Being called on stage, revisited

[piannaman at aol.com]

 Great tale, Tom!? Glad you survived a very difficult weekend with you dignity intact and a sense of pride.? Thanks for taking the time to chronicle it.



 


Dave Stahl,

 


 

-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Servinsky <tompiano at bellsouth.net>
To: ilvey at sbcglobal.net; Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Sun, 6 Jan 2008 6:35 pm
Subject: Being called on stage, revisited
















List,


I had a first in my 28 yr career. 
I've tuned?countless? times to? packed audiences due to 
scheduling and last minute issues.?Do this type of work long enough 
and?you quickly learn that this?comes with the 
territory.?But?never have I had a situation when?1/2 hr prior to 
showtime,?with the house?completely?sold?out,?with the 
full orchestra? in place on stage, the conductor?and artist in the 
wings pacing back and forth....and?no piano.??If I ever write a 
book,?this story needs to have it's own chapter titled ?" a?24 
hrs I'll never forget".


?My career has me wearing 
several hats. Not only do?I manage my piano technician career, but I also 
play?professionally as a?symphony musician with several orchestras, as 
well as being one the techs for the Steinway C& A?rental fleet?for 
S. Florida. This past week I was doing double duty?as I was playing in the 
orchestra and being the concert?tech for?Christopher 
O'Reilly?performances of?Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto.? No big 
deal as this situation?happens quite regularly?in my 
world.


The artist had picked out a 
particular piano through the Steinway dealership, which? was then to be 
used for several concerts in several cities. The Steinway dealership was 
responsible for handling the logistics?of getting the?piano?from 
one venue to another. Let me also point out that this dealership?is 
about? as good as they get...very professionally?run from top to 
bottom. However as?luck would have it, a snag in the workings occurred and 
I?ended having?the 24 hour from hell.?


My "Tale of Woes" started?on 
Thursday, Jan 3 as we had a dress rehearsal and concert at 4PM and 8PM.? 
The piano was scheduled to arrive at the hall at noontime, which would had 
provided?plenty of time?for the piano to acclimate and for me 
to?do the necessary?work.?Noontime...no piano. 12:30...no piano. 
Finally I called the dealer asking 
where the piano was. They said it should have been there by now.I waited and 
waited.. Several phone calls later?I?come to find out?that the 
truck broke down and the guys needed to get a wheel replaced. They were 80 miles 
away and that was 1:30. Ok...I'm figuring that?they get moving, they might 
get here by 3PM, which would still a enough time to get a quick tuning 
in..?As a backup plan I?made the decision to get the house piano tuned 
and prepped just in case the piano?didn't make it 
time.?My?intuition turned out to be correct and the piano never 
arrived?on time for the dress rehearsal.? The artist?was 
livid.?It wasn't until the end of the dress rehearsal that the 
piano?arrived.? The dress rehearsal finished at 6:30 and I had 
a?30 mins. to get?his piano ready prior to a pre-concert lecture which 
would begin at 7PM.?


The?piano got tuned and the 
concert?went smoothly and the piano held fine throughout. That was 
Thursday.


Friday, Jan 4th: I thinking that I'm 
not going take any chances. I'll keep in close contact with the mover not take 
any chances. The piano was scheduled to be delivered to another city and be in 
place by noontime. This time I called the mover directly at 9AM...no answer. 
10AM no answer and finally get him? at 11:30 to get a feel?where he 
was in his schedule.? He said, " no problem, I'll have the piano there by 
4:30PM".? I said, "dude, the concert starts at 4PM and this piano better be 
here ASAP.?Out of nowhere comes this attitude of "take?it or leave 
it". The best that I can do? is 4:30."? If we didn't like?his 
offer, get another mover. I couldn't believe what I was hearing, nor could the 
Steinway dealer when I relayed his remarks.?This piano mover does all 
of?the?C& A moving for the Steinway dealership and we have never 
had an issue with them prior to this situation.?The dealership had to 
scramble to find another mover who could travel 110 miles with very heavy 
traffic, pick the piano up, turn around head back south 53 miles to the next 
venue for the 4pm performance. Keep in mind?a pre-concert 
lecture?began at 3PM so I debated whether?I should get the house piano 
ready just in case the worse possible scenario actually came true, again. 
However,the artist was insistent that?he?would only use this 
particular C & A? piano, no matter what. So we waited and waited and 
waited. Imagine the feeling 
of?standing back stage with the artist and conductor?and no piano. It 
was the worse feeling of misery one could ever?imagine. Finally the 
piano?arrived at 3:35 and?the audience went wild. The piano was 
rolled?into position and?by 3:40 I had my tuning hammer?going to 
work. I?finished right at 4PM with 35 musicians, 600 in the?audience, 
and Christopher O'Reilly and the conductor?(?pacing back and 
forth)?as my witness.


The concert went on right on time 
and the piano held beautifully.


Here's the good news: My colleagues 
in the orchestra took a new?interest in the world?of a concert piano 
technician.?They have watched?me get pianos ready for 
other?performances, but they never watched with?so much interest as 
they did on this particular occasion.??


? What I found of interest was 
that many of the musicians really never full appreciated?the vital role a 
concert technician plays?on any given performance. Yes they understood the 
pianos are tuned prior to the performance but they never got a close-up and 
personal?experience of a?near impossible?situation and have 
someone be able to work at a blazing speed. I think they also felt a new sense 
of empathy for the pianist who are completely dependent upon others to get their 
instruments to the gig, and others to tune, regulate and voice the instrument up 
to performance standards.


Many of the musicians approached me 
after the concert asking me?about our profession with a new 
profound?sense of curiosity and respect. And for the first time, many even 
ask me?for my card. Even 
Christopher O'Reilly walked up to me at the very end and said that was one of 
the most remarkable achievements he had ever witnessed in all of his 
professional career. He said that had he not witnessed this first hand he never 
would have believed that this could have been pulled off. He commented that he 
had never seen a tech be so calm and collected in the midst of such a chaotic 
scenario. Had I reacted differently?he would have flipped out. But the show 
went on?4 standing ovations later I just sat there in utter disbelief of 
the wild ride I had just experienced. It's one thing to have to deal with 
adversities in this type of work, and it's another to have perform at a very 
high professional level. But put the 2 together...that's another 
story.


?Now for my apologies if this 
long winded threads sounds like a bit of gloating on my part. But heck 
I?earned some well?deserved chest beating and?bragging rights 
through this experience.


God I love this 
business!!!


Tom Servinsky


?


?


?

 


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