<HTML><HEAD></HEAD> <BODY> That would be pre-Verituner? David I.     ----- Original message= ----------------------------------------> From: antares= <<A= href="mailto:antares@euronet.nl">antares@euronet.nl</A>> T= o: Pianotech <<A= href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A>> Rec= eived: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 19:25:07 +0100 Subject: Re: "should I= stay or should I go?" Hi David Skolnik, Of course it is= true that there circumstances where you can train the stage crew= of a certain theater to be quiet when you are tuning. However,= in most, or at least many cases, this is not possible and in= that case you just have to live with it. Here is a clear= example : I worked for some time for the most famous concert= hall in Holland, and my expectations were that they would help= me to do the best that I had to offer, and especially in that= place (the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam). The opposite was the= case! They did not give a damn whether I had a hard time or not.= All they said in response to my complaints was that the tuners= before me had never complained and that I 'd better be a big boy= now. Whatever I said... it did not help. At a certain moment= it was so bad that 2 people were vacuum cleaning the stage and= the seating rows at the same time while I was preparing a= gorgeous instrument for a famous pianist! It should actually= be enough to stop the job, pack your tools and get the hell= out. And you know what? After a long time of this= humiliating treatment... I packed my tools, and I got the= hell out, and I never returned, even though this was the= most prestigious client I had ever had. There are however= other cases where you try to keep the job, even if it is almost= impossible. That's where you have to grin and= ignore. André On 12-nov-04, at 15:45, David= Skolnik wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>Hi Kent - I don't think we disagree. I credit= my own early theatre-tuning experience with the my ability to= through-tune, but I'm going for a little nuance here. Let me say= this. As to how many of those same people would ever again be= confronted with a piano tuner at work, why should you assume it= to be so unlikely? These were stage hands and such. The next= time, they might very likely remember...maybe it would take a= few times. That's a learning curve. As to the existential= characteristics, I am trying to distinguish between those= conditions which are mutable from those that are im-, (pi). I= see no virtue in suffering in silence if, by speaking up, the= situation can be altered, and I don't accept the idea that= asking / demanding silence ought to be experienced as= humiliating. As for your recent experience,= congratulations. It would be interesting to hear the= circumstances surrounding such a nightmare, but I think your= story illuminates my point on multiple levels. For example, what= if some aspect of the tuning had, in fact, proved inadequate?= Maybe starting out good, but slipping. How would you have felt= if some critical attention had been brought to the piano,= despite your heroic effort. It certainly wouldn't be fair, but= you might also attribute that to the tuners' existential= dilemma. Why, in such a panic situation, was it impossible for= the venue managers to control the conditions for you? Why SHOULD= such heroics be allowed to become the standard, as illustrated= by the quote from Carol Beigel's post, "Yeah, the real= professionals can deal with anything". Overall, a much= wordier version of what David Love just posted. David= Skolnik At 06:50 AM 11/12/2004 -0600, you wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>On Nov 12, 2004, at 12:02 AM, David Skolnik= wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>The point is, SOMEONE has to teach these people. If I= (or you) don't tell them, why SHOULD they know= better? </BLOCKQUOTE> You are right. My position is= indefensible. But it is my position, nevertheless. I wonder how= many of those people that you successfully shooed away will ever= be faced with the same situation again. Next time it is likely= to be different people making noise and needing to be educated.= This is the piano tuner's existential dilemma, as far as I can= see. We can suffer (the noise) in silence, or we can suffer the= humiliation of having to ask for quiet. Suffering in silence= involves no break in tuning, and doggedly continues the progress= toward a finished tuning. Last weekend I tuned for Olga= Kern, the Cliburn gold medalist. I had prepared one piano in= ideal conditions, but there was a last minute change of pianos.= I had half an hour to bring the other piano up to pitch and tune= it at the last minute while chaos reigned in the hall.= Impossible. But as far as they know, I did it, and the reviews= of the concert were raves. Maybe I was able to do that because= of the experience I have tuning in adverse conditions.= ? Kent _______________________________________= ________ pianotech list info:= https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives </BLOCKQUOTE><B= R> _______________________________________________ pianotec= h list info:= https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives </BLOCK= QUOTE>friendly greetings from André Oorebeek "where= Music is, no harm can be" </BODY></HTML>