Heintzman & Co.
by Chris Bilton
In the year before Canada became a united country, when furs were still the region’s biggest export, a German-born craftsman began putting his name on an instrument that would become one of the country’s most sought-after goods: the Heintzman piano. For nearly 150 years, the piano company started by Theodore Heintzman has held rank among the biggest brands in the industry. The corporation itself has changed hands a number of times, and the production since moved to Beijing, China, but few would argue with Heintzman advertisements from the 1880s: “The pure sweet tone of the Heintzman piano has made its reputation amongst the people.”
IN DEPTH
Amid the glowing costumes, mind-bending choreography and myriad sensory-tweaking spectacles on display during the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Winter Olympics, a single instrument cut through the audio-visual chaos: a Heintzman grand piano. Of course, this one happened to be made of crystal and would later be auctioned off for more than $3 million, but it provided yet another headline for a storied brand that’s been around for nearly 150 years.
The Heintzman name has always been associated with legends. Whether it’s the story of how founder and exquisite craftsman Theodore Heintzman, after having plied his trade for a number of American piano companies, fashioned his first piano in his kitchen before setting up shop on what was then known as Duke Street in Toronto. Or there’s the tales of Theodore’s son, George—who served as the brand’s spokesman and salesman (and eventually president) from 1895 until 1944—riding the first transcontinental cowcatcher-equipped train to branch out into Canada’s West Coast. Even the famous sound bite from Queen Victoria (“I didn’t realize such beautiful instruments could be made in the colonies”) is often employed, minus a few contextual details.
The legends, however, only enhance what was almost immediately recognized as a superior musical instrument. From the outset, Heintzman was focused on the high end. The company paid particular attention to the type and quality of wood being used. Opening a massive factory in Toronto’s Junction neighbourhood—with direct access to the rail lines—allowed Heintzman to import and store a vast selection of wood. They even improved upon the sound quality by inventing and patenting the agraffe bridge. (The device gave the pianos brighter highs, which would eventually be incorporated into a line of upright pianos that came to be known as “upright grands.”)
Not unlike Yorkville/Traynor amplifiers or Sabian cymbals, Heintzman was essentially the standard brand of musical equipment found in Canadian homes and schools. This was partly due to the rise in the Canadian middle class around the turn of the century, and the attendant desire to display newfound wealth with a prestigious material centrepiece like a piano. (That the company saturated the market by expanding its retail operations nationally didn’t hurt either.)
After a century of gains and losses and further gains, by the 1970s, the international piano industry was crowded with major players. Heintzman ended up shuttering its retail outlets and relocating its famous Toronto Junction factory to Hanover, Ontario. Instead of pushing to expand markets, it refocused on simply making quality pianos. Inevitable mergers eventually led to the company to move—albeit with Canadian supervision and manufacturing techniques intact—to China, where the brand experienced yet another resurgence in popularity. Theodore Heintzman might not have envisioned building a crystal grand piano, but as a symbol of the continued ambition and popularity of the brand’s overseas enterprise, such a spectacle is clearly in line with his own aspirations for the company’s success.
