Comment by barkingcat | Hacker News Reader

Comment by barkingcat | Hacker News Reader

The really interesting story about Steinway is that there are actually two Steinways.

Steinway in Queens, NY, and Steinway in Hamburg, Germany.

It was two branches of the family that ran them, and got separated by the war.

Before they unified, they did do cultural exchanges of techniques, methods, etc.

Today they are one company, but the pianos they produce have individual characteristics owing to distinctive methods, techniques, and materials used by each factory.

During the war, Steinway Hamburg was also forced to become an arms factory, so there are German weapons out there made from tonewood that would have been great pianos

https://www.chuppspianos.com/steinway-sons-pianos/history/

I think it's one of the great cultural integration stories, that people can get separated and come back together even after war and terror.

The story is even more interesting in that there supposedly once was a company called Steinweg (Weg = German for way). I believe they came from the Braunschweig (Brunswik) area which had, and still has, a long tradition of making musical instruments (for example, Schimmel is still there and producing pianos, though not quite as expensive as Steinway's). So supposedly Steinweg/Steinway migrated to US, then founded a piano factory in Hamburg when they were already an US-based company. Now why they changed weg into way, but didn't change Stein into Stone is yet another question.

And then there is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grotrian-Steinweg

Having grown up and learned music on a Schimmel they are excellent instruments. Steinways are also fabulous pianos (undisputed by everyone), but I would actually argue that Schimmel makes a better upright.

From a branding perspective, I guess Steinway has a better ring to it than Stoneway (which sounds somewhat less... musical?)

As an amateur pianist, it’s worth adding that there’s a status hierarchy.

Pre-war (WWII) Hamburg Steinways are supposed to unparalleled, followed by Hamburg post, then New York in general.

Fanta too. As in Coco-cola Fanta.

Also beer Budweiser; originally Czech, is still produced there under that name. It's imported into the US under the name of Czechvar.

And then there is vodka Smirnoff, originally Russian and also kinda still produced there under its original name.

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