PIANOMANIA – AUF DER SUCHE NACH DEM PERFEKTEN KLANG

A deeper pitch, a warmer tone… Stefan Knüpfer job is to work with the nuances of sound. He is Steinway and Son’s Master Tuner at the Vienna Konzerthaus and helps star pianists such as Lang Lang and Pierre-Laurent Aimand to perfect the tuning of their pianos prior to performances. His tools include adjustable spanners, scissors, pieces of felt and, perhaps more surprisingly, a tennis ball. He uses his inspired expertise and a great deal of patience to elicit the ideal sound from each piano. With the amiable Knüpfer we go behind the scenes into the secret world of concert preparation. There we get a taste of the master technician’s unbounded devotion to a complex instrument.