I took a few video clips of the events.

This clip is our shining star, pique, at the Barnes and Noble reading. This is from Chapter One and she is telling the audience about her epiphany.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2aOwc-Pios

The next clip is Phlebas dazzling everyone with a gorgeous Chopin etude on a Fazioli concert grand:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1czcufveYQ

And last, but certainly not least, is RealPlayer performing a powerful Ives piece on the same Faziloi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtjZmCSPJp8


I hope this will give you all a taste of what you missed -- it was an event well worth attending! By the way, pique is one of the most charming ladies I've ever met. Her joy and ebullience radiated from every pore and I was thrilled for her successful weekend. I began reading my inscribed copy on the train trip home today, and am enjoying it immensely! Pique, you are an elegant writer - a word maestro!

Yet another, "gee, I wish I could've been there" post.

I see the book now has 10 - 5 Star Reviews on Amazon.com

It's great to read so many positive comments.

The event was awesome. Thanks so much Perri and all for all the reading and dialog. AND let's not forget the performances! I've never been around so many talented people in one room (at least not that I was acutely aware of ).

I have a couple pics I will try to post soon.

Bravo!

p.s. I tried to submit a review on Amazon, but it never showed up. Will have to try again...

Pique, I'm trying to PM you, but your box is (understandably) full...

hi, everyone, finally getting a moment to settle down a bit.

it was an awesome weekend. thanks to all of you who came. attendance certainly exceeded our expectations and it was so wonderful to see every one of you.

i will reply to specific posts in due time. i need to get some sleep. just put mr. pique on a plane, and i head directly to anaheim from jfk on weds. look for me at the grotrian booth or come to steve miller's party on saturday!

anne, you can write to me any time through my website's contact form.

'night!

pk

Anaheim, CA... My home town! (well sorta, Santa Ana/Irvine)

Have fun down there!

here's some pictures from my camera, most of them taken by mr. pique:

l-r: phlebas, plays88keys, cathys at bricco, the italian restaurant we all went to after the pianothon:



frank, i was so sorry to miss you at dinner. i hope we have a chance to spend more time together in anaheim.

across the table from the above are, l-r: realplayer, bernard, matt (salesperson at faust harrison) and matt's friend:



at the other table we have, l-r, brian, a friend of my brother's, my close friend kim (who appears in the book), mr. pique at the head of the table, joe (brian's partner), my brother (with the goatee), and my brother's partner john.



here's the scene at faust harrison--we filled two rooms, standing room only for this event:



packed house at klavierhaus, where phlebas and realplayer performed chopin and ives on a vintage pleyel and a new fazioli, a la "grand obsession" chapter "the piano crawl."

here's the scene at beethoven pianos, also standing room only, where marc wienert demonstrated his technical prowess on two grotrian grands:



we had lots of local ptg members at that event!

here's me and marc sitting before the boesendorfer provided by carl demler, owner of beethoven pianos, at the barnes & noble reading. marc prepared this piano, too. it was lovely! thank you marc and carl!



do my pre-performance jitters show? this is just before the b&n event:



thanks so much to all of you who came. to spend three days in the company of my fellow pianophiles was heaven on earth for me. especial thanks to those of you who traveled so far and made this event even more special by your presence.

it may be very hard for me to get online after tomorrow, when i fly to anaheim, so if i don't reply to you or show up for a while, that's why.

here's a heads up for this coming sunday, january 20th: both the new york times book review and the washington post book world are reviewing "grand obsession" ! we should be able to read it online during the party at steve miller's.

of course i am a bit on tenterhooks about what kind of a review i will get, but considering that these publications only review very few books out of the 200,000 that are published every year, just to appear in their pages is an honor, no matter how the review turns out.

so, look for it.

and also thanks to the many of you who have provided those five-star reviews to amazon!!! you are really giving the book a boost and i appreciate it so much.

Hi Pique'

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.
I'm sorry I couldn't join everyone at the dinner, would have loved to sit and chat.

I had two teeth pulled on Thursday, and it didn't go well. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say I'd reached capacity Sat. night, and knowing I still had a 3 hour drive, decided I'd better just hit the road.

