Pianomania (2009, Austria/Germany)

Aichi Insurance Physicians’ Newspaper

The film titled Pianomania is a work that captures the very essence of a piano tuner’s craft.

In this documentary, Stefan, a master piano tuner, dedicates himself to meeting the expectations of pianist Pierre, who is preparing to record Bach’s The Art of Fugue one year later. Having already met the demands of many world-renowned performers, Stefan carefully selects the right piano for Pierre’s purpose and engages in a long process of trial and error. Finally, the recording day arrives. The performers who appear in this film are extreme perfectionists—so much so that even 99.9% satisfaction is not enough.

A central focus of the documentary is Pierre’s recording of The Art of Fugue. To meet his request for an instrument capable of conveying the nuances of both an organ and a clavichord using a single piano, the process begins with selecting an instrument and moves on to fine-tuning. The adjustments required are so subtle that only those with perfect pitch can perceive them. The camera captures these individuals who tirelessly pursue the final 0.1% in their quest for perfection. This is perhaps the true definition of a “maniac” — someone completely absorbed in their passion. Of course, no matter how perfectly a piano is tuned, a performance mistake can ruin everything. While the word “mania” has a clinical meaning related to bipolar disorder, true mania in this context is not scattered but intensely focused.

The film also resonates with the field of medicine. Accidents at nuclear plants like Three Mile Island and Chernobyl were caused by operator error. In surgeries involving robotic systems, failures may result from poor maintenance (tuning), operator error (surgeon), or sudden changes in the patient’s condition — all of which parallel general surgical risks. While a mistake in a musical performance doesn’t endanger lives, the same cannot be said for surgery. Still, the notion of medical infallibility is far removed from the reality of human error.