This isnt a novel with a neatandtidy ending, and it might not be the ending. Ingo hoffman is now around seventy years old, and in his field he is the best. The piano tuner is the the story of edgar drake, a london piano i have read it at least 3 times, and each time i am completely drawn in to the world of edgar drake, and 19th century colonial burma. Jul 08, 20 jane campion wanted a bleaker ending for the piano. The legendary humoristcumpianist victor borge used to insist that ingo tune his piano during the intermissions of his performances.
The piano tuner was the basis for a 2004 opera of the same name and is also due to be released as a film in 2018, directed by charlie stratton. The piano tuner by peter meinke a short story from the atlantic monthly, february 1984 in this penetrating short story, a man invites a piano tuner into his house, then offers him some hospitable booze and cigarettes as he works. Edgar drake is a piano tuner hired by the british army to travel to burma to fix surgeonmajor carrolls erard. In 1886 a shy, middleaged piano tuner named edgar drake receives an unusual commission from the british war office. As we say in our introduction, its hard to find good explanations for the beginner. The piano tuner exhibits strong and consistent writing throughout. In what way is this striking imagea grand piano floating downriver on an unmanned raft and being played by the rainsuggestive of the novels larger themes. I make an effort to be punctual and courteous because i know your time is valuable. The piano tuner is a book that is rich in details about burma, piano tuning, and british colonialism, as well as other devices to entice a reader. New werner herzog film, the piano tuner time out film. The war office hires the services of a piano tuner for 3 months, for a years pay. I am a fully qualified technician and am extremely passionate about my work. The piano tuner is a historical novel by daniel mason, set in british india and burma. The meaning of the term in tune, in the context of piano tuning, is not simply a particular fixed set of pitches.
This study guide consists of approximately 73 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of the piano tuner. In the piano tuner, peter meinke writes of the foreignness that awaits us when we go abroad and when we answer our own front door to admit a stranger, that confronts us in unfamiliar cities and villages and in the equally disquieting surroundings of our memories and regrets. For piano tuning and repair bookings, quotes, or other inquiries, please fill out this online contact form or call or text us directly. He accepts for the love of music and country, though it means leaving his loving wife alone for so long. A few strongly coloured, curious images hang in the mind from this intriguing and alluring first novel. The piano tuner was the basis for a 2004 opera of the same name composed by nigel osborne to a libretto by amanda holden and is also due to be released as a film in 2018, directed by charlie stratton. Havent had him back in a while due to the fact that no one plays my piano. Piano tuning is the act of adjusting the tension of the strings of an acoustic piano so that the musical intervals between strings are in tune. Drake falls in love with a burmese woman and her country, but as the officer wins over locals through music and medicine, things grow treacherous when his troops begin to suspect him of treason.
It was first published in 2002 when mason was 26 and was his first novel. Edgar drake, a piano tuner living in victorian london, is commissioned by the army to travel to burma to fix the piano of surgeonmajor carroll. Why does edgar cut the piano loose from its moorings and send it down the salween river in a rainstorm. Most of the readers expect a happy ending but not the harsh reality of life and the possibility of the real life situation. The piano lessons big finish happens when berniece banishes the ghost of sutter. The piano gets a toss into the river and is played by the rains and the waters. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on the piano tuner by daniel mason.
The piano tuner opens in october 1886 and centers around shy. What accounts for the piano tuners elusive, hardtopindown quality. The book has a setting of the year eighteen hundred, when colonialism was still widespread, and all powerful countries were struggling to expand their colonial territories everywhere in the world, and especially in the african countries. Some of my clients include the gaiety theatre, the u. Letters, military documents, official reports, stories told on a ship or a train or the back of a horse or in a bamboo. Often in these stories, what seems a safe, comfortable environment turns suddenly threatening. Avery, a preacher, tries to exorcise the ghost by calling on the christian god, but ultimately fails. The centerpiece of daniel masons lovely and graceful debut novel, the piano. Then he turned to be a piano tuner, a blind piano tuner.
