A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano by Katie Hafner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I first learned about this book from the Barnes and Noble week in review. As a child who grew up with a piano playing mother and a baby grand piano in her home, I was intrigued. As noted in the title, the book is based on piano player Glenn Gould and his search for the perfect piano.

I enjoyed this book so much. I didn't know the history of the piano and the people who tuned and played them was so interesting.

• The Steinway piano began with a cabinet maker who built a piano in his home in Seesen Germany, built a successful piano company there, and then emigrated to the US. Eventually this cabinetmaker and his family created Steinway and Sons. They not only built quality pianos, but they marketed them in such a way that a girl was not considered accomplished unless she could play the piano.
• Blind people (primarily men and boys) were trained to tune pianos--you wanted a blind person to tune your piano as they were more attuned to the "voice" of the instrument. We follow the story of Verne Edquist from Saskatchawan, from a dirt poor family, whose mother could not support him. He had less than 10% of his vision, and local community members pooled their money so that he could be sent to a school for a blind, which eventually led to his becoming an accomplished piano tuner. He heard colors in sounds, and I loved how that came out in his story and in his experience in tuning pianos.
• Then we have Glenn Gould. When Glenn was three, his parents discovered that he had perfect pitch. He could read music before he could read words. When five, he played the piano in public for the first time. At age 14 he played for the first time with the Toronto Symphony. Due to his upbringing, and some obsessive compulsive type behaviors, he was a rather odd performer, but that did not detract from his fame or his ability.
• CD 318 is the piano that most met his needs, and that he did most of his recordings on. He really loved this piano as thought it was his friend.

This book weaves all the above points into a highly readable account. One thing that I think is amazing is how you have these 2 characters that are a bit odd, Verne Edquist and Glenn Gould, and how they come together in a partnership that lets CD 318 "sing". I also find it interesting that so many artists, musical or otherwise, have these odd tics that are a part of them. Is their oddity what gives their art such beauty? Think of the artists you known that struggle with alcohol, drugs, phobias and yet have left the world with lasting treasures.

Part of the Christian message is that brokenness leads to wholeness, and I always wonder about this part in the artist's journey. Here also, we have distinctly different lives, and yet,they hold hands for the unique time and space that allows this artist to shine. It is difficult for me to keep God out of that, although He does not seem to be given credit for the gifts He bestowed.

I have been intrigued to learn more about Glenn Gould, downloading his recordings from itunes, and checking out some videos on youtube. I encourage you to do the same.

View all my reviews