Sohmer Hall in Manhattan was used for many years as a concert venue and a factory store. To this day, it is still a prominent New York landmark.

Sohmer

Hugo Sohmer founded Sohmer & Co. in 1872 after emigrating from Germany. The company made some of the finest pianos in America and was part of New York's booming piano manufacturing scene of the late 19th century. Its main factory on the bank of the East River in Astoria, Queens still stands today and has become a New York historic landmark.

Sohmer was a musician himself and had a musician's keen appraisal of a piano's tonal qualities. After a few short years of production, Hugo Sohmer was granted a patent for a very unique achievement at the time: being the first to produce a 5′ baby grand piano.

During its many years in New York, the Sohmer piano was known as a fine handcrafted instrument. Sohmer had a close informal association with the other major New York piano maker, Steinway, and the two shared many manufacturing methods. Sohmer was generally considered to be one of the finest pianos made in the United States and at one time Sohmer pianos were even sold in Steinway Hall. Famous Sohmer owners have included Irving Berlin, Fred Astaire, Katherine Hepbern, and many others.

The modern baby grand, as we know it today was invented by Hugo Sohmer in 1884 and patented by him that same year. The model 50 Sohmer was the first five-foot grand in 1884 and the model 50T grand of today is the logical development of this pioneer effort. 122 years of continuous improvement of their tone model is typical of the Sohmer pursuit of perfection.

Today’s Sohmer emulates Hugo’s design philosophy in all of its pianos and there are several exact historic reproductions of his original models available. The pianos are manufactured by SMC, who have also been praised for their work in manufacturing Knabe pianos to their original scale designs.

 

Peter Reynolds, Prof. of Musical Theater, Temple University:                         

"We are thrilled with the Sohmer pianos we recently purchased. We are particularly impressed with the friendliness, generosity, and spirit of collaboration we experienced doing business with Cunningham Piano Company. They are a fine company that offers quality products."