Sohmer & Co.
A historic American piano manufacturer known for innovative grand, upright, and player-piano designs.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Sohmer & Co. was an American piano manufacturing company established in New York City in the early 1870s by German-born piano maker Hugo Sohmer and Austrian-born piano maker Joseph Kuder. The company became one of the notable independent American piano makers of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Its identity was built around engineering experimentation, New York manufacturing, and the production of instruments positioned between mass-market pianos and the best-known prestige makers of the period. Hugo Sohmer was born in Dunningen, Germany, in 1845 and emigrated to New York in 1863. After apprenticing at Schuetze & Ludolff, he continued studying piano construction in Europe before returning to New York. In 1872 he formed Sohmer & Company with Joseph Kuder, an experienced piano maker who had worked for several New York firms, including Steinway & Sons. The young company initially operated from premises associated with the former Marschall & Mittauer business on East 14th Street. It expanded its New York operations, added Brooklyn showrooms, and later moved manufacturing to larger facilities on East 23rd Street and in Long Island. Sohmer developed a reputation for technical innovation. In 1884 Hugo Sohmer patented a compact, symmetrical grand piano that the company marketed as a modern baby grand or “bijou” grand. At approximately five feet in length, it was promoted as a small instrument capable of delivering substantial volume, sustain, and a responsive action. The company also worked on agraffes, action mechanisms, bridge agraffes, special stringing systems, and pedal arrangements. Its product range included upright and square pianos, grands, player pianos, and reproducing instruments. Sohmer produced Cecilian player pianos and instruments made under license for the Welte-Mignon reproducing system. The company used awards from exhibitions, including the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia and competitions in Montreal, in its marketing. Sohmer instruments were owned by prominent customers, including United States President Calvin Coolidge and composers Victor Herbert and Irving Berlin. These associations helped communicate the brand’s credibility, although they did not make Sohmer a mass-market global brand on the scale of the largest American piano manufacturers. Sohmer remained family influenced for much of its history. Hugo Sohmer died in 1913, after which his son Harry J. Sohmer succeeded him. The company was incorporated in 1940. In 1971 management passed to Harry J. Sohmer Jr. and Robert H. Sohmer. The family sold the business in 1982 to Pratt, Read & Co., a major producer of piano actions and keyboards. Manufacturing subsequently moved to Pratt, Read facilities in Ivoryton, Connecticut, and later to a new plant in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, following further ownership changes. After the family sale, Sohmer became connected with several other historic piano names. In 1985 the company acquired the Mason & Hamlin and William Knabe trademarks and equipment from the receivers of the failed Aeolian Corporation. Pratt, Read sold Sohmer Holding Co. in 1986 to investors led by Robert MacNeil. In 1989 MacNeil sold the business, which also included Mason & Hamlin, Knabe, and George Steck, to Bernard G. Greer, who had a controlling interest in Falcone Piano Co. Lloyd W. Meyer, a former Steinway & Sons chief executive, was assigned a leadership role in the reorganization. In 1996 Music Systems Research, the Sacramento-based maker of PianoDisc systems, acquired Sohmer as part of assets associated with bankrupt Mason & Hamlin. Samick Music Corporation later acquired rights to the Sohmer name. Samick no longer produces or distributes pianos under the Sohmer brand, so Sohmer is best understood today as a historic or dormant piano brand rather than an active piano manufacturer. Its legacy survives in surviving instruments, archival records, patents, historic factory buildings, and the broader history of American piano making.
