My Life with the Great Pianists

by Franz Mohr, Edith Schaeffer

Mohr's humor and personal perspective on the lives of Rubinstein, Horowitz, and other artists mix music lore with quiet faith.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Piano tuner to the stars - Vladimir Horowitz, Artur Rubinstein, Glenn Gould. He worked at Steinway for 24 years as its chief concert technician.

Reviews

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Franz Mohr was chief concert technician for Steinway and Sons. It was his job to make sure the virtuoso pianists' pianos were in perfect condition before every concert. He worked most closely with Vladimir Horowitz, traveling with him and with Horowitz's personal Steinway all over the world. He also worked with Arthur Rubinstein, Emil Gilels, Glenn Gould, and Van Cliburn. Most of the memoir is anecdotes strung together, many of them quite interesting and revealing of the musicians' personalities. Underpinning the narrative is Mohr's strong Christian faith; he often evangelizes to the pianists, with varying success and failure. ("For me, Jesus was the greatest Jew who ever lived. But...the Son of God? Forget it!" Rubinstein says. And Wanda Horowitz cuts Mohr off in the middle of a little proselytizing.) He seems to have the most luck with Gilels, who returns to Russia with a stash of forbidden bibles procured by Mohr. (Van Cliburn was already a devout Christian.)

Mohr is also an evangelist for Steinway. Each Steinway piano is worked on by 400 different artisans and takes nine months to a year to complete (I don't know if this has changed since 1992). At Yamaha, they were turning out 800 (mass-produced) pianos a day. The soundboard is what most distinguishes pianos; at Steinway they are made from either Alaskan sitka, or an Eastern-seaboard or European spruce, woods which have "unusual stability and vibrancy under stress." The book contains chapters on piano tuning, perfect pitch, and regulating and voicing a piano. Each piano, even each Steinway is very different; some have a smaller, more subdued tone, others have a larger tone and can be played with orchestras. Some pianos are for playing the big, concert hall repertoire like Liszt, Rachmaninoff, or Tchaikovsky, others are better suited for solo play in smaller chambers. When you take a piano with a smaller tone and try to alter its voice to fit a concert hall and a bolder repertoire, the tone becomes too brilliant, glassy and harsh, and if pushed too far the results can be disastrous. "This is done in many countries, but especially Japan," writes Mohr.

Mohr is full of fondness and respect for Horowitz, but also shows us his childish, diva side. (It's not clear he had another side.) In front of a black tie crowd, Horowitz puts his finger in Mohr's face and shouts, "I don't want to see you! You remind me of work! I hate work!" He nearly throws a glass at Mohr. He throws tantrums in the studio; once the staff rolled out a bed for him to let him nap off his anger. He only ate fish or chicken, and on a concert tour in Russia the Dover sole he demanded had to be flown in every day. Once he invited himself and his wife Wanda to Mohr's house for dinner. The Mohrs and their children were excited, and planned a fancy meal. But a few days in advance Horowitz's assistant called with the required menu, including Dover sole. Also, Horowitz didn't want to come in a limousine; he wanted Mohr to drive from Long Island to Manhattan to pick them up. When dinner finished, at 1 a.m., Mohr had to drive them back. In the car Horowitz kept exclaiming how wonderful the Mohr family was, so happy, and how the Horowitzes had nothing so wonderful. In the back seat, Wanda silently wept; Horowitz said, "Oh....Wanda is thinking about Sonia," their dead child, who had died at age 36.

Mohr also could not utter the name of Arthur Rubinstein in Horowitz's presence (the people at Steinway had pre-warned him about this). He could talk about other pianists, but he always had to say that Horowitz was the greatest. Mohr discusses some differences between the two: Horowitz needed to play an easy-action piano, while Rubinstein wanted a piano with more resistance; Horowitz had better technique, and his style of play was more electrifying, while Rubinstein "communicated music in a marvelous way." I think this is Mohr's way of saying Rubinstein had better tone (he's known for a very cantabile, or singing, style). Rubinstein was a people-person, always greeting and chatting with strangers who recognized him. Horowitz was shy and afraid of strangers. Rubinstein was very appreciative of Mohr's work and always said thank you, while Horowitz was apt to become surly or explosive.

The anecdotes about the pianists are the best part of the memoir. Mohr also recounts his early life in Germany, which was ridden with tragedy. During World War II, the bombing of his town killed one of his brothers, and another brother who was serving in the army became a POW who was most likely shot after sustaining an injury. The Catholic Mohr lost any faith he had in God after this, but an English missionary helped bring him to Christ, eventually. This part of the memoir (the recounting of his life before coming to the U.S.) is colorless and rote. My sense is that Mohr dictated his portion of the memoir to Edith Schaeffer, who then added an introduction and three chapters of her own; these are terrible, in style and content. While Mohr's voice is kind and ingenuous, Schaeffer's is mawkish, intrusive and unnecessary. At the end of Mohr's discussion of perfect pitch, for example, she chimes in with her ideas about morals and ethics, which, like perfect pitch, also need "a reference point."

