Samuel Nordheimer Co-Founder of Nordheimer Piano and music publisher

“On a winter walk through Toronto’s Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, I came across the grave of Samuel Nordheimer — a name once central to Canada’s musical and commercial history.”

Born in Bavaria, Samuel and his brother Abraham immigrated to Canada and eventually settled in Toronto. Ambitious and entrepreneurial, they established A. & S. Nordheimer Co., a piano importing business that quickly flourished. The company not only imported instruments but became Canada’s leading publisher of sheet music, even holding the exclusive publishing rights to the patriotic anthem The Maple Leaf Forever.

In 1890, the Nordheimers expanded again — opening a piano factory in Toronto and producing their own instruments, some of which still circulate in the re-seller market today.

Nordheimer Factory (1915) located at 195 Yonge Street, Toronto

As Samuel’s business success grew, so did his stature in Toronto’s elite circles. He served on numerous corporate boards and became a notable figure in the city’s commercial life. After marrying into a prominent Protestant family, he made the significant and personal decision to convert from Judaism to Anglicanism — a reflection of the era’s social pressures and expectations.

Despite their early dominance, the competitive nature of the music business led the Nordheimer family to sell their company to Heintzman & Co. in 1928 — another storied name in Canadian piano history.

A lesser-known but lasting tribute remains above ground: the Nordheimer Ravine, just north of Casa Loma and Spadina House, is named after the family, whose estate once backed onto the wooded valley.

Samuel Nordheimer’s family home backed onto what is known as the Nordheimer Ravine.