in instruments. This demand was met not only by domestic factories, but also by purchasing instruments from well-known foreign piano makers. Thus, China became also an important market for Steinway & Sons and Grotrian-Steinweg. The discontinuation of the Chinese state subsidy program currently means a drastic drop in demand for pianos worldwide. A short-term recovery is not to be expected; the industry has reached a point of (necessary) structural change.
Impressum
Director - Peter Joch
Curator - Antje Becker
Texts, Events - Antje Becker
Museum education - Martin Baumgart
Press and public relations - Annika Hille
Administration - Jessy Kupper
Restorer - Heike Billerbeck, Wolfgang Koebbel, Desirée Ohlendorf, Garnet Rösch-Meier
Photography - Dirk Scherer
Workshop - Stephan Krause, Thomas Mattern
Building Services - Jens Jungmichel, Mario Köppe
Graphic Design - Ester Warth
Archives:
Bürgerverein Wolfshagen im Harz, Grotrian-Steinweg (Braunschweig), Heimatverein Schöningen, La Guardia and Wagner Archives (New York), National Museum of American History/Smithsonian Institution (Washington D.C.), Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv (Abteilung Wolfenbüttel), Stadtarchiv Braunschweig, Stadtarchiv Goslar, Städtisches Museum Seesen, Steinway & Sons (New York, Hamburg)
Lenders:
Chris Maene Collection (Ruiselede), Peter Karsten (Braunschweig), Kloster Michaelstein (Blankenburg) – Kulturstiftung Sachsen-Anhalt, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, Niedersächsisches Landesarchiv Wolfenbüttel, Rob. M. Sloman & Co. oHG Hamburg, Stadtarchiv Braunschweig, Steinway & Sons (New York, Hamburg)
Sponsors:
Die Braunschweigische Stiftung, Dr. Helmut und Marianne Nebes geb. Ding-Stiftung, Freunde des Städtischen Museums Braunschweig e.V., Grotrian-Steinweg (Braunschweig), Steinway & Sons (New York, Hamburg)