Steinway & Sons - Awards

Awards

The Steinway company and its leaders have won numerous awards, including the following:

• In 1854, Steinway attended its first exhibition in the United States, which was the Metropolitan Mechanics Institute fair in Washington, D.C. Henry Steinway, Jr.'s design won 1st Prize.
• In 1855, Steinway exhibited at the American Institute Exhibition in The Crystal Palace at Sixth Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City. There, it won its first Gold Medal "for excellent quality". A reporter wrote the following: "Their square pianos are characterized by great power of tone, a depth and richness in the bass, a full mellowness in the middle register and brilliant purity in the treble, making a scale perfectly equal and singularly melodious throughout its entire range. In touch, they are all that could be desired."
• In 1855–62 Steinway pianos received 35 medals in the United States alone.
• In 1862, for the International Exhibition in London, Steinway shipped two square pianos and two grand pianos to England (two to Liverpool and two to London) and won 1st Prize.
• In 1867, Steinway won three awards at the Exposition Universelle in Paris: the Grand Gold Medal of Honor "for excellence in manufacturing and engineering pianos", the grand annual testimonial medal and an honorary membership of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. These medals won in Europe increased the demand for Steinway pianos, thus the reason the family looked into opening a store in London. The 1867 Exposition Universelle established Steinway as the leading choice for pianos in Europe.
• In 1876, at the famous Centennial Exposition in the United States, Steinway received the two highest awards and a certificate of the judges showing a rating of 95.5 of a possible 96.
• In 1885, Steinway received the gold medal at the International Inventions Exhibition in London and the grand gold medal of the Royal Society of Arts in London.
• In 1952, Theodore E. Steinway was awarded the first Lichtenstein Medal by the Collectors Club of New York.
• In 2007, the National Medal of Arts was awarded to Henry Z. Steinway and presented by US President George W. Bush on November 15, 2007 in an East Room ceremony at the White House. Henry Z. Steinway received the award for "his devotion to preserving and promoting quality craftsmanship and performance; as an arts patron and advocate for music and music education; and for continuing the fine tradition of the Steinway piano as an international symbol of American ingenuity and cultural excellence." The National Medal of Arts is a presidential initiative managed by the National Endowment for the Arts.