West Coast Live
Saturday, July 5
Having never heard West Coast Live, I wasn’t sure what to expect when I was invited onto this San Francisco-based, two-hour weekly NPR program. It turned out to be was of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in months.
The guest host was Mike Greensill, a pianist (aka “the man who knows the white keys from the black keys”) who wanted me on this wacky and wonderful show because he loves the book (lucky me). The regular host, Sedge Thomson, was on vacation and apparently listening in from Paris.
When I arrived at the second floor of the Ferry Building, I walked into a scene of delirious chaos. The first hour was to proceed as (relatively) normal, but the second hour was to be devoted mostly to the wedding of Asa de Matteo and Tom Brady, who have been together for more than 30 years and were making it official. The wedding was to be officiated by the Rev. Sam Barry.
In the green room with me were: Miriam Goodman, who has a new book about retirement; Amy Tan (with her two peanut-sized Yorkshire Terriers stowed in her handbag), there to talk about her new opera based on her novel The Bonesetter’s Daughter; and Larkin Gayle, a singer/guitarist/songwriter who just wrote “I Do,” a same-sex marriage song.
The wedding ceremony was incredibly touching. The S.F. Gay Men’s Chorus sang, and Larkin performed her song, and we all raised a glass of champagne to the happy couple. It reminded me of all the reasons I love living in the S.F. Bay Area.
I was the first guest up, and the interview went really well. Mike put me at ease, and vice versa– the best way for an interview to flow. And the audience seemed amused, especially when Mike read aloud one of his favorite parts of the book — a sentence about urine content in the wool used for hammer felts. Go figure.
Afterwards, the authors were invited to sign books, which were being sold by Booksmith on Haight St. (Speaking of which, I’ll be there this Wednesday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. for a booksigning.)
Hello, Katie. My name is Eduard Potecho. I am 1984 graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory (Russia). From 1996 I reside and work in Vancouver (Canada). So far I’ve got 22 years of professional music studies, 32 years of piano teaching experience, and 42 years of music making life (relationship that starts with torture and finishes with pleasure). Actually, degrees and numbers are meaningless in the art of music. I am using them because it is my first (OK, honestly - second) attempt to write someone I do not know, and I have no idea what the protocol is. I know some of the people you are talking about in your book, at some point (purely for amusement) I even studied with Franz Mohr. I would like to discuss your latest “Romance…” (which is wonderful, by the way) and some other musical matters with you. It will all make sense though, if only you still have appetite for music, still have unanswered questions regarding music itself (its creation, interpretation, performance), and yes - yourself in connection to that special world. Please, let me know if you are interested. I will also appreciate negative respond, so I won’t bother you again (I realize how busy you are, and the fact that this book is a sort of a detour on your “technological highway”). I wish you well. Respectfully, Eduard. PS. I do respect privacy of others as much as my own, so I apologize for intrusion (and for my poor English). I would also like to ask you to keep my e-mail address confidential, and I thank you for reading my letter.
I read your book Romance on Three Legs and found it profoundly informative. I had never thought how much technical work is involved in bringing a piano to the perfect sound. I learned so many things from your book. This helped me understand Glenn Gould’s obsession to get perfection out of his CD318. This book is absolutely fabulous.
I was led to wonder, whether the piano was dropped before it left Cleveland, rather than on its arrival in Toronto…
This book led me to find others you have written. Since my mother was from Berlin and was locked behind the wall, the story about the small village by the wall will be interesting to me. I am always amazed how widespread my reading interest has become through my interest in Glenn Gould.
I have one question about your book….You state that the Chickering was moved from the cottage to Toronto in 1962…..could the date be off by a couple of years? I am sure when I visited the cottage in 1964, it was the Chickering that was there.
I could have my date wrong….but supporting events say no.
Hope to hear from you on this
thanks
erika
Hi Erika,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the book. What is is that made you wonder whether the piano was dropped in Cleveland?
And re the Chickering and the cottage, it’s quite possible that I got the date wrong. I was relying on people’s memories, especially Verne’s memory of when he first encountered the Chickering (and refused to tune it!). And it’s quite possible that he was misremembering by a couple of years.
I look forward, too, to your reaction to The House at the Bridge.
All the best,
Katie