ANNIVERSARY PIANO, DESIGNED BY KARL LAGERFELD, UNVEILED
TICKETS FOR STEINWAY ANNIVERSARY CARNEGIE HALL CONCERTS FEATURING PETER CINCOTTI, ART GARFUNKEL, HERBIE HANCOCK, PETER NERO, EROICA TRIO, JIMMY WEBB, NANCY WILSON, AMONG MANY OTHERS ON SALE
NEW YORK (March 5, 2003) — Today at Steinway Hall, Steinway & Sons, renowned for creating the world's finest piano, commemorated its 150th Anniversary by unveiling two anniversary limited edition pianos: one created by celebrated fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld and the second, a recreation of one of the most historic Steinway grand pianos played by legendary artist Ignace Jan Paderewski in 1891. In addition, the Steinway & Sons 150th Anniversary Carnegie Hall concert series, taking place June 5-7, 2003, was announced. The concerts, "A Celebration of Music" will feature performances by, Peter Cincotti, Art Garfunkel, Herbie Hancock, Ben Heppner, Ahmad Jamal, Ramsey Lewis, Peter Nero, Eroica Trio, Jimmy Webb, Roger Williams and Nancy Wilson, among many others.
"It gives me great pleasure to commemorate the significant milestone of my great grandfather's company and to know that his vision continues to live on through the unique sounds of a Steinway piano played by hundreds of thousands of musicians, young and old, throughout the world," said 87 year-old Henry Z. Steinway. "In our 150-year history, we have created more than 560,000 Steinway pianos, fashioned very much in the same way and spirit as they were a century ago and we are confident this time honored tradition will continue well into the future."
The 150th anniversary Karl Lagerfeld piano reflects the designer's bold, yet impeccable style. With a dramatic, highly-polished red lacquered inside and elegant black lacquer satin finishes on the top side, this stunning instrument is a study in powerful contrasts. In addition, the black lacquered legs are bent out of 34 layers of genuine hardrock maple and designed for extra stability and longevity. Lagerfeld's innovative design features a rectangular music bench created with special red high polished legwork and support and a black genuine leather seat that is fully adjustable with two white knobs featuring the KL trademark inlay. Lagerfeld's autograph graces the inner right side of the fallboard.
"I wanted to create something that could last, something you would not tire of after a short period of time," said Karl Lagerfeld. "I always liked the secret and mysterious touch of the red lacquer in Japanese boxes, so I used the inside of the Japanese box as my inspiration. Steinway & Sons did a beautiful job, the piano is a masterpiece with all the details, it's really refined."
Tickets for the Carnegie Hall concerts in the Isaac Stern Auditorium range from $50 - $150 and will be on sale to the public at the Carnegie Hall box office on April 5. Tickets are also available for purchase at 212.247.7800 or www.carnegiehall.org. The night of June 5th celebrates classical music, June 6th celebrates jazz and June 7th celebrates pop music. Showtime is 8:00PM.
The concerts will also be the subject of a 60-minute TV special, tentatively scheduled to be broadcast in the fall of 2003.
While the Carnegie Hall concerts are a focal point of the anniversary, celebratory activities for the anniversary will take place throughout the year, including:
- The ringing of the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on March 5th, 2003
- The search for the oldest Steinway in America
- The reissuing of the book, Steinway, written by Ronald Ratcliffe with Stuart Isacoff, which chronicles the 150 year history of the Steinway piano, the Steinway family, and the artists who perform on Steinway pianos.
- Free public tours of the Steinway factory in Astoria, Queens, to experience the yearlong hand crafting process of creating Steinway instruments.
In honor of this milestone anniversary, Steinway & Sons has partnered with a number of luxury companies to create keepsakes, including the creation of two art case pianos with renowned crystal and glassmaker Steuben; a limited-edition commemorative music box with Godiva Chocolatier, Inc., the creators of the world's most elegant, hand-crafted chocolates; and Henry the Steinway bear with Steiff North America, Inc., the world's best-known manufacturer of high-quality Teddy bears and plush animals.
For 150 years Steinway & Sons has set the world standard for piano quality with unsurpassed sound and response, which continue to enchant music enthusiasts the world over. The handcrafted Steinway piano incorporates more than 120 patented innovations and 1000 details of design and construction which set Steinway pianos apart from all others. Some of these historic innovations include the combination of a full cast-iron plate with over-stringing. The cast-iron plate versus reinforced wood construction allowed higher string tension which, when historically coupled with the Steinway over-strung scale, permitted longer bass strings for more volume and better soundboard resonance. The combination of these two innovations established the famous "Steinway System," the standard to which all contemporary pianos are now built. More importantly, these historic innovations established Steinway & Sons as the world's most recognized and respected piano company.
Steinway & Sons was founded on March 5, 1853 by German immigrant Henry Engelhard Steinway and his sons in New York City, one of the major centers of the piano-making industry in North America at that time. Henry, a master piano-maker, built his first piano in the kitchen of his home in Germany. Over the next forty years, Henry and his sons developed the modern piano, patenting the most significant technologies in the piano industry. Legendary pianists such as Paderewski, Rachmaninoff, Rubinstein, Horowitz, as well as prominent contemporary pianists Martha Argarich, Alfred Brendel, Van Cliburn, Harry Connick Jr., Ahmad Jamal, Billy Joel, Diana Krall, Ramsey Lewis, Peter Nero, Billy Taylor, Roger Williams, among others, are part of the 1,300 performers that are counted among the roster of "Steinway Artists."
Steinway & Sons, headquartered in Astoria, New York, produces the world's finest pianos. Steinway pianos are sold by nearly 200 authorized dealers worldwide. The company's corporate parent is Steinway Musical Instruments, Inc. which also owns Conn-Selmer, the nation's leading manufacturer of orchestra and band instruments.
Press Contact:
Leo Spellman
Senior Director Communications
Steinway & Sons
718-721-2600 x3116