BOOK REVIEW: Grand Obsession, A Piano Odyssey – Reviewed by Amanda Matthews
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ALEIGHSA WRIGHT
[dropcap]“G[/dropcap]rand Obsession” is a memoir of personal discovery in the world of the physics of sound and how pianos are crafted to produce quality sounds. Perri followed every step in the creation of a piano, from watching a master carefully choose a tree in Austria, to polishing the finished product.
At the age of 43, acclaimed environmental reporter Perri Knize succumbed to the nagging voice in her head and rededicated her life to becoming a pianist. From a young age, thanks to her father’s tutelage, she was trained to listen to classical music with intense focus. A professional clarinetist, he taught her to listen for tempo, form, composer style, and technique with an exquisite appreciation. She developed an acute ability to articulate what she heard with vivid, precise descriptions, depicting tones as brittle, piercing, bright, expressive, and inexpressive. The title of her 2008 book, “Grand Obsession,” perfectly captures her experience of searching for, and ultimately finding, what, to her, is the piano with perfect sound.
Her search began in her hometown of Missoula, Montana. She played every make and model she could find, including a Steinway “D,” which she described as “unsubtle and difficult to control.” Then, a Boesendorfer she described as “a huge piano with small inexpressive tone.” Exhausting the possibilities, she ventured to Seattle and New York.
At last she found the perfect-sounding piano in New York: a Grotrian Cabinet grand. “The bass is rich, dark, and warm, with singing overtones. The middle section is smoky and mysterious, as if rising from the larynx of a great contralto. The treble is bell-like and sparkling; it hangs in the air, full of color, a shimmering northern light,” she writes. Her pleasure in playing this piano was so great, she named it Marlene, because to her, its sounds were sultry and seductive, just like Dietrich. The $32,000 price tag was way over budget, but Perri and the store owner reached an agreement; Perri refinanced her house and “Marlene” was hers. When the piano finally arrived at her home, the beautiful shimmering sounds she so lyrically described were absent, the tone uneven, and the action noisy. Devasted by this realization, Perri embarked on a search for a technician who could voice the piano and re-create the sound she fell in love with in the New York City showroom.
Perri was driven to understand why she had such a strong, physiological response to that one particular piano and its unique sound. She was relentless, obsessive in what turned into a long, arduous journey.
Reading this book took me back to college, recalling my own research into the effects of music, why music is so critical to our society, and how important it is to properly teach music to children. In Perri’s words, “Sound stimulates our central nervous system; it responds to the frequency, volume and timbre of soundwaves. Music affects the part of the brain known as the mesolimbic system, which controls emotions and can profoundly influence the heart.”
As a pianist, I know that every time I walk into a room to play a piano other than my own, I have to make adjustments in my technique, pedaling, and voicing to achieve the sound I desire, and success is not always possible. In “Grand Obsession,” Perri Knize would not rest until she had the piano she desired, with the sound she so passionately craved. She eventually found it. This book is vivid in description, generous in detail, and informative to anyone who loves piano.
[divider]
About Amanda Matthews
Born and raised in Ozark, Alabama, Amanda began playing piano at age 3. She earned her degree in piano performance from Georgia State University and completed graduate work in music education. She taught comprehensive musicianship at Northside Elementary School in Panama City for 8 years. Amanda now teaches private piano lessons to students of all ages and performs frequently with a variety of musicians around town. She is the music director at Gulf Beach Presbyterian Church and a member of the Northwest Florida Music Teachers Association, serving as its public relations director.