Posted on 05/16/2005 8:00:54 AM PDT by SaltyJoe
Riddle of the Piano Man By Robert Mendick, Evening Standard 16 May 2005 New clues emerged today to help identify a mystery pianist.
The man has not spoken since he was found wandering on a road near a beach in Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey on 8 April.
He was smartly dressed in a dark suit and was soaking wet. When he was given a pen and paper he drew a picture of a grand piano. He was shown a hospital piano and to the amazement of staff gave a two-hour performance of classical music.
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The case has drawn comparisons with the film Shine which tells the story of pianist David Helfgott who overcame mental problems to play again. Today hospital staff revealed details which they hope might give clues to the identity of the patient nicknamed the "Piano Man".
He may have suffered a breakdown after attending a funeral.
He is likely to be a keen amateur who plays the piano for his own pleasure rather than a professional.
He writes and plays his own compositions which a music teacher has verified as genuine manuscript. Police said there was no sign of injury to the man who is 6ft tall and thin and in his twenties or thirties.
He was first taken to the accident and emergency at the Medway Maritime hospital in Gillingham and is now being treated at a psychiatric unit in Dartford.
Canon Alan Amos, the hospital chaplain, said: "He likes to play what I would call mood music, quite circular in nature without defined beginnings or endings.
"Playing the piano seems to be the only way he can control his nerves and his tension and relax. When he is playing he blanks everything else out."
Mr Amos added: "It's a very sad case. Clearly there must have been some sort of trauma and it is important to find out what it was."
Michael Camp, a social worker who is based at the Medway Maritime Hospital, said: "When he came in, there was nothing obviously wrong with him but police felt he had a mental health problem. He appears to be very anxious but we have no idea why. He has, as far as we know, committed no crime but we feel he is very vulnerable.
"When we took him to the chapel piano it really was amazing. I cannot get within a yard of him without him becoming very anxious.
"Yet at the piano he comes alive. I can stand close to him and he is oblivious. It is extraordinary.
"I am not knowledgeable about classical music but I could tell he was pretty good."
Interpreters from Poland, Latvia and Lithuania were brought in to see if he was from eastern Europe, and possibly an asylum seeker, but no one could get through to him. Mr Camp made an urgent appeal for anyone who knows the man to contact the Nat ional Missing Persons Helpline, which has launched its own appeal, on 0500 700 700.
The manager of the psychiatric unit where he is being held, Ramanah Venkiah, said the man has stopped playing and drawing.
Mr Venkiah said: "We can't communicate with him. He is difficult to assess because he gives no indication that he has understood anything."
If you know who the mystery piano man is please contact the Standard newsroom on 020 7938 7553
How about multi-ethnic children, try children who can speak different languages?
"Canon Alan Amos, the hospital chaplain, said: "He likes to play what I would call mood music, quite circular in nature without defined beginnings or endings."
Would DeBussy's music9 be considered "mood" music? (Clair de lune)
Perhaps he is an autistic savant and doesn't speak. Although you'd think his family would be looking for him frantically.
Maybe he is an autistic savant, thus his communication and social problems. I hope he wasn't 'set out' by a relative or caretaker.
It sounds like the Peter Sellers classic "Being There".
Interesting that they think he may have suffered a breakdown after a funeral. Perhaps his main caretaker (probably mother) died and he was abandoned by whatever remaining relatives there were after the funeral.
Or perhaps his caretaker is lying dead in an apartment somewhere, and he wandered away. That would explain why nobody is actively looking for him...because the person who would be doing the looking is dead. And it would explain why he drew pictures and gave indications about death that were clear enough for the medical authorities to think the trauma had something to do with a funeral.
He may have jumped ship too. Soaking wet found near the sea shore...
Celtic Ping list!
Intersting read, though short.
There is only one possible solution to this mystery. Fetch the Orchestra!
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sittin' next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, son can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes
La la la de de da
La la de de da da dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says 'Bill, I believe this is killing me'
As the smile ran away from his face
'But I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place'
O la la la de de da
La la de de da da dum
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talking with Davy, who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinking alone
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been coming to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, 'Man, what are you doin' here?'
O la la la de de da
La la de de da da dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
--Billy Joel
He can come live at my house and play my silent piano all day. Daughter is married and gone. Husband doesn't have time to play.
That's the first thing I thought of as well. Wonder if a musicologist was called in to listen to his playing.
LOL! That was a terrific episode - where Elaine takes Jim to a fancy dinner party, and Jim starts playing beautiful classical music. Jim: "I must have had lessons at one time!" Everything goes well until Jim decides he can do an imitation of a water fountain. :-)
Interesting ping....
Still waiting for those Christie Brinkley pictures.
Call me cynical, but there's a very slight possibility this could be a publicity stunt.
What Does a Yellow Light Mean???????
"Slow Down..."
What.....
Does.....
A........
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