StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Rachael Swanson Pianomania is an Austrian documentary about Stephan Knupfer. Knupfer, a tuner for Steinway caters to the demands of the best pianists on the planet. Throughout this documentary, there are numerous dialogues between Knupfer and famous pianists such as Lang Lang, Alfred Brendel and Pierre-Laurent Aimard discussing the color, tone, attack and release of notes on the piano. It is truly fascinating to hear how the character of the piano's tone can be altered so carefully and artistically. Knupfer's work in the documentary is described as almost neurotic. His drive for perfection takes him to work in the greatest concert halls in existence. The documentary gives a sneak peak into behind the scenes of the tedious work that goes into recording sessions of major classical works. To capture the sounds of these acoustic instruments as well as possible for the film, Dolby Surround quality is utilized which enables the viewer to get a somewhat true sense of what the performances would have sounded like live. I would highly recommend this documentary to those who are avid classical music listeners and for those who are novice. This film truly portrays the obsessiveness of not only the performers but also of the technical artists that make classical music available to the masses through recordings and live performances. Magic and human intellect combined!

LCShackley I'm a classically-trained pianist and composer, so behind-the-scenes movies like this have a lot of appeal for me. I respect the piano technicians, such as the film's protagonist Stephan Knüpfer, who know how to coax the right sound from an amazingly complicated instrument. This documentary is a tribute to his skill, and especially his patience, as he deals with pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, an ultra-demanding control freak who will just about drive you insane as you watch. Aimard's attempts to get Knüpfer to recreate the many piano tones he has in his head forms the main plot thread of this documentary. In between grueling sessions of watching Aimard complain about the shape of a particular note's tone, the documentarians have inserted scenic pictures of Vienna, and clips of other, less annoying pianists, including two comedians who provide much-needed relief for the Aimard-induced tension.There are some lovely shots of the interior mechanism of the piano, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at Vienna's concert hall. But overall, I found this film tedious due to Aimard's perfectionistic attitude. Would anyone else put up with it? Knüpfer seems to relish it somehow, because it presents him with a technical challenge. The film rambles on, cutting back and forth to the main story for no apparent reason, and be warned: 90% of it is in German with subtitles.Definitely for the piano lover only.

badcommand I've always enjoyed watching an artist at the top of the game, and while the musicians here, Lang Lang, Aimard et al are all at the top of their games for sure, it is Stephan Knüpfer who is the true artist here. Here is a man who knows his pianos at such an intimate level he is able to translate the musicians incredibly specific and intangible demands in to reality.This film is just captivating from beginning to end, watching Stephan tweak, poke, dust, tune, twist and thump the pianos like only a true master of his craft can do.Highly recommended.

chaz-28 The technician and pianists studied up close in Pianomania, a 2009 Austrian documentary, are searching for the perfect sound. They always get close, but I am not sure any of them well confess to ever actually hearing it. Stefan Knupfer is Steinway & Sons master technician based out of Vienna. He works at the Vienna concert house tuning, re-tuning, breaking apart and re-constructing grand pianos. Working closely with the most famous and skilled pianists in the world including Lang Lang and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, they have intense discussions concerning tone, flavor, color, air, etc… It turns out that grand pianos each have their own respective flavor, shape, and feeling. Is the sound round or too round? Is it full, thick, thin, light, or heavy? In Pianomania, Stefan describes the piano as the perfect music machine. Its full volume can reach 4000 in a single hall. Conversely, another technician raises the question of just how much of a musical instrument it really is. It takes three people just to move it around and if you draw on a particular string you will slice your hand open.Pierre-Laurent Aimard will record Bach concertos in one year at the concert hall. A full year before these recordings, Stefan is already hard at work on it. He travels to Hamburg to painstakingly select the back-up piano in case the first one is not to Pierre's liking. He goes over to the Hofburg to consult harpsichord and clavichord experts because he feels he must know their sounds better. He almost self destructs when new hammerheads arrive (the parts which hit the piano strings) and they are 0.7mm too skinny, a fact he can tell just by looking at them.Throughout the year, Stefan works hand-in-hand with all of these accomplished solo pianists to find the sound they are so desperately trying to describe. Tension frequently arises when they either cannot understand one another or when a piano sounds amazing to one person but like garbage to another. Well into the film, it is not odd to hear phrases such as "the tone is fine, it is what is in the tone which sounds off." Listening to the musicians play after they have finally decided the piano is ready is a real pleasure. There are extended sequences devoted to them. The camera work veers off every now and then though to try and match the sounds such as filming clouds reflecting on water or blurry neon lights. Those shots do not work very well but they are few and far between. Also, once the Bach recordings begin a year later, they can become quite tedious as you will see microphones adjusted and re-adjusted and Stefan running up and down the stairs repeatedly between the stage and the recording booth. This conveys exactly what it is supposed to, that recording major works of classical music is extremely challenging, but it also not very amusing for the audience either.I recommend Pianomania to those who appreciate classical music and would like to peek behind the curtain a bit. Beware to those of you who do not seem interested by these descriptions, you will probably be bored.