Herman Helmholtz, the chairman of acoustics department at the University of Berlin, writes a letter to C.F. Theodor Steinweg, expressing gratitude for “the superb grand”. Helmholtz had chosen a Steinway & Sons piano for his experiments and lectures in acoustics. In the letter, he states that he’s been most impressed by “prolonged vibrations of its tones, by which the instrument becomes somewhat organ-like” and by the “lightness and delicacy of the touch”.