Passion, thwarted sexuality and love-hate for a mother dominate the life of Erika Kohut, a piano teacher at the Vienna Conservatory. Whilst her mother waits up for her, Erika Kohut trawls the porn shows of Vienna in search of tacky pleasure. Into this emotional pressure-cooker bounds Walter Klemmer, music student and ladies' man. As the relationship between teacher and pupil spirals downward, Jelinek paints a frightening picture of a woman consumed by the ecstasy of self-destruction. The Piano Teacher has been translated into French and Dutch and is currently being filmed.