Every Note Played

Genova introduces Richard’s ex-wife, Karina, who grew up in Zabrze, Poland, where she took piano lessons from Mr. Borowitz. Borowitz’s specialty was the music of Frédéric Chopin, a revered Polish composer. Karina’s success as a pianist led her to emigrate to the US to continue her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she met and fell in love with Richard. Richard and Karina moved to Boston and had a daughter, Grace. Karina took up piano teaching while Richard pursued his career as a concert pianist. Over time, the two drifted apart and eventually got divorced while Grace was a senior in high school. Grace is now a freshman at the University of Chicago.

One day, Karina attends the graduation party of one of her piano students. At the party, she feels self-conscious and worries that the parents are judging her. When a circle of parents falls silent as she approaches, Pam Chu, the host, admits that they were talking about Richard. Pam reveals, to Karina’s surprise, that Richard canceled his latest piano tour after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a terminal neurodegenerative disease that reduces muscle control over time.

Six months after his diagnosis, Richard wakes up in his apartment in Boston the day after a canceled concert in New York City. Officially, Richard’s agent attributed the cancelation to tendinitis, but Richard knows it is unlikely he’ll ever perform again. As his motor neurons fail, Richard is losing strength and control of some of his muscles, including those in his right hand. He wonders how much time he has left, comparing himself to a car running out of gas.

Sometime in July, Karina decides to stop by Richard’s apartment. The last time she saw Richard was more than a year ago, at Grace’s graduation. Reflecting on their relationship, Karina feels jealous that Richard was able to make a fresh start while she was left behind in the house they once shared.

Karina announces herself over the intercom, and Richard buzzes her in. Richard offers her a drink but insults her lack of discernment regarding fine wines. When Richard struggles to open a bottle with his shaking fingers, he throws the bottle opener across the room and accuses Karina of wanting to see him “humiliated”; he also blames her for turning Grace against him. In response, Karina smashes the bottle of wine against the counter and then leaves. Outside, she cries.

After fully losing control of his right hand, Richard avoids playing piano for three weeks. When he does play again, he rehearses a Brahms piano concerto that he played a year earlier in a “transcendent” performance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Now, he simply plays the left-handed part and imagines his right hand playing. When his right arm slips from the keyboard, where he had set it, to hang limply at his side, he pours the physical and emotional pain of his condition into his performance. He stops suddenly, feeling that the music reflects both his divorce and his interrupted career.

Karina visits Grace during the University of Chicago’s family weekend. There, she learns that Grace has a boyfriend, Matt. Karina is flattered and embarrassed when Grace tells Matt that she is Richard’s equal as a pianist. When a Thelonious Monk performance of “’Round Midnight” plays on the radio, Grace reminds Karina that she used to play jazz, and Karina feels regret for not continuing to do so.

Karina reflects on her own youth. Raised in a Catholic household, Karina received only minimal sexual education during her adolescence, and she made an effort to be more open with Grace. Karina was Grace’s age when she met Richard. The two shared a class, but only when Richard became drunk at a party did he approach her. Karina began to fall in love when she heard him play Schumann’s “Fantasie in C Major”; their relationship soon blossomed into a passionate sexual one. Looking back, she sees her relationship with Richard as a mistake and hopes that Grace will be wiser than she was.

Waking up one morning, Richard tests his left hand by playing an imaginary scale across the bed sheets. Getting up, he ponders his future as he eats and then dresses himself in as much of his best tuxedo suit as he can manage with one functioning arm. Sitting at the piano, he plays Maurice Ravel’s “Piano Concerto for the Left Hand,” which was originally composed for a pianist who lost his right arm during World War I. After the piece ends, Richard bows to an imaginary audience. For a moment, he feels ecstatic. His elation fades, however, when he struggles to raise his left arm above his shoulder. He plays a single note on the piano and allows it to fade completely before going back to bed.

Richard goes to the local ALS clinic to meet with Kathy DeVillo, his care coordinator. Every three months, she runs a series of exams to determine the progression of his symptoms. Kathy asks about Maxine, a woman Richard started dating shortly after he was diagnosed. At first, he kept his condition secret from Maxine, but he admitted the truth when she found him crying one morning. Over the next few months, their relationship deteriorated until Richard broke up with her, which he considers “the most unselfish act of his life” (55).

When Kathy learns about Richard and Maxine’s breakup, she encourages Richard to reach out to friends or relatives for support. She proceeds to assess his ability to perform various motor skills, such as forming his hand into an OK sign and resisting her effort to prize his fingers apart. She also provides him with tips to help him continue walking, breathing, and eating. Feeling overwhelmed as their meeting ends, Richard asks Kathy for a hug, and she embraces him.

Early one November morning, Karina goes for a walk with her friend and neighbor, Elise. Karina first met Elise 20 years ago, when she and Richard moved from New York to Boston after Richard accepted a faculty position at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. Karina was sorry to leave behind New York City’s vibrant jazz scene, but she was happy to meet Elise, who specializes in contemporary improvisation, at a faculty dinner for the conservatory.

Over the next decade and a half, Karina and Elise lost contact. Karina devoted herself to raising Grace and gave up on her musical aspirations. Elise survived breast cancer, divorced her husband, and married her radiologist. Then, four years ago, Elise happened to move into the house directly across the street from Karina, and the two reconnected.

As they walk, Karina and Elise discuss Elise’s work, now at the Berklee College of Music. Elise frequently invites Karina to attend various shows, lectures, or trips, but Karina always declines. Elise also describes a recent visit she paid to Richard, accompanied by others who used to work at the conservatory. For the first time, Karina begins to realize the seriousness of Richard’s situation.