Barron, a New York Times
staff writer, expands on his series of articles published in the newspaper for a thoroughgoing chronicle of how a New York immigrant family created an American cultural institution. Barron tracks, from inception to stage, one Steinway concert grand piano named K0862, a direct descendant of the first Model D developed in 1884 by the German family of piano makers established in New York. Heinrich Englehard Steinweg from Seesen, Germany, installed his piano business, now anglicized to Steinway & Sons, on the Lower East Side by 1853, before moving to a factory on Fourth Avenue and eventually to Queens. The original Steinway pianoforte was a compact "square" designed for Victorian parlors, and evolved into a grand that contained longer strings under the lid to "deliver the kind of room-filling sound that earlier pianos lacked." Most fascinating are Barron's descriptions of the old-fashioned handcrafting of K0862 in the Queens factory, from the crucial bending of the maple rim ("the chassis of the piano"), to the fitting of Part No. 81 (the spruce soundboard), cast-iron plate, and action parts, before the piano is tuned for its distinctive sound. In this solid book, Barron pursues the family's fortunes from the company's peak in 1905 through the golden years of 1920s to its sale in 1972. (Aug.)