This kept me my attention while the credits rolled. If i were forced to choose a favorite book, this would be one of the contenders. This years winner of the flannery oconnor award for short fiction is very consistent in the high quality of its contents. He provides insight at arms length, asking not necessarily that the reader care about the characters yet almost forcing him to understand them. Nov 25, 20 it describes a piano tuner, contains his failure, his change, and his death. I thought that the author, who has written five novels before this one, would have been experienced enough to have realized the benefits of a simple structure. The piano tuner, by olivier trainer is the tale of a failed pianist whom pretends to be blind to obtain the empathy of his customers. It has been my pleasure to serve the music community, including donation services to the high desert cultural center. A novel and millions of other books are available for instant access. At the center of daniel masons remarkable debut novel is a strange. For piano tuning and repair bookings, quotes, or other inquiries, please fill out this online contact form or call or text us directly at 6472067563 to speak directly with a piano technician. Owen francis dromgould, the elderly blind piano tuner, was caught between two wivesone living and one dead. In outline, the story of edgar drake, a london piano tuner who is commissioned by the military to travel to repair a famous instrument in the heart. How does masons prose style contribute to the sense of ambiguity that pervades the novel.
Written in a prose capable of both historical precision and mystical lushness, the piano tuner explores british colonialism at a moment of crisis and the ill fortune of a man who confuses the cause of music with the cause of empire. The following is an alternative ending for the novel. The story of the piano tuner is sensitive and moving but i havent finished it yet so i cant comment on the ending. In 1886 a shy, middleaged piano tuner named edgar drake receive. Jane campion wanted a bleaker ending for the piano. I am a dublinbased piano tuner with over 12 years experience.
Nov 21, 2012 how you twist your ending to lead into a very specific idea you want to transmit when the credits start rolling is crucial for a successful short film. In 1886 a shy piano tuner is commissioned by the british war office to travel to the jungles of burma to deliver a rare piano to an eccentric army surgeon who has arranged peace with local warlords through music and medicine. Until, at one of his clients visits, he stumbles into the pool of blood. Our tuning tutorial presents an effective but very simplified approach to piano tuning. The piano tuner is a novel of journeys and the shifting grounds of perception, but at heart it is a story of the human urge to be absorbed fully into life, to cease to be a bystander, to be thrust into the essential dreamscape of human strivings. Jan 18, 2003 the piano tuner by daniel mason 368pp, picador. The immense popularity of the piano and the assiduous efforts of factories and salesmen have led to the result that nearly every welltodo household is furnished with an instrument. Although the book is set during the british raj in the late 1880s, much of the area and the people have hardly changed at all over the years. A novel by daniel mason when edgar drake is summoned to the british war office and asked to tune an eccentric majors 1840 erard grand piano in the jungles of burma, he is both confused and intrigued. Whats the story edgar drake is sent to wartorn burma in the 1800s to repair an eccentric military mans piano.
A few years back he came to my home to tune my baby grand. Meinkes poetic skill is evident in his ability to jar a reader with a single line. For some years past a lack of competent men in the profession of piano tuning has been generally acknowledged. Jan 02, 2004 although the book is set during the british raj in the late 1880s, much of the area and the people have hardly changed at all over the years. S ambassador, paul williams, duke special, the royal carribbean cruise company, sun studios, andy gill and john illsley of dire straits. Successful short films the piano tuner short of stories. What remains mysterious after the book is finished. It takes berniece and her trusty piano to save the day. To optimize your experience with your screen reading software, please use our website, which has the same tickets as our fandango. At the end of the novel, captain nashburnham tells edgar that anthony carroll is a traitor to england and suggests a number of possible roles for the doctor. The piano tuner is a classic novel, professionally written by daniel mason, when he was still a student at harvard university. I wont pretend it is a mastery of the craft, it aint, but this french short film is pretty well thought.
Everything you need to know about the piano tuner movie. The sad ending for edgar should have been otherwise. The first half of the book details his trip, and while. Recommended books on piano tuning piano tuning tune a. Jane campion wanted a bleaker ending for the piano the. Edgar drake, a fortyoneyearold english piano tuner, accepts a commission from the 1886 british war office to tune an erard grand piano located in a colonial military outpost in mae lwin commanded by surgeonmajor anthony carroll.
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