A courtier, errand boy, master sound technician, and Steinway rep all rolled into one, Stefan Knüpfer has the unenviable task of catering to the whims and ears of international piano divas. Yet as this politely smiling, endlessly patient German tries to please Lang Lang, Alfred Brendel, and other stars, this documentary insinuates that their ideal sounds may be more imaginary than heard. Knüpfer arduously tunes and tweaks dozens of grands, like so many Formula One Ferraris; each new sonic possibility he creates only increases the pianists' doubts and demands. Their acoustic hair-splitting begins to seem like delusion, as if from the case files of Oliver Sacks. When, to combat one hall's difficult acoustics, Knüpfer creates elaborate louvered panels to fit atop a Steinway (like a giant cheese grater), it's imperiously rejected. "Pianists are mostly dissatisfied," he sighs, but he daren't criticize his masters by name. Directors Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis fail to plumb their subject's frustrations or any other insightful biographical details. Knüpfer loves his dog, and his wife makes a mean cheesecake–that's all we learn. Though he can certainly play the piano and distinguish its every audible color and tone, it's unclear if he even loves music.
Can you send a more sophisticated reviewer to re-review this film, please? I've never seen a bigger gap between art and critic. The collaboration between piano tuner and pianist is all love and passion, and an equal collaboration. And the elusive sonic magic being sought (and is achieved in the end) is quite real. Perhaps you could rehire your classical music reviewer you so foolishly dismissed to review this brilliant film.
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