[Julie Kuvakos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much enjoyed this piano technicians perspective in working with some of the great pianists.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, for anyone with any interest in the piano this is a must read. Mohr is a gentle and frienly narrator, his history is just so interesting and he writes with such honesty and a real desire to share his passion with the reader. He does not assume that his reader is a great pianist, or has great knowledge of music. Throughout the book, despite his humility, you can clearly see that he is a genius, a master at his work. An invaluable account in the world of music.

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came back to this old favorite yet again to reread the section about Emil Gilels, my favorite pianist. Love this nugget of a book.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book after meeting Franz Mohr at a summer music festival. The events of his life are truly incredible. Permeating each account is the practical Christianity by which he lives. He's not what one would necessarily call a brave, bold man. But the events that make up his life show a kind of quiet strength. He is bold in Christlikeness. He is bold to share the gospel. He is confident in his skill and excellent in his craft as a piano technician. One catches rare glimpses into the lives of great musicians through the experience of one who met them regularly in their times of need. The writing itself is much like his speaking, one memory leading to another. In that respect, there's room for improvement. I like to trace the hand of God linearly through a life because that's the way it generally unfolds for a person. Retrospect reveals some of the intricacies. One ends up stringing together and mentally rearranging vignettes to understand who this man has become. He is no longer the injured, embittered young man who survived World War II with horrible loss, but a gracious, energetic man who joyfully embraces the life he has been given to live because of the God who made Him.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Franz Mohr has had an amazing life, and it was neat to read about his personal interactions with so many famous artists. The book included several chapters on Mohr's experiences with Glen Gould, Vladimir Horowitz, Van Cliburn, and other artists, and I liked hearing about what these artists were like, besides the simple fact that they rock at piano.
I also greatly appreciated reading Mohr's testimony, and how he wove his Christian walk into all parts of his life. It seems like he was a strong person who cared about the well-being (spiritual as well as mental and physical) of everyone he met.

I'm not sure if non-pianists would enjoy this book as much, simply because so much of it deals with interactions with the piano, and with people who, if you don't know classical music, you probably wouldn't be familiar with. That being said, there are a couple of chapters toward the end where Franz gives his testimony that I think almost anyone would appreciate. He is very honest about his experiences, and it is touching to read about what was going through his mind during those especially difficult parts of life.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, readable and unusual book I'd not heard of until a few weeks ago. I'm not sure how interesting it would be for someone without any knowledge of pianos, either in terms of playing or their construction, but for myself it was a very enjoyable read - part autobiography by Franz Mohr as chief technician for Steinway & Sons pianos, and part technical information. Franz Mohr gives the story of his conversion to Christ, following the horrendous and detailed experiences of growing up in Nazi Germany during WW2. He shares the pain and bitterness but gives glory to God as a consequence.
He became a personal friend of some of the greatest pianists like Horowitz, Rubenstein, Gould, Van Clibburn, Gilels, and others, detailing lessons learned from their lives.
There are contributions in the book from Edith Schaeffer, wife of Francis Schaeffer, the Christian apologist.
For those who love 'all-things -piano', I heartily recommend this lovely book. Very helpful, and a very enjoyable read.

[Everita · Rating 4 out of 5]

būt par klavierskaņotāju ir laikam tomēr riktīgi forši

[Natalie Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a natural appeal for pianists, but I think it would be equally inspirational for anyone who is devoted to maximizing their impact in their given field for the glory of Jesus Christ. Some of the finer details about pianos and tuning may be lost on the non-musical reader, but the real message from this concert technician is how one person, by being skillful in their field, can gain an audience with many to make an eternal investment in their lives. I was reminded often of Proverbs 22:29, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” I loved the little anecdotes from Mr. Mohr’s interaction with pianists Horowitz, Rubinstein, Cliburn, Gould, and others, and I came away from the book with an even greater appreciation for the beauty of this instrument – the piano – that occupies so much of my life!

[Mad Russian the Traveller · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content of this book deserves at least 4.5 stars, but the poor organization and slightly above average writing made this a chore to get through (at least until part 3). I think this book would have been better if it was arranged as a regular biography of Franz Mohr (that is in chronological order), and then polished a little more. For these reasons it gets a three star rating.

[Moming]

nice book into great pianists' personal life. unfortunately too much religion involved. The author is a very religious man and the book covers too much about how he tries to convert those pianists.

[Steve Labarge · Rating 4 out of 5]

An endearing story full of wonderful anecdotes. The writing was a bit disjointed, but the warmth and devotion Mr. Mohr displays more than makes up for that.

[Petrichor · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were a few sections authored solely by Edith Schaeffer that were rather trite and preachy and didn't really add much to the book, but overall, this was an excellent book.