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Audio book with Franz Mohr: 4 CD's!
€ 25.00
CHF 39.80
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CD 1: Franz Mohr’s childhood, his studies, Elisabeth, the path as piano technician, first tuning at Steinway, Bill Hupfer, Glenn Gould, Arthur Rubinstein, the trick with the hairspray, a deep frozen piano
CD2: Rubinstein and Horowitz, many stories of his work for Vladimir Horowitz!!!
CD3: Vladimir and Wanda Horowitz, Franz Mohr’s journey to faith
CD4: Franz Mohr’s journey to faith II, Van Cliburn, the “white tie�, background information about the Steinway piano, about other pianists etc.
Franz Mohr at the Crescendo Annual conference in Malmö, Sweden - with a "Steinway shaped" birthday cake
Frank Mazurco, Executive Vice President of Steinway & Sons about Franz Mohr:
Many of us believe that Horowitz would not have gone on at all if Franz was not there with him!
"One of his many accomplishments is that he has become and is known as THE ONLY PIANO TECHNICIAN IN HISTORY to gain an International reputation for excellence. Since the Piano was invented in Italy by Cristofori in 1700 no Piano Technician, no Concert Piano Technician has ever reached International acclaim like Franz Mohr."
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Franz Mohr: My Life with the Great PianistsMohr recounts with humor and tenderness his experiences with the greatest pianists of our time as Steinway & Sons' Chief Piano Technician.
Baker book House 208 pages, bound, with black and white photos € 17.00.- / CHF 24.80
New book: LESEPROBE
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252 S. (+ 32 S. Fotos s/w und farbig)Preis:
€ 16.95
CHF 29.80
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Franz Mohr: Große Pianisten, wie sie keiner kennt
"Dieses Buch ist eine Sammlung von Geschichten über große Pianisten, große Instrumente und einen Klaviertechniker mit einem großen Herzen."
Brunnen/Crescendo, 208 Seiten, gebunden, mit Schwarzweißfotos, € 15,95 / CHF 29,80
Franz Mohr/Beat Rink: Große Maestros, hinter der Bühne erlebtDer Chef-Konzerttechniker von Steinway & Sons im Gespräch über seine besonderen Erlebnisse mit Glenn Gould, Wladimir und Wanda Horowitz, Rudolf Serkin und anderen Berühmtheiten.
Brunnen/Crescendo, 220 Seiten, davon 32 Seiten mit Schwarzweißfotos, gebunden, € 13,95 / CHF 24,80
Bestellung per Mail: Hier klicken
Franz Mohr with Van Cliburn >>SHORT BIO:
To many of the greatest pianists of our time, one man was critically important: Franz Mohr, former Chief Concert Technician of Steinway & Sons for more than a quarter of a century.
As the close colleague of legendary musicians such as Vladimir Horowitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Glenn Gould, Rudolf Serkin and many others, Franz Mohr attended to their Steinway instruments, making delicate adjustments that affect tone, balance, and other characteristics of sound. It was Mohr who enabled these virtuosos to fully realize their own, individual interpretative styles, and to fully realize their concept of tonal color. Franz Mohr directed the preparation and maintenance of all Steinway pianos provided for concert and artists' service throughout the world and was the technical advisor to technicians at 100 dealer locations where hundreds of Steinway pianos stand ready for concert use.
A master piano technician, Franz Mohr joined Steinway & Sons in New York City in 1962 as assistant to William Hupfer, then chief concert technician, whom he succeeded in 1968. Mr. Mohr learned piano building in Europe beginning in 1950 in Cologne, Germany. In 1956 he became a concert technician for a Steinway dealer in Dusseldorf, Germany, which maintains a large concert service. Six years later he and his family moved to New York.
Born in Duren, Germany, on September 27, 1927, he studied music at the Musikhochschule in Cologne and the Academy of Music in Detmold, Germany. He and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Lynbrook, New York. They have three children: a daughter, Ellen, and two sons, one of whom continues the family tradition by working at the Steinway factory in Long Island City as manager of Customer Service.
Mr. Mohr retired as chief concert technician of Steinway & Sons in 1992. Presently he is an active advisor and consultant to Steinway & Sons. He is also a well-known book author ("My Life with the Great Pianists" and "Backstage with Great Pianists" - German) and a brilliant speaker.