Looking forward to seeing you at NAMM, and at the piano party/book signing. We'll defintely catch up in CA.

I hope a lot of members (and non-members/future members) will be joining us at Steve's party.

NYT and the Washington Post? Yikes!

I love this topic - Pique - and Grand Obsession!

I keep picking up my autographed book to read again and again - I just can't get enough. It is so alive, I'm present in the midst of it, it speaks deeply to me, and I've treasured the first chapter as I started. I had to put the book down at the end of chapter 1 and absorb all that I witnessed. There were many other places where I stopped and dwelled too.

I don't read books like this - I zip through - get the highpoints and pick up another. This book is still with me, since before Christmas, and I wonder if it will always now reside on the table next to my reading chair.

This book, and this topic here is something that is breathing new experiences into my life. The people, the many people who contributed to the story, the problem, the dedication. All that travel. It's a story of dedication and destiny.

I emailed this thread to myself so I can enjoy the contents here, and when it is time for my granddaughter to inherit my music library, she will have this book as the "jewel" on the top with a private note to her, and the writings and pictures in the forum.

Excellent and meaningful! Thank you, Pique!

And, thank you, over and over again, to the PWF friend who gifted me with "Grand Obsession". This story is most significant to me!

Betty

Pique', thank you, thank you, thank you for the wonderful book!! I am about half-way through and can hardly put it down to attend to the tasks of day-to-day living! Music is such an integral part of life, in fact, the life force for many of us. To know I am not alone in my piano obsession is like a giant caress to my soul. The book contains so many insights, so much knowledge, and puts into words what so many of us must feel. Thank you so much for the work and effort put into sharing your experiences with the rest of us, especially those of us out here in the "boonies". I trust that the book will be wildly successful!

What a wonderful day!

I really had a fantastic time at this get together. I learned a lot from Perri and Marc's stories and lectures. And I tried out many of the pianos there! No "one" piano spoke to my heart, though I liked the tone from the Bluthner I played at Faust Harrison.

I am three quarters the way through the copy I purchased and Pique autographed for me. I learned valuable lessons from this book. I am confident they will serve as a guide as I shop for pianos. I was also amazed how supportive everyone is. I had a quick lesson in playing Chopin at the Bechstein store.

Thank you Pique for putting together a great piano party. This day was truly "Piano Heaven", I could imagine what we can do for an encore!

- Mark

So, how about some impressions of the pianos / performances?
1) Beethoven - the two 192s were glorious. It was ear-opening to compare the two tunings. Honestly I liked them both, with the "concert" tuning being a familiar beast, and the "Schubert" tuning closer and more intimate. I think the "S" requires more precision and possibly more brilliance in playing while the "C" is naturally more open and allows for easier subtlety.
2) KlavierHaus - Fazioli / Pleyel smackdown. What a wonderful aura of overtones! Chopin's great on it. The waltz was scary on the Fazioli, interesting, considering I loved the tone on the big one in the other room. The Ives though justified the instrument, with the clarity and distinctness serving the complex harmonics and melodic movement well. I guess everyone needs at least two pianos. Enjoyed Realplayer's playing very much.
3) Bechstein - they were a little uncomfortable with the group, but they're the new kid on the block. They have a good selection too to test. The russian was an excellent player, limpid and transporting, although I didn't care for the precision of his syncopated piece playing.
4) Faust-Harrison - what to make of that? What a glorious piano the Bluthner is! pique's stab at Chopin on that bizzare tuning was a hoot. Can't say I care for the Michael Harrison's cliquey esotericism, but he is quite genuine in his efforts and accomplishes a lot in that piece - if you can stay with it, it engages one in a lot of ways. It gave me ideas on how to re-interpret the Villa Lobos Toccata. I liked the skew of hearing a piece in a different tuning, but I didn't hear trombones sitars gazelles sighing and whatnot.
After the piano crawl was over, I felt as though I was emerging from a exalted state. I totally forgot to drop my daughter off at a sleepover, but recovered from that. What a great day.

Congratulations Pique on the terrific review of your book in the New York Times Book Review!

