Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. is a worldwide musical instrument manufacturing and marketing conglomerate, based in

Astoria, New York Astoria is a neighborhood in the western portion of the New York City borough of Queens. Astoria is bounded by the East River and is adjacent to three other Queens neighborhoods: Long Island City to the southwest, Sunnyside to the southeast, a ...

, the United States. It was formed in a 1995 merger between the Selmer Industries and Steinway Musical Properties, the parent company of

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...

piano manufacturers. From 1996 to 2013, Steinway Musical Instruments was traded at the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

(NYSE) under the abbreviation LVB, for

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

. It was acquired by the Paulson & Co. private capital firm in 2013. Through acquisitions and mergers, the company has acquired a large number of musical instrument brand names and manufacturing facilities. Steinway Musical Instruments acquired the flute manufacturer Emerson in 1997, the piano keyboard maker

Kluge Kluge (, ) is a German-derived surname. In German, capitalizing, and adding a final to, the adjective (meaning "clever"), creates a noun meaning "clever one". Although the adjective is a feminine form, the noun can be feminine, neuter or masc ...

in 1998, and the Steinway Hall in Manhattan in 1999. In 2000 it acquired the wind instrument manufacturer United Musical Instruments and in 2003 merged it with their subsidiary The Selmer Company to form the

Conn-Selmer Conn-Selmer, Inc. is an American manufacturer of musical instruments for concert bands, marching bands and orchestras. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Steinway Musical Instruments and was formed in 2003 by combining the Steinway properties, T ...

subsidiary. In 2004 it acquired the wind instrument manufacturer Leblanc and placed it under Conn-Selmer. It now owns manufacturers of

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

s, brasswinds,

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

, and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

. Brands produced under it include

pianos,

Bach Stradivarius The Vincent Bach Corporation is a US manufacturer of brass instruments that began early in the early Twentieth Century and still exists as a subsidiary of Conn-Selmer, a division of Steinway Musical Instruments. The company was founded in 1918 ...

trumpets,

C.G. Conn C. G. Conn Ltd., sometimes called Conn Instruments or commonly just Conn, is a former American manufacturer of musical instruments incorporated in 1915. It bought the production facilities owned by Charles Gerard Conn, a major figure in earl ...

French horns, Leblanc clarinets,

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

trombones, Ludwig drums, and Selmer saxophones and woodwinds. The company sells its products through a worldwide network of dealers to professional, amateur and student musicians, as well as orchestras and educational institutions, under dozens of different brand names. It holds exclusive distribution rights for Selmer (Paris) wind instruments and Yanagisawa saxophones in the United States. It employs a workforce of around 1,700 and operates 11 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Europe, in addition to Asian contract manufacturers.

History

*May 1995: Selmer Industries acquired Steinway Musical Properties, parent company of

piano company. *July 1996: Selmer Industries was renamed "Steinway Musical Instruments". *August 1996: Steinway Musical Instruments

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. *January 1997: acquisition of Emerson,

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

manufacturer. *December 1998: acquisition of Kluge Klaviaturen, piano

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

manufacturer. *March 1999: acquisition of Steinway Hall in New York City, prominent piano showroom with concert hall. *November 1999: acquisition of the O.S. Kelly Company, piano plate manufacturer. *January 2000: acquisition of Pianohaus Karl Lang, piano showroom and authorized Steinway piano dealer. *September 2000: acquisition of United Musical Instruments,

wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

manufacturer. *January 2003: merger of the Selmer Company and United Musical Instruments into one entity under

. *August 2004: acquisition of G. Leblanc, wind instrument manufacturer and distributor. *May 2008: acquisition of

ArkivMusic ArkivMusic, Inc. is a Tennessee-based online classical music retailer, specializing in the distribution of CDs and DVDs. ArkivMusic opened its online store in February 2002. In addition to their inventory of readily available CDs, the ArkivCD r ...

, online retailer of recorded classical music. *September 2013: acquired by Paulson & Co.

Products

Current products

The company and its subsidiaries produces instruments under the following brand names: *Pianos: **

– pianos for the top-level market **Boston – pianos for the mid-level market **Essex – pianos for the entry-level market *Brasswinds: **

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

– trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, trombones ** Conn – single and double horns,

flugelhorn The flugelhorn (), also spelled fluegelhorn, flugel horn, or flügelhorn, is a brass instrument that resembles the trumpet and cornet but has a wider, more conical bore. Like trumpets and cornets, most flugelhorns are pitched in B, though some ...

cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

s, trumpets,

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

sousaphone The sousaphone ( ) is a brass instrument in the tuba family. Created around 1893 by J. W. Pepper at the direction of American bandleader John Philip Sousa (after whom the instrument was then named), it was designed to be easier to play than ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

s ** Holton – cornets, French horns, trombones, trumpets **

– marching brass, trombones,

baritones A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

, cornets, flugelhorns, French horns,

mellophone The mellophone is a brass instrument typically pitched in the key of F, though models in E, D, C, and G (as a bugle) have also historically existed. It has a conical bore, like that of the euphonium and flugelhorn. The mellophone is used as the m ...

s, trumpets, tubas, sousaphones **Prelude – trumpets,

marching brass Marching brass instruments are brass instruments specially designed to be played while moving. Most instruments do not have a marching version - only the following have marching versions: * Trumpet * Mellophone/French horn * Baritone * Euphoniu ...

, piccolos, flutes, clarinets, saxophones (entry-level instruments) (Chinese) *Woodwinds: **Armstrong – flutes,

piccolo The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

s ** Leblanc – clarinets ** Selmer – saxophones, clarinets, flutes,

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s **

Vito Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...

– entry-level clarinets *Strings: **Glaesel –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

es (Chinese) **Scherl & Roth – violins, violas, cellos, double basses (Chinese) **Wm. Lewis & Son – violins, violas, cellos, double basses (Chinese) *Percussion and drums: ** Ludwig ** Musser *Other: **''Listen: Life with Music & Culture'' – magazines **Rousseau – woodwind mouthpieces **Steinway & Sons Label – record label

Discontinued products

*Brasswinds: **Benge – trumpets, piccolo trumpets, trombones **Cleveland **Martin – trumpets, trombones *Woodwinds: **Artley **Avanti – flutes **Emerson – flutes, piccolos **Galway Spirit Flutes – flutes **Noblet **Normandy

References

{{Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States Music production companies Musical instrument retailers of the United States American companies established in 1995 Manufacturing companies established in 1995 2013 mergers and acquisitions