On my bookshelf | The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, by TE Carhart

This charming memoir was pressed upon me by the conservator who cares for our playable historic keyboards at the Royal Academy of Music Museum. 

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank is an authoritative glimpse into the world of the piano restorer, written by someone who understands the technicalities as well as the poetry of the job. 

Pianos often have hidden inscriptions from makers, restorers and players that speak to us from the past. For me, this evoked much more than the history and art of piano restoration. 

This book tells the story of an American in Paris discovering the joy of playing the piano again after many years. 

Stumbling across a small, dusty studio near where he lives, at first he is made to feel like an outsider. Undaunted, his curiosity, tenacity and a change of owner sees him perfectly matched to a piano, and welcomed into the community that uses the shop as a meeting place – people from all backgrounds brought together through a common passion. 

The move reawakens his relationship with music, which transforms his life. 

For too many people a museum is like that closed shop: not for them. Museums are secret keepers that will only reveal their magic if you are open to the experience and welcomed in. It is our job to draw everyone in and allow them to experience the treasures we have to offer in their own way. And by treasures, I mean not just our collections, but the atmosphere and the experiences we create.