In what must seem like a sacrilegious move from fans of piano music and New York City's music history in general, the Steinway & Sons company is moving from its historic home on 57th Street. According to The New York Times, the company had done business from its original home near "piano row" since the '20s.
The company's move will be a short distance, staying in New York City of course. The new storefront will be on 43rd Street, still sandwiched between the Avenue of The Americas and 7th Avenue. Michael T. Sweeney, the chief executive of the company, says that plans are to change locations in stages. The reasons for the move include trying to become more central in Manhattan, as customers are less likely to live in the nearby Upper East and West sides as once before. The new venue will also feature a loading dock next to the showroom, making transporting the grands and baby grands less of a chore.
Despite the logic behind the move, the historic ties to the current location will be tough to get over. The building was designed by the same architecture firm behind Grand Central Station, featuring rotundas and arches accordingly. Many an iconic musician, including Sergei Rachmaninoff has swung by over the years to demo models in the basement.
The move was known since 2012 when Steinway announced that it had sold the location for $195 million. Soon after that the company was bought by private equity firm Kohlberg & Company.
The good news is that move will result in recording happening in the building once again. RCA had a recording studio in the original building up until the '90s when it moved out. The plan is for the company to move back in with Steinway once the piano producer gets settled in its new home. Worse comes to worst, we're sure the pianos will still be among the best.
