Steinway pianos are internationally renowned and are considered to be amongst the greatest pianos available. Indeed, alongside other makers: Bechstein; Blüthner and Bösendorfer, Steinway & Sons is regarded as one of the Big Four manufacturers and, without doubt, is the most well-known.

The brand is named for its’ German founder Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, who migrated to Manhattan in New York City where his name became Anglicized to become Henry E. Steinway. Having established a reputation as an excellent piano-maker in Germany, in 1853 Steinway established his eponymous piano factory in New York City. In later years he would establish a corresponding factory in Germany which would serve European and international markets.

Steinway pianos quickly garnered international acclaim and a reputation for excellent craftsmanship and allowing for an extremely high-quality performance sound. Many great musicians opted to play Steinway pianos and a legion of famous patrons of arts became proud owners of Steinway pianos.

Similarly, budding musicians seeking to establish a name for themselves as the next great prodigy are keen to learn to play on the greatest pianos available. As such, many great conservatories and music schools have sought to equip their studios with Steinway pianos. Also, many of the world’s leading private and independent schools have installed Steinway pianos in their music halls to support musical pupils and to attract potential talented students to their schools.

Steinway & Sons maintains a list of approved Steinway operator schools, colleges, universities and educational institutions. These are music departments that have the Steinway & Sons brand making up at least 90% of their piano collection together with other Steinway brand instruments (including Boston; Essex; and Conn-Selmer with all of their subsidiary brands). Those schools benefit from Steinway marketing and the badge of honour which comes with being a “Steinway School”. Furthermore, those schools have access to maintenance and training from Steinway and approved engineers to enhance their music offer.

The schools listed below are known to be recently accredited Steinway Schools.