George Steck (July 13, 1829 or July 19, 1829March 31, 1897) was born in Hesse-Kassel, Germany. He grew up and studied pianomaking with Carl Scheel in Cassel, Germany. He moved to New York in 1853 and opened a piano factory four years later as the firm Steck & Grupe. The company was known as George Steck & Company by 1860. Another source lists him founding a new company in 1865, also known as Steck & Company. The first factory was located on Twelfth Street and Third Avenue. In 1859 the company moved to Walker Street and later to west 34th Street. Steck found success manufacturing pianos, and his models became standard school pianos across the United States. In 1870 he developed an iron frame for various pianos. The company's pianos were highly awarded at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair and 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. At Vienna, Steck won the "1st prize of merit for pianoforte". In 1884 he incorporated his company, giving stock to his employees. Steck retired from the company in 1887, and spent the remainder of his life attempting to design a piano that was always in tune. Factories were also run in Gotha, Germany. Richard Wagner reportedly composed the opera Parsifal on a Steck piano. Steck died in 1897.