History
Sohmer & Co. emerged in New York City during the expansion of the American piano industry after the Civil War. Hugo Sohmer, born in Germany in 1845, immigrated to New York in 1863 and trained as a piano builder at Schuetze & Ludolff. After further study in Europe, he returned to New York and partnered with Joseph Kuder, an Austrian-born piano maker with experience at several established New York manufacturers. The partnership formed Sohmer & Company in the early 1870s, with 1871 commonly given as the founding year and 1872 associated with the operating partnership. The company first manufactured and sold instruments from East 14th Street premises formerly associated with Marschall & Mittauer. It expanded its address and showroom network during the 1870s, including a Brooklyn presence, and moved most manufacturing to East 23rd Street in 1883. In 1886 Sohmer acquired a large Jamaica Avenue site on Long Island, close to the developing Steinway manufacturing area, and erected a six-story factory designed by Berger & Baylies. The factory received another six-story addition in 1907. In 1919 the company added a six-story office and showroom on West 57th Street, in Manhattan’s Piano Row district. Sohmer’s historical importance rests particularly on design innovation. Hugo Sohmer patented a compact grand piano in 1884. Marketed as a “bijou” or baby grand, the instrument used a symmetrical case and was advertised as roughly five feet long while retaining qualities associated with larger grands. The company also patented improvements involving action mechanisms and agraffe bars. Later developments included an agraffe for a quadruple-strung reverberation scale, a pianissimo pedal for upright pianos, and bridge agraffes. These features reflected the company’s effort to improve tonal sustain, string alignment, control, and compactness. The company produced a broad portfolio rather than specializing in one format. Its offerings included upright, square, and grand pianos, as well as automatic and reproducing instruments. Sohmer built Cecilian “all-inside” player pianos and produced Welte-Mignon reproducing pianos under license. The brand promoted exhibition recognition, including awards associated with the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia and prizes reported from Montreal in 1881 and 1882. Sohmer also benefited from ownership or use of its instruments by public figures such as President Calvin Coolidge and composers Victor Herbert and Irving Berlin. After Hugo Sohmer’s death in 1913, his son Harry J. Sohmer succeeded him. The company was incorporated in 1940 and remained under family influence until 1982, when Harry J. Sohmer Jr. and Robert H. Sohmer sold it to Pratt, Read & Co. Manufacturing moved first to Pratt, Read’s facilities in Ivoryton, Connecticut. The company’s subsequent history was characterized by consolidation and ownership changes within the American piano sector. In 1985 it acquired the Mason & Hamlin and William Knabe trademarks and equipment from the receivers of bankrupt Aeolian Corporation. In 1986 Pratt, Read sold Sohmer Holding Co. to investors led by Robert MacNeil, and production moved to Elysburg, Pennsylvania. In 1989 MacNeil sold the business to Bernard G. Greer, whose interests included a controlling stake in Falcone Piano Co. Former Steinway & Sons chief executive Lloyd W. Meyer was brought in to organize the combined operations. In 1996 Music Systems Research, known for PianoDisc player systems, acquired Sohmer in connection with assets of bankrupt Mason & Hamlin. Samick Music Corporation later became the rights holder for the Sohmer name. Samick’s stated position that it no longer produces or distributes Sohmer-branded pianos places the brand in a dormant or historical state. Its surviving instruments, patents, business records, and former factory properties remain relevant to the history of American piano manufacturing.
- 1996
Music Systems Research acquires Sohmer
[1]Sohmer changes hands as part of assets linked to bankrupt Mason & Hamlin.
- 1985
Adds Mason & Hamlin and William Knabe assets
[1]The company acquires trademarks and equipment from the receivers of Aeolian Corporation.
- 1982
Family ownership ends
[1]The Sohmer family sells the company to Pratt, Read & Co.
- 1940
Company is incorporated
[1]Sohmer & Co. becomes an incorporated business.
- 1919
Opens West 57th Street showroom
[1]The company establishes a six-story office and showroom at 31 West 57th Street in Manhattan.
- 1913
Harry J. Sohmer succeeds Hugo Sohmer
[1]Leadership passes to Hugo Sohmer’s son after the founder’s death.
- 1907
Expands the factory
[1]A six-story addition is completed at the Long Island factory.
- 1886
Builds a Long Island factory
[1]Sohmer purchases a Jamaica Avenue waterfront site and constructs a six-story manufacturing plant.
- 1884
Patents a compact baby grand
[1]Hugo Sohmer patents a symmetrical, approximately five-foot grand piano that the company markets as a modern baby grand.
- 1876
Exhibits at the Centennial International Exhibition
[1]Sohmer later promoted medals and honors associated with its upright and square pianos at Philadelphia’s Centennial exhibition.
Products and positioning
A historically innovative American piano maker emphasizing compact grand-piano design, proprietary construction features, and high-quality domestic manufacturing.
Grand piano · 1884
Sohmer baby grand
Sohmer’s compact “bijou” grand was introduced in the 1880s and associated with Hugo Sohmer’s 1884 patent. Its symmetrical case and approximately five-foot length were intended to fit smaller domestic interiors while offering more tonal projection and sustain than a conventional upright. The company presented it as one of the earliest modern baby grand designs.
Upright piano
Sohmer upright piano
Upright pianos formed a core part of Sohmer’s traditional product range. The company promoted its upright instruments through exhibition awards and patented construction details, including action, pedal, and agraffe improvements. They served the domestic and institutional markets that drove much of the American piano trade in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Square piano
Sohmer square piano
Sohmer manufactured square pianos during the period when the format remained part of the American market. The company used awards associated with its square and upright instruments in later advertising, linking these products to its early manufacturing reputation and exhibition history.
Player piano
Cecilian player piano
The Cecilian line represented Sohmer’s participation in the player-piano market. These instruments used an integrated, or “all-inside,” player mechanism, combining conventional piano playing with automated performance in a cabinet intended for domestic use.
