Theodor Steinweg

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Christian Friedrich Theodor Steinweg (* 6. November 1825 in Seesen ; † 26. March 1889 in Braunschweig ) was a son of the carpenter champion , organ and piano maker Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (Henry E. Steinway, the founder of Steinway & Sons ) Piano maker and piano manufacturer.

Life

Steinway patent for a rimbie block

When his father emigrated to New York with the rest of the family in 1851 , at the age of 25 he was given his father's piano-making workshop in Seesen, which had been in existence since 1835. Soon after his father left, Theodor Steinweg moved the workshop to Wolfenbüttel . In 1858 Friedrich Grotrian entered the company as a partner. The production facility was relocated to neighboring Braunschweig. Theodor Steinweg held numerous patents for innovations in piano construction. An exchange of ideas with the family in America resulted in numerous innovative developments.

Theodor Steinweg sold the company in Braunschweig to Wilhelm Grotrian in 1865; from then on the company was called Grotrian, Helfferich, Schulz, Th. Steinweg Nachf. Theodor followed his family to New York after his brothers Heinrich died on March 11, 1865 in New York and Karl on March 31, 1865 in Braunschweig. In America he was called Theodore Steinway.

Theodor Steinweg spent his twilight years in Braunschweig again from 1880. He bequeathed his valuable musical instrument collection to the Municipal Museum in a will .

In addition to Wilhelm Raabe , Ludwig Hänselmann and Konrad Koch , Theodor Steinweg was also a member of the “ Kleidersellern ”, a sociable association in Braunschweig. He was also a member of the Wolfenbüttel Freemason Lodge "Wilhelm zu den drei Säulen".

meaning

After the Steinway pianos achieved great success at the world exhibitions in London and Paris (and later in Philadelphia in 1876), Theodor initiated a European production for Steinway again - despite selling his father's shares to Grotrian, Helffrich. On the one hand to save customs and transport costs, on the other hand to keep the wiring with the European piano manufacturing technology. In 1866, shortly after moving to New York as a result of the death of two younger brothers, he arranged the cooperation with the Mangeot brothers in Nancy / France, which for a few years were built by Steinway from New York into their housings ("conversion") supplied basic body (frame and soundboard = so-called "Raste") and built in mechanisms that were sold as "Mangeot-Steinway".

Theodor then, together with his much younger brother William, made the decision for his own factory, to build either in England (London) or in Germany (Hamburg), which was last realized in 1880. This Hamburg factory was an independent company, only William and Theodor Steinway were shareholders.

Theodor had indeed followed his father's call to New York in 1865 after the deaths of his brothers - and had sold his business shares to his Brunswick partners, but had taken no pleasure in life in New York. It drew him back to Germany. He, the eldest, always advised the considerably younger brother Wilhelm / William, in the spirit of “Young man, do this, leave that”.

CF Theodor Steinweg was one of the most productive inventors and patent applicants in the history of the piano: more than 45 patents go back to his development work. The most important of his inventions is probably the single-key mechanism for grand pianos, patented by Steinway in 1871. Since the disappearance of the "Viennese Mechanics", grand piano mechanics have only been built in the way that Theodor Steinweg had essentially developed: without affecting neighboring tones, the removal of the whip link and the hammer of a single tone and also the reinstallation with tight fastening tolerances, which make the setting much easier, possible. The securing of the hammer joint, the so-called "hammer nut", and the whisker socket on specially profiled brass tubes can still be found unchanged at Steinway today, current hammers can be fitted straight away to mechanisms from 1872, and vice versa, ancient hammers and lifting links can also be fitted to modern ones Mechanics. Theodors clou was to build a stable frame with brass tubes, in which, however, wooden rods were pressed inside. They also allowed the piano makers to use the screw-in technique by means of a wood thread screw - with significantly improved stability and accuracy.

Likewise, the casings of grand pianos are only built all over the world according to the method invented by Theodor Steinweg in 1880: thin, very long wooden sheets are glued together in several layers and bent to dry on a wing-shaped device and screwed tightly. The previous method of manufacturing wing housings was much more complex and error-prone: it required the assembly of timbers, corner strips and, in particular, the right side wall, which was bent in an S-curve using steam. The work of steam bending required very experienced carpenters. There was a lot of scrap here. In view of the fact that thick wood for the case also needs years to dry before it can be used for piano construction, Theodor's invention of the glued rim contour made of thin saw-cut blades was of considerable economic importance: this method made it possible to get out of the precious to manufacture stored wood stocks faster and more fail-safe, and it also saved material.

Theodor was the European counterpart for the Steinways' intensive letter contacts across the Atlantic and later the transatlantic telegrams. This exchange between the Steinway brothers of thoughts and ideas for improving pianos led to a large number of US patent applications in the final phase of piano building development between 1860 and 1885. With brother Theodor's letters and sketches from Braunschweig and Hamburg, the New York brothers often immediately applied for patents and had these ideas protected. A number of Steinway patents that are not directly linked to the name Theodors, such as those of Henry Steinway jr. (Heinrich) and Charles Steinway (Karl), partly on his work and ideas.

literature

  • Horst-Rüdiger Jarck and Gerhard Schildt (eds.): Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte. A region looking back over the millennia. Appelhans, Braunschweig 2000, ISBN 3-930292-28-9 .
  • Ronald V. Ratcliffe: Steinway & Sons. Propylaen-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-549-07192-2 .
  • Richard K. Lieberman: Steinway & Sons. A family story about power and music. Kindler, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-463-40288-2 .
  • Dirk Stroschein: From Steinweg to Steinway. A German-American family saga. (Audiobook on audio CD). ISBN 3-455-32013-9 .
  • Paul Zimmermann :  Steinweg, Heinrich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 36, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, pp. 22-25. (Theodor Steinweg is also mentioned there).

Web links

Commons : Steinway & Sons  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ronald V. Ratcliffe: "Steinway". Chronicle Books, San Francisco, USA 1989, ISBN 0-87701-592-9 .
  2. ^ Richard K. Lieberman: “Steinway & Sons”. Yale University Press, 1995, ISBN 0-300-06364-4 .
  3. ^ Theodore E. Steinway: “People and Pianos - A Pictorial History of Steinway & Sons”. Classical Music Today, 2005, Amadeus Press, Newark, New Jersey, ISBN 1-57467-112-X .
  4. ^ Susan Goldenberg: "Steinway - From Glory to Controversy - The Family - The Business - The Piano". Mosaic Press, Oakville, Ontario, CDN 1996, ISBN 0-88962-607-3 .
personal data
SURNAME Steinweg, Theodor
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Steinweg, Christian Friedrich Theodor (full name); Steinway, Theodore
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-American musical instrument maker
DATE OF BIRTH November 6, 1825
PLACE OF BIRTH Seesen
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1889
Place of death Braunschweig