„This book tells Franz’s story. It tells much about what it is like to be famous and to play the piano in public. Not included is the loving care devoted by Franz and his associates to the unfamous, the debutantes - the ones who never quite make it - all of whom receive the same careful attention... Franz Mohr is a true friend of all musicians everywhere.“ (Henry Z. Steinway about "My Life with the Great Pianists")
„I play more at Carnegie Hall than anybody else“, says Franz Mohr, „but I have no audience.“ Seeing him alone on the stage, hours before a concert, one might mistake him for a virtuoso improvising on a nine-foot grant. Instead, Mr.Mohr, Chief Technician for Steinway and Sons, is tuning it. He goes where the pianos go: When Rudolf Serkin takes a Steinway on tour, Mr. Mohr goes along, checking a key here, tightening a string there.“ (New York Times)
PRINTABLE PRESS FOTOS AND PRESS TEXTS
Download Picture 1: pdfDownload Picture 2 : pdf
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Download Picture 4: pdf
Download Pressetext / German: pdf
Download Invitation 1: pdf
Download Invitation 2: pdf
PICTURES FROM FRANZ MOHR'S PHOTO ALBUM
© Franz Mohr:
As a young man and violinist 
Helping Vladimir Horowitz with the chair
Vladimir Horowitz and Isaac Stern
Horowitz in the White House with Nancy and Ronald Reagan
Van Cliburn playing in the White House
Vladimir Horowitz' Birthday Party (with Wanda Horowitz)
With Isaac Stern
In the house of Rudolf Serkin in Vermont, where Franz Mohr was tuning the pianos for many years
With his son Michael in the Steinway factury, reading in the Steinway register on its very first page
"I begin the day with prayer" AN INTERVIEW
(from: © Magazine "Crescendo" No 66/67 "Daily Life" Oktober 2004)For over ten years now, we at "Crescendo" have enjoyed an intensive friendship with Franz Mohr, the piano technician of Vladimir Horovitz, Arthur Rubinstein, Glenn Gould and many other great pianists. This friendship has amongst other things resulted in the publication of two books in German - the translation of "My Life with the Great Pianists" and the collection of interviews "Grosse Maestros, hinter der Bühne erlebt" as well as in the annual tours with lectures in various European countries. Translations into different languages and the publication of a further book with Franz Mohr and other contributors („Mehr als Musik„ - "More than Music") is in preparation. On the occasion of his lecture tour in June, 2004, Beat Rink wanted to know how Franz Mohr structures his everyday life.
Crescendo / Beat Rink: Franz Mohr, what is the normal pattern of your day?
Franz Mohr: Usually it doesn’t make any difference how late I go to bed, at six o’clock I get up. I get myself ready and always look forward to spending time in the presence of Jesus. I have during my whole life believed in the power of prayer.
Your are an ardent man of prayer. How does one achieve this?
Franz Mohr: Well, at New Year one always makes new resolutions - as a Christian as well: "Lord, from now on I will spend at least 20 minutes in prayer - each day! ... " - but it never works. In my case, it happened that in the course of months and years my prayer list became longer and longer, so that I look forward to spending at least an hour in prayer in the morning and thus to lay the foundation for the day. To return to the question: there is a transformation in Christian life from the discipline of prayer to joy in prayer. This is a wonderful transformation, which does not of course take place overnight. It is a process.
So you write your prayer concerns down?
Franz Mohr: Yes, without this list I’m lost. Although I sometimes have to look for it because I have put it down somewhere... Of course, the list changes from time to time. And the requests are often turned into thanksgiving!
Now you’re already wide awake before the first cup of coffee...
Franz Mohr: Oh yes, prayer comes first. And it is also exciting that one can pray during the day, during work. Precisely at such times when things get difficult. I have often even laid my hand on a piano and asked God for help when I didn’t know how to go on. There are certain things that even a good technician can’t correct. Then I pray and do you know what always happens then? Although I have cause for worries about a certain regulation or a note, the artist doesn’t complain! No artist has ever complained about a note or the regulation after I have prayed about it!
What shape does your day have? Are there particular patterns that always remain the same?
Franz Mohr: After prayer comes breakfast with my wife Elisabeth. And after breakfast I read with joy in my Bible. I have a Bible reading plan which covers the whole Bible in one year. At the moment I’m in the Lamentations of Jeremiah.
But you seem very cheerful for someone reading Lamentations...
Franz Mohr: There are very many positive messages in the Lamentations! When I travel to work in town or anywhere else, I read my Bible on the train. I read from the Proverbs and Psalms and also often from the Epistles every day.
You often quote one of Luther’s sayings about reading the Bible...
Franz Mohr: When I became a Christian, I was so enthusiastic about God’s Word that I was completely carried away. I even refused to read the newspaper and wanted only to read the Bible and to understand everything in it. But there are so many things in the Bible that you don’t understand. At this point, a saying of Luther’s helped me a great deal: "I read the Bible in the same way as I harvest my apple tree: I shake it, and gather up everything that is ripe and falls down. I leave everything else hanging on the tree."
I am sure that readers of the books in which, several years ago, you told of your life with the greatest pianists of the end of the twentieth century would particularly like to ask "What is Franz Mohr doing now at the age of 76? Has he perhaps settled down to a quiet life?"
Franz Mohr: No! My prayer is that I may remain busy up to the very last minute. And I believe He is answering my prayer. I still hear how my parents prayed. They prayed aloud in the evening: "Lord, may our death be in a blessed hour." And the Lord heard their prayer. My mother went home without ever having been ill for a day of her life. She sat down on the sofa one day and said, "Father, I don’t feel very well" - and was gone. And my father as well - he lived until the end in a Catholic home for the aged. He was 87, very cheerful and full of life - and read his Bible every day. One evening he said goodbye to all the nurses and said „I’m going home. I’m tired." He lay down - and the next day he went home.
