Oscar Peterson

[Gregor _]

HI Ric,
 
respect! I think I would have got a heart attack if I was to tune with audience in such a stressing situation. The worst I did was a tuning on a stage at a village fair and it was an Yamaha CP 80. Many eyes stared at me and that made me nervous.
 
But you are right: it´s really nice to listen to a concert where you tuned the piano. I love this job :-)
 
Gregor
 
> Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2007 12:48:47 +0100> From: ricb at pianostemmer.no> To: pianotech at ptg.org> Subject: Oscar Peterson> > > Hi Gregor.> > I have two stories to tell that are relevant to your post. I owe Keith > Jarrett quite a lot... in an indirect way. On one of is European tours > in the early 80's he complained about every single piano on his tour > except his last concert... which was my instrument... a nicely restrung > Steinway D that Molde International Jazz Festival had just purchased. > The Festival folks were of course very nervous before he came on stage > for sound check... and it of course put this gigantic feather in my hat > when he did his 3.78 second chromatic run from middle C upwards to the > top to <<check>> the piano. That was all he needed to approve the thing > believe it or not. It held up nicely the whole concert and my position > at Molde was sealed for as long as I wanted it... which was up until > 1999 when I figured that 18 years service was enough. I could tell the > long version of this story... but suffice to say that I got lucky in > several ways that day and that luck had as much to do with the whole > affair as anything else.> > The other story was more recently. About 7 years back Chick Corea came > to town and accompanying him was a CF III. This was to be tuned by a > fellow in Stavanger who had been chosen to follow the thing around > Norway for Chicks concert... but for reasons I wont get into the local > Yamaha dealer did the tuning. It was to be a live recording concert. > The tuning went totally bonkers during the first set and Mr. Corea > insisted it be retuned. The fellow who'd done the job had gone home and > was 45 minutes away from being able to sit down at the instrument to > retune... I was in the audience and the regular tuner at this venue ... > so they asked me back stage to talk with Mr. Corea about it. I > explained there were 300 people sitting out there and it would be > probably difficult to improve the situation much. As it turned out... it > was easy to clean up the octaves and unisons significantly... for two > reasons. The audience was very cooperative, and piano was really very > much out of tune. I was given 20 minutes to do the best I could out of > the situation. When Mr Corea came on stage... he spoke up about the > life and situation of piano tuners as he had experienced it... and he > was very kind to the fellow who'd done the original tuning... too kind > really but then that was they way Mr Corea was (and probably still is). > I perhaps would have found it embarrassing had I done the original > tuning... but as it was not my <<fault>>... I just found the experience > "interesting". Never have before or since had to tune with an audience > in the hall. Tho I work regularly around lights and sound folks during > pre-concert situations. One learns how to work together with these... in > the end the audience was not all that different.> > My point is... its all part of the job.. these are the kinds of things > among many others both positive and less so that make such work > interesting and challenging. And if you are good... you'll do well most > of the time if not nearly always. If you are not so good... well you > have the opportunity presented to get better in what ever ways you need > too. And that can be everything from basic tuning skills to people > skills... i.e. dealing with a pianist in a stressing situation. I just > have to go back to my original statement... and say it leaves us all in > all with enormous amounts to be greatful for. Not the least of these > that wonderful feeling of satisfaction when you have done a fine job.... > sitting in the audience or back stage listening to a master make the > instrument you just tuned for him/her come alive with music. A bit of > you is up there on stage.... hopefully providing some of the inspiration > for the pianist to cut loose with the best music they can offer.> > Cheers> RicB> > > RicB wrote:> > I think any of us who've had this kind of> pleasure to work for these > folks has enormous amounts to be> greatful for.>> > > Not all of us! About 20 years ago there was a jazz festival with> Keith Jarrett in my hometown (Münster, Germany). Unfortunately, I> missed that concert, but my friends told me this story: after a> while Keith Jarrett interrupted the concert and claimed that the> piano was not perfectly in tune. The tuner was still there. Because> it would had taken too much time for some thousand people to leave> the hall, they made an anouncement: special request, please keep> absoluteley quiet for the tuner to touch up the tuning. And that> worked. This collegue had to tune in front of the audience. Horror!> And embarrasing too. The piano should not have been in a condition> that a player has a reason to complain. No idea if the tuning was> actually so bad. However: poor collegue!> > This year Keith Jarret played in Frankfurt, Germany and one guy in> the audience had to cough. Jarrett interrupted his playing very> angry, slammed the piano lid and said: I can wait outside if you> want to cough. In Madrid he affronted the audience because someone> took photos.> > On the other hand: at the legendary Köln Concerts (1974) he played> on a worn out piano with a poor tuning. The moving company had the> job to carry the Bösendorfer Imperial from basement to stage. But> they mixed up the piano and brought and old and short Bösendorfer to> stage, which usually was used for choir practicing only. The> organizer convinced him to play on that piano and he really did. And> said: I do that only for you (the organizer was a 18 years old> girl). After half an our the tuner had to touch up the tuning live> on stage.> > Gregor> 
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