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.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC