Henry Ziegler Steinway (August 23, 1915 – September 18, 2008) was the last member of the Steinway family to be president of the

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 keybo ...

company Steinway & Sons.

Biography

He was born on August 23, 1915, in Manhattan, New York City. He was the great-grandson of the company founder Henry E. Steinway and started at the firm in 1937 after graduating from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. He was president of the company from 1955 to 1977. He was the first president of NAMM

Museum of Making Music The Museum of Making Music, is a division of the NAMM Foundation of the National Association of Music Merchants, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Carlsbad, California. The museum opened to the public on March 5, 2000. Its mission ...

. The 2007 National Medal of Arts was awarded to Henry Z. Steinway and presented by

US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

on 15 November 2007 in an East Room ceremony at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. 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 The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

. In celebration of his 91st birthday and honoring a lifetime of service to the company, Steinway & Sons introduced a series of Henry Z. Steinway Limited Edition pianos in ebony or East Indian rosewood with distinctive music stands bearing cutwork of the initials HZS.Henry Z. Steinway Limited Edition
steinway.com The pianos were advertised nationally. A small cast bronze ovoid plaque inside each such piano bears relief

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

portraits of the Steinway family company presidents, along with a space for the serial number to be stamped. A total of 91 HZS pianos were authorized: one for each year of his life at the time. Henry Z. Steinway donated his administrative files from the 1960s-70s to

La Guardia and Wagner Archives The La Guardia and Wagner Archives was established in 1982 at LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, Queens, New York, to collect, preserve, and make available primary materials documenting the social and political history of New York ...

(see also the section ''Steinway & Sons'' in the article ''La Guardia and Wagner Archives''), which contains the records of the piano company dating to the 1850s. He was a notable honorary member of the American music fraternity

Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America (colloquially known as Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, Phi Mu Alpha, or simply Sinfonia) () is an American collegiate social fraternity for men with a special interest in music. The fraternity is open to men "w ...

, a part of the Alpha Alpha chapter in 1962. He died on September 18, 2008, aged 93, in Manhattan, New York City.

References

External links

The Steinway & Sons Collection in ''La Guardia and Wagner Archives''

Henry Steinway Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2001)
Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia - Famous Sinfonians
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinway, Henry Z. Piano makers Henry Z. American musical instrument makers Businesspeople from New York City Harvard University alumni Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery 1915 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American businesspeople