Antonio Bombal, a well-known piano tuner inSacramento, died Sept. 17 at age 77.
He died from complications from a vehicle accident, said his son, Matias Bombal.
In the mid-1970s, Mr. Bombal established himself in Sacramento as a piano tuner and rebuilder. He had many long-standing clients through a career of more than 30 years, from musicians and music teachers to churches and other public venues to amateurs. He was the tuner for the performers of the now-defunct Sacramento Symphony.
"Antonio was the caretaker of my parents' beautiful Mason & Hamlin grand piano, and when I inherited the piano, Antonio continued to tune and care for it," said Susan Lamb Cook, an artist affiliate in cello and chamber music with the University of California, Davis, department of music who knew Bombal for 20 years. "Over the years, we developed a wonderful friendship and I will always remember him for his gentleness and refinement, and for his philosophical approach to life."
Mr. Bombal was born in Santiago, Chile. He studied literature, both in Chile and Germany, where he lived with a piano maker who taught him the rudiments of tuning. He spoke five languages and could read Latin and Greek. He was a professor at the University of Santiago, Chile, before he immigrated to the United States in 1969.
Mr. Bombal married Judy R. Nevis; the couple divorced after 17 years of marriage.
He taught literature and languages at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1969 to 1975 and taught part time at California State University, Sacramento; Sacramento City College; and Folsom Prison. He moved to Sacramento in 1976 and began to tune pianos.
"It is very complex. But the results are so beautiful when a piano sounds better than before," Bombal told The Bee in a 2007 interview.
"I had no idea I would ever do this as a career. But it has saved my life," Bombal said of his decision to turn to piano tuning after becoming frustrated over the uncertainty and low pay of teaching.
In The Bee's story published Aug. 5, 2007, Bombal was described as "a short, plump man with watchful brown eyes, a connoisseur's smile."
"He is polite, refined, methodical," the story said.
"The most important lesson my father taught me is to always be a gentleman," said his son, Matias.