Congratulations Pique on the reviews. Finished the book a few days ago and look forward to re-reading in a few months.

Here I links to the Washington Post Review:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011702947_pf.html

New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/20/books/review/Brockes-t.html

Hi, Pique!

I bought your book at Barnes & Nobles in Nashua, New Hampshire on Friday. Been reading it every chance I get since then. It's a real page turner! So many things you say and write about resonate with my feelings also!

I'm just checking in briefly at this time, however. I haven't finished reading your book yet and my husband, Lloyd, keeps stealing it. He's in the sunporch right now finishing up a chapter. I'll post again later on after I've finished reading it.

A few parting thoughts for now... I'm wondering if you have any preferences about whether some of the finer points you talk about in your book are discussed (or should I say "revealed") on PW? And if that is Ok with you and I or someone else were to do that, I would suggest the title of the post include a disclaimer of some sort, i.e. "For Those Who Have Already Read "Grand Obsession".
I say that because there are things I think best left for readers to discover for themselves in your book. I'd not want that experience to be spoiled!

Congrats, again, on "Grand Obsession!"

Jeanne W

Pique, may I join in the congratulations for the ecstatic NYT review. (I went out and bought the NYT this morning, but couldn't get the Washington Post and so haven't read it yet--thanks for the links, Joseph L!)

Very much enjoying the book, pique. Great read.

I picked up the Times today and cut out the review. Will keep it tucked inside the front cover.

That's a good idea, Bernard. I'm going to start taking my book along to gatherings and have other members sign it. Reading PW and attending gatherings have truly inspired me to enjoy my many challenges with the piano and to have the support of good friends along the way!

Hey, TT,

A whole book autographed by fellow forum members?

What a great idea!

I'd like to do the same on the tech forum, with your approval, Pique. And inviting ONLY those who have read the book.

Michael Harrison has been mentioned in this thread a few times and he played part of his "Revelations" for our stop at Faust Harrison.

While I was there I picked up a copy of his earlier album called "From Ancient Worlds For Harmonic Piano." I find myself listening to it a lot. It's gorgeous, meditative and spiritual. Soothing too. I highly recommend it.

My copy of 'Grand Obsession' has arrived here in Hamburg... can't put it down!

Pique (Perri?), if you ever return to Germany, the birthplace of the object of your obsession, please let me know. I'd love to meet you, and have my copy autographed!

This is a 'must read' for anybody seriously looking at pianos.

We'll make it a condition before anybody can buy a piano here.

And perhaps a gift after.....

Norbert

Chatting with my seat-mate on my cross-country flight (to NAMM) I found out she is on the advisory committee for choosing books in her school district, and a published author.

Of course I mentioned Grand Obsession, and that I happened to have my copy with me. She asked if she might take a look.

She read 14 chapters on the plane, and probably would have finished it if we weren't landing.

She said she loved the "voice" the author writes in, and found the book mesmerizing. "I have to pick up this book as soon as I can so I can finish it" she said.

This from a woman who does not play any instruments.

I think the Washington Post review does a good job of explaining how Pique's book could appeal to anyone, including people not "into piano".

Frank,

I really agree with you that anyone could enjoy this book. If anyone is planning a trip, this is an excellent book to read on a long flight--it would make it so enjoyable. My husband recently went to Greece, and he regretted not having this book with him on the flight. This would be a great book for airport bookstores!!!

thanks, pl! it was so much fun to finally meet you in nyc.

and thanks everyone for your kind words about the book.

jeanne and anne, if you want to have discussion threads about the book, you don't need my permission (that's one of the hazards of becoming an author )--just please try to be kind. writing it was a lot of hard work, but i know people are entitled to say whatever they like about it.

i'd just suggest having the thread title bear a warning, something like SPOILER ALERT, so that those who haven't read the book will know not to venture there.

also i would encourage people who have questions about the book to ask away. i have q&a at my readings and that is fun. i never know what people are going to ask.

frank,
thanks yet again for talking up the book--getting the book onto school curriculums is definitely something we'd like to see happen. you have great luck with seatmates!