- Steinway & Sons celebrates its 100th anniversary by giving the Centennial Concert at Carnegie Hall. Even though the actual date of the beginning of Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg and his sons’ partnership is March 5, 1853, the celebratory concert takes place in October, to take maximum marketing advantage of the approaching holidays.
- Arthur Judson, the manager of New York Philharmonic Orchestra, has organized the free orchestra services for the concert. This is made possible thanks to a clause in the orchestra contract, stating that 120 musicians will play one evening concert per year free, for the benefit of the orchestra.
- 34 pianists, accompanied by New York Philharmonic Orchestra, perform at the concert. Three piano dectets are selected, by drawing names of the pianists from an old fireman’s hat of the Steinway’s Hose Company, founded decades ago by William Steinway.
- After the concert, Steinway & Sons “birthday party” for nearly 2,000 guests is held in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, one of the biggest parties ever held at that hotel. William T. Steinway, Henry Z. Steinway’s 7-year-old son, cuts the first slice of a 10-foot-high birthday cake, and the guests sing “Happy Birthday”, accompanied by two Steinway & Sons model D concert grand pianos.
- Strangely, the 100th anniversary celebration of the America’s most famous musical factory remains largely unnoticed by the New York and national press. Only New York Times publishes a feature article by the music critic Olin Downes.
- Many of the most celebrated Steinway artists are not among the performers or guests of the celebration. Neither Arthur Rubinstein, nor Vladimir Horowitz attend the celebration.
- Steinway & Sons donates all the proceeds from the Centennial Concert to Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York and The Musical Foundation.