Grand Obsession: A Piano Odyssey

by Perri Knize

Book Overview

Now available in paperback, the critically acclaimed, "lyrical, analytical, yet deeply affecting" (The Washington Post) memoir about one woman's obsessive search for the perfect piano--and about finding and pursuing passion at any age.The daughter of a pro- fessional musician, Perri Knize was raised in a home saturated in classical music, but it wasn't until adulthood that she returned to the one instrument that mesmerized her most: the piano. When,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0743276396
• ISBN13: 9780743276399
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: Scribner Book Company
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Perseverance and Passion

What an awesome book, I read it straight through. I could smell the varnish, feel the hammers, hear the strings being struck. This book is a must for piano lovers and well as those looking for a mentor for life's challenges when seeking the desire of the heart. A particular sound and touch resonates with the soul and cannot be forfeited for anything less. The journey Perri takes is typical of all that is worthwhile in life that requires focus on your inner self and a calling to a higher power. A great source of knowledge about the pragmatic mystique of this wonderful instrument that has no equal, the piano. The book is alive.

A Superbly Engrossing and Deeply Moving Book

I am profoundly touched by Perri Knize's beautifully written and intensely personal book that simultaneously functions as a riveting detective story, heroic quest, and treatise on the blessings and curses of having an exquisite artistic sensibility. "Grand Obsession" resonates personally in a number of ways. I grew up on the family Steinway, studying classical piano through grade school, gravitating into jazz in high school, and going on to have an active recording and international touring career for the past 45 years. So I have been chronically immersed in the vicissitudes of pianos, piano manufacturers, technicians, recording studios, and the demands of touring. I'm always hoping the next venue will have an instrument with the magical combination of sound and feel I seek, but so often have to settle for far less, at times having to perform emergency surgery. The handful of encounters with perfection is unforgettable, and Perri's obsession to recapture the treasured sound of her piano is a state of mind many professional musicians know all too well. Knize vividly describes other states of mind of the performing musician, including the common experience of "stage fright." As a psychiatrist in private practice and a Clinical Professor at the University of California in San Francisco, I have had a particular interest over the years in working with artists and performers who experience creative blocks. In presentations I have attempted to articulate the journey, obstacles, and nature of the territory of deepest creativity, where boundaries dissolve and there is simply pure artistic expression. I have never seen this merger state more poetically described than in "Grand Obsession." This is a deeply engrossing and affecting book. Denny Zeitlin ( www.dennyzeitlin.com )

Quest for Beauty

A good piano has its own personality. A great piano has something approaching a soul. To play a piano that you truly connect with - it responds to you, and you respond to it - does not happen every day. When it does happen it is a very precious thing. Perri found such a piano in NY, but that wonderful connection was lost when the piano got to Montana. Was she able to get that sound - that connection - back? Grand obsession is a great read because 1) it is a great story, and the narrative is interesting, 2) it is very informative in terms of pianos, how they work, and what makes their sound come alive. Perri spent a lot of time researching everything from soundboards to different tunings. Her passion for the piano, and restoring her instrument to the sound she remembers is apparent in every page. If you like stories about a search for perfection and beauty, with a lot of witty and interesting characters, this is the book for you.

If You Like the Piano, You're Going to Love This Book!

I've been involved in the piano business for over 35 years, and I own a popular piano web site. By now I thought I'd pretty much heard and seen it all. But when I got this book I literally couldn't put it down. We can all be thankful that Perri's background as a reporter, author, and pianist came together when her "obsession" to find the perfect piano with the perfect sound drove her to write this extraordinary book based on her experiences. Her adventures reach far beyond the scope of the average piano buyer. In fact, she goes places even those of us "in the business" have never been. Luckily for all of us, she takes us along for the ride. From the Pacific Northwest to Piano Row in New York, from basement workshops to the Alps of Austria, Perri follows wherever her questions lead her. The more riddles she solves, the more new questions pop into her head, and off she goes again to chase down the answers. Along the way she meets some of the most interesting and talented characters in the piano business. From each of them she gathers a few more pieces of the puzzle she is trying desperately to solve. What is it that makes her "Marlene" (yes, she named her piano, and no, that isn't as odd as you might think) sound and play the way she does when everything is right? And more importantly, what caused Marlene to lose her voice, and how will she ever get it back? Perri will stop at nothing to find these answers, and that is part of the charm and fun of this book. For example, not content with the explanation of where her soundboard came from, or how it was made, Perri travels to Europe, hikes into the very forest where the trees used to build her piano's soundboard were cut, learns about how to select trees for tonewood, and then goes on to watch the craftsmen who actually created the soundboard and built the belly of her piano practice their art. Even if you have no interest in the piano at all, this book is a good read based on the sheer fun of following Perri on her adventures. And if you do have any interest in the piano (as I suspect you do or you wouldn't have read this far), this book is a must have! In it you will learn about the emotional effect music has on us all, and the camaraderie musicians of all stripes share. You will also learn more than you could have imagined about what goes into making and caring for a piano, and about the many people behind the scenes that contribute to the finished product. But most of all, you will learn why music in general, and the piano in particular, captures our hearts and minds and transports us to another place. Thank you, Perri Knize. - Frank Baxter Founder/Owner PianoWorld.com

Great adventure...If you liked PIano Shop on the Left Bank - you'll love this book

I wasn't sure I'd like this book - but I really enjoyed the adventure - and an adventure it is. The author is a woman whose father nurtured a love of music - but for much of her life her musical talents lie dormant. She acted on that - rediscovering something in herself - and then she takes off on the adventure. Along the way, we learn a lot about pianos, about music, people in music and the people who work people in music. We journey from Montana to New York to forests in Europe where the wood for the author's piano was grown. for me this was a very engaging story. It's well written and moves quickly. Anyone who read the Piano Shop on the Left Bank would love this book. But for that matter, anyone who likes to just see the world through the eyes of a talented woman in search of herself, will enjoy it as well.