My Life With the Great Pianists

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: A wonderful book detailing the life of concert piano technician, Franz Mohr. He speaks extensively about Horowitz, Rubinstein, Cliburn and others. While reading the book, you feel like you are personally there...backstage.
Mohr speaks of growing up in Nazi Germany, losing both brothers to World War II and coming to America. He speaks of working in Russia during the cold war. The chapter on WWII is worth the price of the book alone.
About the only downside to this book is his regular preaching about becoming a "Born-Again-Christian". While that in and of itself isn't too bad, it does tend to be a little bit too much at times. The reader gets tired of Franz sentencing great pianists to Hell, because they don't share his "born-again" beliefs.
All in all, it's a great book and the unique stories of his life, and the insight into what a good man he is, more than compensate for the occasional "judgement casting" of the masters that he does.

Rating:
Summary: Pretty Good
Review: I am a piano technician myself. If you are reading to get technical information for a piano, don't waste your time. If you want a life story about a wonderful man who is full of tact and can understand what people aren't telling you, this is a great book. The book is excellent until it comes to his personal religeous beliefs. If you are a born-again Christian, then you'll probably enjoy his viewpoints. It you're not, then those sections will annoy you. The book is excellent except for his rambling on about his views of Christianity. The rest of the book is priceless. You actually feel like you know him personally. You actually feel like you know the artists. His chapter about growing up in Germany is worth the price of the book alone. Please buy it and enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: technique?
Review: I don't know why someone expect about piano tuning technique. The title of this book is "my LIFE with the great pianists". It's very clear that this book is about his LIFE. I don't care if he's Christian or not. I don't care if he give bibles to Mr. Gilels or whoever. He wrote about his LIFE and I'm so enjoy with his book. He wrote from his feeling. When you read his book, you feel like you're in that situation with those pianists. You will know somethings from Mr. Mohr's point of view and this is the reason why I love this book so very much.

Rating:
Summary: . . . a disappointment
Review: I was expecting a book full of colorful anecdotes about piano tuning for the great artists of the past. (As a piano technician myself, I was looking forward to these.) While there are a few such stories, this book is mostly filled with the author's testament about how his life has been fulfilled by his faith in Jesus Christ. He travelled the world with Horowitz, and instead of sightseeing and telling us of his adventures he tells us of spending time in great cities sitting in his hotel room, reading his bible. Most of his anecdotes relate to trying to get the great pianists to pray with him, or to take a bible from him. The writing is stilted and drab, except for the flowery prose of his co-writer, when she writes her little tid-bits. Anyone want my copy before it goes to the trash heap?

Rating:
Summary: A Delightful Book
Review: I've read the book three times; the portrait of Horowitz is unforgettable. Because I found the book in a Christian book store, published by a Christian publisher, and cowritten by the well-known wife of an famous clergyman, I was neither surprised not disappointed by the author's -- quite modest and understated -- references to his faith, and its role in relationship to his work and clients. The book is well and simply written.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Horowtiz anecdotes
Review: I've read the book three times; the portrait of Horowitz is unforgettable. Because I found the book in a Christian book store, published by a Christian publisher, and cowritten by the well-known wife of an famous clergyman, I was neither surprised not disappointed by the author's -- quite modest and understated -- references to his faith, and its role in relationship to his work and clients. The book is well and simply written.

Rating:
Summary: Nice, but . . .
Review: In many ways this is an enjoyable read - I passed a couple of two-hour flights with it. However by the end - and I read practically every chapter in its entirety - I almost completely forgot that I picked it up expecting to gain some insight into the worlds of Horowitz, Rubenstein, Gould etc. Yes, I enjoyed the anecdotes about these great artists and yes, I also enjoyed learning about the care and attention the wonderful instruments they work with receive from devoted and gifted craftsmen such as Mr. Mohr. But what was I left with? What was I thinking after I had put the book down for the last time? The thought that was upper-most in my mind was: I can understand why many people - including myself - resent being preached to by self-styled missionaries about subjects that are - or at least should be totally private matters between one and his conscience. Whether the preacher is a likeable, seemingly sincere individual like Mr. Mohr or a politician looking to score some points for the next election by telling a gullible public about his latest conversation with God, at some point one has to say "enough." Finishing almost every chapter with a hard sell for one's religious beliefs isn't very ethical as far as I'm concerned. But then again, "in your face religion" seems to be the order of the day. Which god are we hawking today anyway?

BTW, I'd love to know what Rubenstein was really thinking when our hero laid his proposition on him.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Mohr's book is full of insights into the personal sides of many great pianists: Horowitz, Rubinstein, Cliburn, Gould. He provides perspectives on the pianists as people, a side few people ever have had a chance to see, and he also shares some of the personal musical styles of the pianists--how (or even if) they practiced, rehearsed, etc. Mohr also gives a rare view of the Soviet Union--from within--which few have ever seen.
The unfortunate part of this book is Mohr's heavy emphasis on his Christianity. At times it provides anecdotes of interesting interactions with the pianists, or in the case of his time in the Soviet Union, his involvement in Christianity and the Bible leads to amazing descriptions of experiences in a country nearly rid of religion by the Communist leadership. However, at times Mohr goes on at great length about religion, and to such a degree that it heavily detracts from the wonder of the intimate look at the artists.
Overall, this book is certainly worth the read, and the stories about the pianists are an utter delight! However, his religious digressions sometimes reach a point of just skipping over them entirely, which is unfortunate to the flow of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful anecdotes, strange tangents
Review: Mohr's book is full of insights into the personal sides of many great pianists: Horowitz, Rubinstein, Cliburn, Gould. He provides perspectives on the pianists as people, a side few people ever have had a chance to see, and he also shares some of the personal musical styles of the pianists--how (or even if) they practiced, rehearsed, etc. Mohr also gives a rare view of the Soviet Union--from within--which few have ever seen.
The unfortunate part of this book is Mohr's heavy emphasis on his Christianity. At times it provides anecdotes of interesting interactions with the pianists, or in the case of his time in the Soviet Union, his involvement in Christianity and the Bible leads to amazing descriptions of experiences in a country nearly rid of religion by the Communist leadership. However, at times Mohr goes on at great length about religion, and to such a degree that it heavily detracts from the wonder of the intimate look at the artists.
Overall, this book is certainly worth the read, and the stories about the pianists are an utter delight! However, his religious digressions sometimes reach a point of just skipping over them entirely, which is unfortunate to the flow of the book.

Rating:
Summary: Great, insightful book!
Review: My Life With the Great Pianists is a wonderful book. Franz Mohr writes with much wit and humor while giving the readers an inside look at the lives of all the great pianists of the day. Franz Mohr also shares his faith with the readers and the pianists, in addition to giving information about pianos themselves. Humorous anecdotes add to the appeal of the book. This was a very well-written book written by a very Christian man whom I admire, along with the great pianists he tuned for. It is a wonderful book for all ages.