First Congregational Church of Madison
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1875 Steinway Grand Piano
In 1875, the Steinway & Sons Piano Company in New York completed work on a brand new “Style 2” grand piano. This was only one of 1,965 total pianos built that year, and one of 159 Style 2’s built between 1872 and 1879. The Style 2 closely resembled its predecessor, the Style 1 or “A” model, both in sound and appearance. But enough changes, both in construction and action, warranted a new designation number.
After this rosewood piano, serial number 32341, received its finish, it was shipped to Morris Steinert, a Steinway piano dealer in New Haven, Connecticut. Steinert had begun distributing pianos there ten years earlier after partnering with a piano manufacturer named Frederick Mathushek. At that time, Steinert did not have a lot of experience manufacturing or distributing, and their venture was short-lived. He then tried three times to solicit the Steinway agency in New York, failing each time before bringing his wife with him on the fourth try. His wife so impressed the Steinways that his wish was granted and he became a Steinway dealer September, 1869.
Serial number 32341 arrived at Steinert’s dealership on December 15, 1875. Although its travels immediately after that remains somewhat of a mystery, it was acquired at some point in time by a woman named Miss Marie Oakes Hotchkiss. Ms. Hotchkiss was the daughter of Henry Oakes Hotchkiss, a New Haven Long Wharf shipping merchant (perhaps Mr. Hotchkiss bought the piano for his daughter).
Born in July of 1850, Miss Hotchkiss lived at East River beach in Madison on the estate called “Stony Croft” on Neck Road. Upon her death in July of 1938, she left her estate to Yale University, but she willed her piano to a friend named Susan Hart. Susan was the great-great-granddaughter of Reverend John Hart, the Madison Congregational Church’s first pastor. When Susan passed away only a year later, she left the piano to the church’s chapel.
The Steinway Grand was kept in the chapel from that time until 1963, when the members of the First Congregational Church built a larger Church House to be used as office space and classrooms, including a new chapel and an auditorium. During the June 6th meeting of the Prudential Committee, Building and Grounds chairman Robert Littell decided that the Steinway should be moved to the new auditorium. He contacted the Hald Company who performed the service, and it remained there for some time.
Since then, the piano had not been used much at all. The exterior had been stained and damaged from neglect, yet the interior had been well-maintained by faithful piano tuners. With renewed interest in the piano and further investigation by the music department starting late in 2005, its nearly complete history was discovered.
It was moved into the sanctuary in July of 2006 to be played for the summer services, and the church decided in a short amount of time that it was worth restoring. Work began by Mr. Chris Robinson of Bloomfield in October, and within just two months the bulk of the restoration cost – $16,000 – was raised by many generous donors. Fund-raising efforts included an October jazz concert followed by the production of a piano Christmas CD.
This piano’s story is remarkable, with a beautiful, vibrant sound to match. It is an instrument to glorify God and to bless the congregation and Madison community.
Related facts
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The “Steinway & Sons” logo on the fallboard of the piano only displays the “New York” branch; Steinway was not yet doing business in Hamburg and London. Pianos after the 1890’s display all three cities.
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Frederick Mathushek, Morris Steinert’s original partner, became a well-known and highly respected piano maker. A Mathushek 1896 upright piano sits in one of the Church House downstairs classrooms.
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Steinert moved his headquarters from New Haven to Boston in 1883, and his sons took over the business following his death in 1912. After the Wall Street crash of 1929, they closed the factories and all but three stores to survive. A past treasurer of Steinert & Sons acquired the assets of the company in 1934, and the company is currently owned by his grandsons. Today, there are three Steinert stores in Massachusetts and one in West Hartford which just opened in 2004.
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Steinert was good friends with Thomas G. Shepherd, son of First Congregational Church’s fourth pastor, Rev. Samuel Shepherd. Thomas Shepherd was an organist at a New Haven church, as well as a composer, and this church’s 1930 Möller pipe organ is dedicated to him. Steinert inscribed a copy of his book of reminiscences, published in 1900, to Shepherd “with my compliments and many recollections of musical events in our city.”
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Marie Oakes Hotchkiss’s estate on Neck Road is now the site of Mercy Center, a beachfront conference and retreat center for human development.
Sources
Bullock, Paula. “1875 Steinway Style 2 Production History.” 2002. http://www.pgtigercat.com
Evarts, Mary S. History of the First Congregational Church. Madison, CT, 1955.
Johnson, Joan. “Marie Oakes Hotchkiss” [personal e-mail]. June 26, 2006.
LaGuardia & Wagner Archives. Steinway & Sons Collection. New York. Production Series, Number books, Box 040393, 1874.
Mercer, Anna T. “Meeting of the Prudential Committee.” June 6, 1963.
Mercer, Anna T. “Meeting of the Prudential Committee.” September 5, 1963.
Mercy Center at Madison. “Mercy Center’s History.” 2006.
http://www.mercyctrmadison.com
Steinert, Morris. Reminiscences of Morris Steinert. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1900.