Debra Ricci will always remember the December evening when her husband Bob gave her an early Christmas present.  “He sat me down to a candlelight dinner, and over a glass of wine, he placed a scroll of paper tied by a ribbon in my hand,” said Debra.

When Debra unrolled the paper, she saw a photograph of a 5’8” Petrof Chippendale grand piano.  A lifelong pianist, Debra had always wanted her own grand, but as thrilled as she was by the piano itself, she was even more moved by what this very special gift represented.

Not long before that candlelight dinner, Bob Ricci had been in a hospital room, the victim of a serious heart attack that almost completely closed his main artery.

The doctors treated Bob’s condition successfully with balloon angioplasty.  They also advised the hard-driving medical sales executive to make some changes in his diet and lifestyle, and to reduce his level of stress.  Bob decided to start spending more time on the things-and the people-he loved.

“I’ve been playing the piano since I was seven, and like every pianist, I dreamed of owning my own grand,” said Debra, who had owned a console.  “Bob always said that he wanted to buy me a grand, but with his busy schedule, he never got around to it.  Then, after his heart attack, he decided that buying this piano was something that he really wanted to do for me.

Bob had shopped all the piano dealerships in the Ricci’s hometown of Pittsburgh before selecting the Petrof Chippendale.  However, since the piano would be a very personal gift, he urged Debra to shop around too, so she could make sure this was the instrument she really wanted, before they finalized the purchase of the Petrof.

“I looked at a number of different pianos, but in the end I came back to the Petrof Chippendale that Bob had selected originally,” recalled Debra.  “This piano was not only beautiful, it had a rich voice that made it easier for me to express myself musically.”

Although he is still working hard at his medical sales job, Bob Ricci has learned to reduce the level of stress in his life, said Debra.  “We’ve come to appreciate the importance of slowing down and smelling the roses,” she noted.

An accompanist for a local choral group, Debra enjoys playing her Petrof Chippendale at home.  “It’s everything I hoped it would be,” she said.

Looking back, Debra recalls that when the Petrof was delivered to her home right before Christmas, she was often too overwhelmed to play it.  “Every time I sat down at that piano, I’d get very emotional,” she said.  “I’d think about what a wonderful guy I married, and I would cry.”