Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Nasrosoltan and Madame Lazar waited while the grand duchess informed Princess Irina that she would temporarily have a new piano tutor. The Madame took this moment to apologize to Nasrosoltan for having divulged his title to gain favor with the grand duchess. With her apologies, she added, “I hope that you will consider this water under the bridge, especially since it resulted in an agreeable outcome for all.”
Nasrosoltan, realizing there was no benefit to be gained by showing his displeasure, responded, “My dear Madame, you did catch me off guard.”
Relieved to see Nasrosoltan was not upset, Madame Lazar replied with a smile, “If you are wondering how I knew about your title, Monsieur Somkhishvili confided in me when he secured the apartment for you.”
Nasrosoltan jokingly cursed his friend under his breath as Nana appeared and escorted them to the music room, where Princess Irina was waiting for her lesson. Upon entering the room, Nasrosoltan could not believe his eyes and was momentarily stunned. The stories he had heard did not do justice to what his eyes were witnessing. How could it be that a simple request from his landlady had now put him in the presence of such magnificence?
After all these years, Nasrosoltan had finally come face-to-face with such beauty, a Tischner. This was a spectacular Beethoven-era pianoforte built by Johann August Tischner in St. Petersburg in 1826, based on the Broadwood model Beethoven owned and wrote for.
At the conservatory, Nasrosoltan learned that there were only twenty-four of these pianos made. The piano gifted to Tsar Nicholas I was the only one with an inlay of the Russian imperial crest, while the others bore an attached plaque instead. When Nasrosoltan inspected the piano further, he noticed the embedded crest. He immediately realized this was the same piano that must have been passed down to the grand duchess from her great-grandfather.
Since Nasrosoltan, in his excitement, was so focused on the piano, he had not yet been introduced to Princess Irina. Attempting to salvage this awkward moment, Madame Lazar nervously interjected, “Your Serene Highness Princess Irina Alexandrovna, I would like to introduce Monsieur Minbashian.”
Nasrosoltan suddenly came to himself, recognizing his blunder in etiquette. He bowed slightly with his hand on his heart. “I pray Your Serene Highness does not mistake my deep admiration for such a wonderful work of art as a sign of my disrespect. On the contrary, I am truly honored to have the opportunity of tutoring Your Highness, especially on such a glorious instrument!”
In return, the princess, tongue-tied and diffident, smiled in silence, avoiding his eye. At the request of Madame Lazar, Princess Irina then sat at the piano bench alongside her. The Madame wanted to show Nasrosoltan what piece she had last worked on with Irina to give him a baseline from which to proceed in his upcoming lessons.
Nasrosoltan sat at an adjacent chair and studied her form for proper posture, for he believed that to play the piano correctly, it was important how the body was placed in front of it. He took advantage of his seating position to observe the whole scene instead of just watching the placement of the fingers and hands.
He noted how wonderful the piano itself sounded, with its leather-covered hammers and wool dampers. It was the perfect instrument to play Beethoven’s piano sonata no. 27, which the Madame had been teaching the princess to play. Nasrosoltan was fond of this piece and considered the main melody exquisite, containing both passion and energy.
Beethoven himself had indicated in German regarding the final movement of the work, “Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen.” (“Not too swiftly and conveyed in a singing manner.”) But in the little time Nasrosoltan observed Irina playing it, he noticed that the Madame had unfortunately not communicated this nuance in her tutoring.
It seemed to Nasrosoltan that the princess had talent at playing and was also good at taking instruction, even though she appeared nervous. He attributed this to her being uncomfortable with a stranger looking over her shoulder. Having taught music to many students in Tehran and Shiraz, he understood that with practice and familiarity, this nervousness would pass.
Every so often, Irina tried to steal a glance at Nasrosoltan to see if she could detect whether he approved of her playing. However, her effort was to no avail, for he showed no sign, at least none that she could decipher.
Nasrosoltan was quite enamored by the piano and eagerly awaited a moment when he could sit and play. Still, he did not want to seem overly enthusiastic, especially on this first visit to the palace.
The princess, who was having trouble playing a section of the piece, asked Madame Lazar to show her how to correctly perform the part. The Madame, due to her injury, and as if reading Nasrosoltan’s mind, turned to him and asked, “Monsieur Minbashian, would you do us the honor?” She got up and offered him her place on the piano bench.
Princess Irina became flustered at the suggestion, for she did not expect that he would sit in such proximity to her, and she proceeded to get up in a gesture of presenting the whole bench to him. However, Madame Lazar motioned for her to remain seated, which she did with some hesitation.
Nasrosoltan first asked Irina’s permission to sit beside her, and once again, with a shy nod, she gave her approval and he sat down. He pointed to the sheet music and said, “Your Highness, as you can see, Beethoven himself has notated on this composition that it should be played not too swiftly and conveyed in a singing manner.” Then he proceeded to play the part as intended by the composer.
Nasrosoltan could not believe how beautiful this instrument sounded as he played. He felt a unique bond between each finger and the ivory keys they were placed on. In what seemed an effortless manner, Beethoven’s music filled the room with an elegance that left Madame Lazar and Irina awestruck. He performed as if he were on a concert stage, oblivious to his surroundings. Nasrosoltan found it surprising that in the span of a few hours, what at first seemed to him a tedious weekly chore had suddenly transformed into a time he would look forward to, just to sit at this noble piano.
He played with such passion that, unbeknownst to him, both the grand duke and duchess had entered the music room, standing in silence at the doorway, not wanting to disturb his performance.
When he finished, the grand duchess began to applaud, and Nasrosoltan felt a hint of embarrassment as he had completely lost himself in his playing, almost forgetting where he was.
Nasrosoltan attempted to get up from the piano to stand in respect for the grand duke and duchess, but the grand duchess signaled for him to stay seated to continue with his lesson.
As Irina’s parents left the room, Nasrosoltan sat back on the bench and turned to address the princess. “This piece is one of only a few of Beethoven’s compositions that carry such instruction of playing in a singing manner, in place of the traditional Italian tempo markings. That is why I admire it so much; when performed properly, it is as if the piano itself has come to life and is singing the maestro’s creation!”
His playing moved Irina. She had never had a tutor with such charisma and confidence. She found something charming about his self-assuredness, which reminded her of her own father, yet his sense of confidence also unsettled her.
Nana, who heard the applause emanating from the music room, rushed in, not wanting to be left out of the happenings. With a smile, she winked at Madame Lazar, signaling her approval of the man she had proposed to become Irina’s tutor.
Madame Lazar hinted that it was time to conclude the day’s lesson. When they got up from the piano bench, Nasrosoltan told Irina, “Your Serene Highness should continue practicing this piece so that we can work on it next week.”
As they were leaving the palace, the grand duchess thanked Madame Lazar again for having introduced Nasrosoltan, which made the Madame think that it was good he would be going back to Persia by the end of the year. For if not, she supposed, she would not have the opportunity to reclaim her position, considering the surprisingly pleasant reception Nasrosoltan had received at the palace this day.