The Last of the Blind Piano Tuners
A sonic portrait of a disappearing craft through the lives of four blind piano tuners.
Illuminated · BBC Radio 4
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (open.live.bbc.co.uk) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
Composer Aidan Tulloch is fascinated by the physical process of making music – but fears he knows very little. He gains a unique insight from some of the most precise and gifted technicians in the country – members of the Association of Blind Piano Tuners. Aidan traces their journey into this field, goes along to their annual curry lunch, and finds out why the highly skilled craft of piano tuning was once a popular career for blind and partially sighted people: now their numbers are dwindling. They also reflect on how we listen to and perceive sound and music, and the joy it brings.
Presenter: Aidan Tulloch Producers: Maryam Maruf and Emily Webb Editor: John Goudie Mix: Giles Aspen
(Photo: Piano tuner Martin Locke tuning a piano. Credit: Maryam Maruf)