Gerh. Steinberg Pianos

The Upright

The first appearance of a stringed instrument (stick zither) was made during the Paleolithic period, and in fact this was nothing more than a hollow reed with a thread tied on the edges. The main feature of the piano family - the keyboard - made its appearance much later, namely around the 14th century. The first clavier instrument was the clavichord - an instrument with very thin, weak sound, thus limiting its use to smaller areas. A couple of centuries later, the next instrument of this kind made its appearance, the harpsichord. It was in 1709 that the first piano was constructed by Italian musical instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (1635-1731) of Florence.

The 19th century was particularly important in the evolution of the piano. The instrument's range was increased, the time the hammer needed to return to its original position was reduced, the material covering the hammers was improved and the upright piano was invented!

American inventor John Isaac Hawkins (1772-1855) was the first to see the importance of using iron in pianoforte framing. Hawkins used an iron frame, invented and produced for the first time in history the "portable grand" as he then called the upright (or vertical) piano, which he patented in 1800. Thomas Jefferson bought one such piano, of 5 1/2 octaves, for $264.

The Grand

Since the beginning of time, music has been an integral part of human life. The first piano was built in 1709 by Italian musical instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori (1635-1731) of Florence. Starting in 1690, Cristofori experimented with replacing the harpsichord's pincers with hammers. The fact that the first sample appeared almost 20 years later can only mean that the idea went through several steps of processing and developing. Cristofori created an instrument with a clearly improved mechanism; the most important element of which was the use of hammers for the production of the sound, thus allowing the musician to color the piece since he could now determine just how loud or soft the sound would be by the force applied on the key! Cristofori named his invention “Gravicembalo col Piano e Forte” which simply means: harpsichord with soft and loud! Due to its new features, Cristofori's invention was immediately called Pianoforte, until the first part of the word prevailed over the other and became known simply as... piano!

The modern piano's unlimited sound potential, its power and yet its sensitivity, its large range of over seven octaves which no other instrument can match, classify it as the most important of all musical instruments built by man; making the grand piano the "crème de la crème"!

Philosophy and Values

At Gerhard Steinberg, customer satisfaction is as equally important as the quality of our pianos.

1. Commit ourselves to our customers!
If our piano is used by a six-year-old beginner at home or a renowned classical pianist who performs on the world stage professionally makes little to no difference to us. In our eyes, they're both pianists and they deserve the very best.

From the initial design of the piano to its final production, our customers are constantly part of the process since what drives our motivation and inspiration is the enjoyment our pianists take when they come in contact with our pianos. Our aim is to help each and every one of our customers realize their full potential. What is important to them is of vital importance to us!

2. Respect the environment!
We are a company fully committed to the environment and as such, we conduct our business in an environmentally responsible manner. Wood, metal, felt, glue, lacquer and much more, travel from around the world to our production facilities for the manufacturing of our pianos. However, our respect for the environment is enormous and we strive to protect the planet and deliver a better world to our children. We are as concerned about the threats posed by climatic change, pollution, and other issues of similar nature as any global citizen and we constantly work towards reducing our impact on the environment and protecting the forests, the rivers, the flora and fauna the world over.

3. Develop and Improve through continuous change!
We respect our past and we take each and every step forward with one eye constantly focusing on our history and our company’s great achievements. However, another eye is turned to the future and looks at the new challenges that unfold before us. Only when the two (past and future) are well balanced, like the perfect yin and yang, we can be certain of a successful outcome.

Great companies have perished as they failed to adapt to new practices while others have had similar fate only because they turned their back to their history to chase the unknown! We respect and learn from our past; yet we set sails to shape the future and continue delivering a piano that will offer maximum pleasure to all that come in touch with it.