Book Review: A Romance on Three Legs

I confess. Katie Hafner's new book, A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano, hooked me with its title.



That attraction was assisted by the fact that Glenn Gould, the reclusive and brilliant Canadian pianist who died at the age of fifty, has long evoked an air of mystery. Hafner's book indulges anyone who loves genius and eccentricity. Given her subject, it was hard to miss.



Gould's light and fast playing brought a new dimension to classical music. Hafner shows, however, that Gould's ability to wrench an extraordinary sound from a rather beaten-up Steinway Grand owed no small amount to the brilliant engineering at Steinway and the perceptive ear of a blind piano tuner named Verne Edquist. This, coupled with Gould's use of what he called a "pygmy chair" that put him six inches lower than the standard piano bench, helped to produce Gould's soft touch. Gould said the angle would not have worked with more forceful pieces.



Hafner notes another advantage:



"When discussing his technique, [Gould] offered this Zenlike explanation: At all times, he maintained a mental image of every key on the piano, a tentacular awareness of where each note was and how it would feel to reach for it and strike it. Thereafter, the physical act itself was simply. It was a strategy not unlike the one coaches urge on athletes as they master a sport through a form of visualization. In Gould's case, his skill was aided by an uncanny capacity for memorization. He could read a score through once, then play it flawlessly. And once he had played a piece, years could pass and he could sit down and play it again without hitting a single wrong note."



But that was Gould and he was only part of the picture. Hafner's book is a fascinating exploration of how piano, tuner, and pianist came together. As with all good things, eventually the story changed. The magical piano became beyond repair, the pianist and the tuner parted ways, and Gould switched to a Yamaha.



Music lovers will enjoy this book but many a manager could benefit from its account of passion and excellence.