Reproducing piano
Welte-Mignon reproducing piano
Sohmer produced reproducing pianos under license for the Welte-Mignon system. This placed the company in the technologically advanced segment of the early twentieth-century piano market, where instruments reproduced recorded performances rather than merely playing rolls through a basic player mechanism.
Brand decisions
1996
Sell Sohmer through a distressed-asset transactionM&ABackground
Sohmer became connected with the assets of bankrupt Mason & Hamlin during continued consolidation in the piano industry.
Action taken
Music Systems Research acquired Sohmer as part of the related asset transaction.
Aftermath
The brand later came under Samick’s name-rights portfolio. Samick does not currently manufacture or distribute Sohmer-branded pianos.
1989
Transfer ownership to Bernard G. GreerM&ABackground
The investor-led ownership structure was changed again as the business sought to reorganize Sohmer and its associated piano brands.
Action taken
Robert MacNeil sold Sohmer & Co. to Bernard G. Greer, who had a controlling interest in Falcone Piano Co.; Lloyd W. Meyer was appointed to lead reorganization.
Aftermath
Sohmer continued operating within a multi-brand piano structure, but subsequent financial difficulties led to another asset transfer in the 1990s.
1986
Move production to PennsylvaniaStrategyBackground
Following the change in ownership from Pratt, Read to an investor group, the business reorganized its manufacturing footprint.
Action taken
Production was moved to a new facility in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
Aftermath
The move further distanced Sohmer from its original New York and Connecticut manufacturing sites and formed part of a broader restructuring of the associated piano businesses.
1985
Acquire historic Aeolian piano-brand assetsM&ABackground
The collapse of Aeolian made several established American piano trademarks and manufacturing assets available through receivership.
Action taken
Sohmer purchased the Mason & Hamlin and William Knabe trademarks and equipment.
Aftermath
Sohmer’s corporate portfolio broadened to include additional historic piano names, although the combined business continued to face industry and ownership pressures.
1982
Sell the family-owned company to Pratt, ReadM&ABackground
After more than a century of family influence, the Sohmer family transferred ownership during a period of restructuring in the American piano industry.
Action taken
Harry J. Sohmer Jr. and Robert H. Sohmer sold Sohmer & Co. to Pratt, Read & Co., and production moved to Pratt, Read facilities in Ivoryton, Connecticut.
Aftermath
The sale ended direct family ownership and began a sequence of corporate changes that eventually separated the brand from its original New York manufacturing base.
1884
Introduce the compact modern baby grandProduct launchBackground
Large concert grands were difficult to accommodate in ordinary homes, creating an opportunity for a smaller instrument that retained some of the tonal characteristics associated with a grand piano.
Action taken
Hugo Sohmer patented and marketed a symmetrical grand of approximately five feet in length as a “bijou” or baby grand.
Aftermath
The design became one of the company’s defining contributions to piano history and helped establish Sohmer as an innovative independent maker.
Recent events
- 1996
Music Systems Research acquires Sohmer-related assets[1]
M&A · Bankruptcy
Music Systems Research purchased Sohmer as part of assets connected with bankrupt Mason & Hamlin.
- 1989
Sohmer business changes ownership again[1]
M&A · Leadership change
Robert MacNeil sold the company and its associated piano brands to Bernard G. Greer, who brought in Lloyd W. Meyer to lead a reorganization.
- 1986
Pratt, Read sells Sohmer Holding Co. to investor group[1]
M&A
Pratt, Read transferred Sohmer Holding Co. to an investment group led by Robert MacNeil, followed by a move to a new facility in Elysburg, Pennsylvania.
- 1985
Sohmer acquires Mason & Hamlin and William Knabe assets[1]
M&A
Sohmer acquired the Mason & Hamlin and William Knabe trademarks and equipment from receivers handling the failed Aeolian Corporation.
- 1982
Sohmer family sells the company to Pratt, Read & Co.[1]
M&A · Leadership change
Harry J. Sohmer Jr. and Robert H. Sohmer sold the family-controlled company to Pratt, Read & Co., after which production moved to Connecticut.
- 1919
Sohmer opens Piano Row office and showroom[1]
Other
The company constructed a six-story office and showroom at 31 West 57th Street in Manhattan, placing its public-facing operations among major piano businesses.
- 1907
Sohmer adds a major factory extension[1]
Other
A six-story addition to the Long Island factory increased the company’s manufacturing capacity.
- 1886
Sohmer & Co. expands New York manufacturing operations[1]
Other
The company acquired a large waterfront site on Jamaica Avenue in Long Island and built a six-story factory near the developing piano-manufacturing district.
Samick retains rights to the Sohmer name[1]
M&A
Samick Music Corporation became the holder of rights to the Sohmer name and other historic piano brands, but does not currently produce or distribute Sohmer-branded pianos.
Sources5 sources
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