A feel-good story

[Phil Bondi]

I think we need one right about now..

Back in October, I was contacted by a very recent widow to come and 
appraise the piano at her house. The instrument was played by her 
deceased husband, and she was having a hard time living with the 
instrument. She wanted to see what it was worth and then find a good 
home for it. When I arrived at her house, she informed me that there is 
a Pianist in New Hampshire that is already interested in the piano, and 
would I please deal with him directly..I told her I would.

The instrument in question was a Kawai KG-2C, and it was in remarkable 
condition. 30 years old, and well-cared for and respected by its owner 
and its technician ( I believe it was Jim O'Neill ). This piano had it 
all - a wonderful soul, looked great, it simply felt great under my 
fingers. I told the woman what I thought it was worth, and again she 
asked me to deal with the Pianist directly, which I did.

Later that same week, I was telling another client who recently 
purchased a used Yamaha Grand about this woman and this piano and this 
Pianist. It turns out this client knows about the woman and the 
Pianist..and the Pianist will be in Ft. Myers in February, and it would 
be in my best interest to see him perform when he's in town. I looked at 
my schedule to find I had a previous engagement on the night this 
Pianist was to perform, and I wasn't going to be able to attend the 
performance.

After many conversations with the Pianist about this piano, the 
instrument was shipped to New Hampshire, and I did not hear from this 
Pianist again..until last night. My engagement preventing me from seeing 
this Pianist perform was postponed, and I was now able to attend.

The Pianist's name is Frederick Moyer. He was performing in a church to 
a small, intimate, and appreciative audience. I was glad I was able to 
attend this performance. Frederick is a very personable, likeable man 
and in my opinion, a very good Pianist. The last piece of the evening 
was Paganini's Etude No.3 - "LaCampanella" which I am very familiar 
with. Before each piece of music performed, Frederick told a story about 
the composer and the piece. The story he told about this piece involved 
the last notes played of this piece. The 2 extreme G#'s are played 
simultaneously. The story he told involved a pianist asking the 
technician to 'Please tune the top 5 notes to G#'! - a funny story which 
was absolutely true. Frederick played this piece flawlessly and he 
nailed the G#'s!

After the performance, there was a small greeting line to meet 
Frederick. Having only talked to this man on the phone, he had no idea 
who I was or what I looked like, so I decided to break the ice with a 
funny anecdote of my own. When it was my turn, I handed him my business 
card telling him that if he ever felt the need to tune the top 5 notes 
to G# to finish that piece, I would be very happy to do that for him! 
His immediate reaction when he saw my name was to give me a hug, 
thanking me for providing for him a wonderful instrument for his home. 
This hug brought eyebrows up from the people around me at the time!, but 
he explained that this person (me) was a honest and trustworthy 
technician and he was happy to know such a person with my skills. I have 
to admit his reaction will stay with me for awhile - a Pianist I have 
alot of respect for and his appreciation of my word and my skills.

I'm glad my previous engagement was postponed.