Steinway & Sons are some of the most coveted and expensive pianos in the world, they are a 150 year old company and still produce many of the highest quality pianos in the world year. The manufacturing process and sound quality of Steinway pianos will be discussed in detail and then compared to the manufacturing techniques of a more commonly known piano manufacturer such as Yamaha. The future and possibilities it holds for the classical piano are also considered.• • •Henry Engelhard Steinway (Appendix fig. 1) was a German immigrant who founded Steinway & Sons in 1853. Steinway was an accomplished master cabinetmaker, and he built his first piano in the kitchen of his home in Seesen, Germany. When Steinway & Sons was fully founded, it had built 482 pianos. The first piano produced by the company, number 483, was sold for $500 to a family in New York. For the next 30 years, Steinway and his four sons contributed to the development of the modern piano and in the process earned the "Grand Gold Medal of Honor" in 1867, recognizing their excellence in engineering and manufacturing. In turn, Steinway & Sons pianos were purchased by some of the world's greatest pianists, including royalty (Steinway History, 2011). The first Steinway Hall (Appendix fig. 2) opened on 14th Street in 1866, containing a 2,000-seat auditorium. It later became the artistic and cultural center of New York. In 1871 Henry Steinway died, leaving the business to two of his sons, C. F. Theodore and William. Both specialized in different areas of technicality and skill, much to the benefit of the Steinway image. Nowadays, there are Steinway & Sons factories also in Hamburg and New York... half of the document... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maple#UsesAccessed March 29, 2011. Author unknown, 2011. Piano Play It: The Yamaha Piano http://www.piano-play-it.com/yamaha-piano.html Accessed March 31, 2011. Author unknown, 2011. Yamaha http://usa.yamaha .com /products/musical-instruments/keyboards/premium_pianosAccessed March 31, 2011Author and publication date unknown. Bösendorfer Pianoshttp://www.boesendorfer.comAccessed 22 April 2011Fandrich, D., 1995. Soundboard Technology & Manufacturehttp://www.pianobuilders.com/soundboards.htmlAccessed 5 May 2011Author and publication date unknown, 2011. Online Factory Tour.http://archive.steinway.com/factory/Accessed May 5, 2011. Author and publication date unknown. Steinway Hall: A Quality Piano Starts with Quality Woodhttp://www.steinwaypianos.com/kb/how-it-works/woodsAccessed May 5, 2011