But you are still hungry for action. How do your days, weeks and months look?
Franz Mohr: Very varied. When I’m at home, which isn’t very often, I play around on my computer. I answer my e-mails and also my post. I have made a practice of answering every letter. It may take some time till I do it, but I answer every letter. I also travel a lot. I often visit Steinway dealers and give seminars for piano technicians. And then big audiences for my life with the great pianists. Sometimes it’s two or three lectures a day. I enjoy that very much. But I’m on the move. I hardly have any free time - except on holiday. As I traveled with Horowitz, there were always days on which I was free and could do a little tourism.
Besides this, there are one or two tours per year with artists.
Franz Mohr: Although I am officially retired, I really enjoy Maurizio Pollini’s American tour. And usually the one with Andras Schiff as well. Or I still tune for my dear friend Horracio Gutierrez.
What happens on a day like that?
Franz Mohr: One day before the concert, I prepare the piano for the rehearsal. The piano is checked again before the concert. Usually I am backstage during the concert. I have never felt at ease sitting in the audience. For if anything happens, I can be on the stage at once. Normally, of course, nothing happens.
So you’re present at the final rehearsal?
Franz Mohr: I never leave the artist alone at a rehearsal. And this is most important. It can happen that suddenly someone wants to complain about something. It was important for example in Boston, where a short time ago the Berlin Philharmonic played with Pollini under Abbado. I must tell you this quickly: everyone knows that it is very important for the tuner to adjust to the right concert pitch used by each individual orchestra. Unfortunately, people still haven’t agreed on a universal concert pitch. It can be 440, 441 or 442. The Berlin Philharmonic in Karajan’s time even reached 446. The only electronic device I use is the electronic tuning fork, to be sure that I use the concert pitch required by the ensemble in question. I had asked for a written confirmation by the Berliners that they wanted to tune to 443. And that is what I did. In Boston everyone was happy. The next concert was then in New York. During the rehearsal, I was the only listener. I sat down in the audience seating. The leader gave the "a" for tuning - and there the famous oboist Jörg Schellenberger leapt up and cried "We’re not going to play at a pitch of 446!" I shouted up from below: "One moment, please!", adjusted my device and ran onto the stage. The orchestra looked at me as if I was a little funny. I sounded the piano "a" and held the device up. The pointer indicated exactly 443. But Abbado only said to me "It would better if you checked your electronics" Well, you should never contradict a great artist. He is always right. So I replied "I have the whole afternoon available. I will check the piano again." The concert was that evening. After the piano concerto, Abbado left the stage with Pollini and immediately turned to me. "Many thanks for improving it! Now it was perfect!" Schellenberger didn’t say a word. But I hadn’t changed anything at all!
In the "Lord’s Prayer" we say "give us our daily bread". What is this "daily bread" for you? Where do you want God to help you in your daily life?
Franz Mohr: Everything is daily bread. Everything that we encounter and which God uses to supply our needs.
What are you particularly thankful for?
Franz Mohr: For the leadings of the Holy Spirit. There is no greater joy for a Christian than to be where God wants to have him. Jesus said "I have come that they may have life." So every Christian has the life that comes from Jesus - eternal life! But then the sentence in John 10:10 goes yet further: "that they may have life and have it to the full." These are two different things. Eternal life is important, but the second is just as important. It is therefore a matter of priority to give our lives over to God every day; then we will "have it to the full." So many Christians who are born again lead themselves and don’t ask the Lord the question "am I really doing what you want from me?" My prayer is always the same - "Here I am. I don’t know what I will encounter today. But please let me be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, so that I act and conduct myself through the day in such a way that others are blessed." It is so wonderful to make yourself available to the Lord. Sometimes it’s for me as if I step aside and watch with amazement what He is doing. It is so fantastic. Each of has a task that only he or she can fulfill. That’s how the Body of Christ works: there is a task that is just tailor-made for you, that no-one else can carry out. The tragic thing is that we as Christians are not obedient in letting Him lead. I believe with my whole heart that one day each of us will stand before the judgment seat of God and there will cry his last tears, because we will see what a wonderful plan God had for our lives... but we sat in the driving seat instead of letting Him take over the steering-wheel in our lives.
For musicians it is also important to find the place that God wants to put you. For example, false ambitions can mislead you...
Franz Mohr: I had false ambitions myself, because I was talented and wanted to become a successful violinist. That was my dream. And then that problem arose with my hand. I had practised much too much. I wanted to force things. Then all my dreams collapsed. But the Lord led me: I became a tuner for pianos and concert pianos. It breaks my heart when, particularly in the music world, I see so many young people with false ambitions. I am thinking of a Christian girl who is setting everything on making a career as a pianist and goes to every kind of masterclass you can imagine and invests a lot of time and money in her studies, but really should have seen a long time ago that this is not her path. If we follow our own plans, we often miss precisely what God has prepared for us.
Franz Mohr, thank you for the interview. (Mohzill@aol.com) ___________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________ NEW: BOOK IN SWEDISH LANGUAGE!
Franz Mohr former chief concert technician of Steinway & Sons, New York
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