Politics
Why This Pianist Can’t Tickle the Ivories
Julian Gargiulo moved to New York and arranged to have his Steinway shipped from Europe. That’s when his troubles began.
Good morning. It’s Thursday. Today we’ll look at what happened to the keys on a concert pianist’s piano when he moved to New York from Paris. We’ll also look at what Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election might mean for New York City.
Credit…James Barron/The New York Times
Julian Gargiulo is a piano man without a piano right now.
A concert pianist and composer who moved to New York in August after spending almost 10 years in Paris, he refers to himself as “the pianist with the hair.” His makes Howard Stern’s look almost tame.
Before leaving Europe, Gargiulo arranged for a moving company to ship his piano, a Steinway grand that he has had since he was 14 years old.
It arrived at Port Newark and was sent to a warehouse, where it remained until the keys were removed. Gargiulo’s piano had ivory keys — keys that are actually made of wood, with thin pieces of ivory attached. Gargiulo said that the federal Fish and Wildlife Service had refused to allow him to claim the piano as long as the ivory coverings were on the keys. The agency told Gargiulo that they violated a ban on importing ivory.
Gargiulo said the agency was following the letter of the law but ignoring its spirit. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that blocking a pianist from shipping his piano as part of his household move back to the United States is not what the ivory ban was ever intended for,” Gargiulo said. A Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman said the agency does not comment on specific cases.
