Restorations/Repairings

A piano manufacturer which employs handcraftmanship such as ours is the ideal place for repairs and historically-accurate restoration work. We have experience with all construction specifications of the most important piano brands. Whether we restore your piano or offer you a used instrument from the range in our piano house, whatever the case, we grant the same 5-year warranty as on our brand new instruments.

A Sense for History

That is what is needed when handling the past with respect. Steingraeber’s roots in Rudolstadt, Thüringen go back to 1820 and in 1852 Steingraeber und Söhne began writing piano history in the city of Bayreuth. The ‘Liebhardt Palace’ was built in the Bayreuth rococo style in 1754 and it has largely been kept in its original form up to the present day. Since 1871, when it was named ‘Steingraeber Haus’, it has been the headquarters and the heart of the Steingraeber business.

There you will also find the Ed. Steingraeber Op.1, built in 1852. This chef d’oeuvre made by the founder of the business marks the turning point away from the fortepiano and towards the modern piano. In the Bayreuth Museum of History, the Bruno Paul Grand Piano from 1905 is on view, and which has been restored by Steingraeber & Söhne. Finally in the Richard Wagner Museum ‘Haus Wahnfried’ stands the first stage instrument made for the Bayreuth Festspielhaus: A square piano restored by us in 1992.

Traditional Processes

In 1871 we moved into the workshops in the old Liebhardt outbuilding including the servants’ quarters, and today they are still part of Steingraeber Haus. It is no wonder that we have managed to retain old techniques, as we are continually having to deal with old woods, early types of piano mechanisms, and are even asked to breathe new life into old instruments using historical strings, textiles and leathers.

Interdisciplinary Experience

In 1906 we expanded the company by obtaining the large workshop building, 1 Dammwäldchen, Bayreuth. Still today this is where all the Steingraeber workshop processes sit together under one roof, with everything from raw wood to the final instrument, from the repair department to the ‘Historical Reconditioning’ department. The skills of piano manufacturers, harpsichord builders (the latter with additional special training) and piano carpenters are just some of the preconditions that have to be met when we deal successfully and attentively with our restoration work.

Our main tasks are to classify, document and preserve an instrument, and if it can be made playable, that is a most welcome bonus. At Steingraeber we tend to confine our restoration work to modern pianos, however we also try, where possible, to restore objects to their original condition.

We offer modern piano manufacture in conjunction with user-oriented repairs, the fitting of new pianos into old piano housing, and the reconstruction of both hand-crafted upright and grand pianos.