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English 'piano man' silent but poses riddle
LONDON: A smartly dressed man found wandering in a soaking wet suit near an English beach has baffled police and care workers for more than a month after he refused to say a word and then gave a virtuoso piano performance.
The man, wearing a formal black suit and tie, was spotted by police in Kent on April 8 and taken to a psychiatric unit where it proved impossible to identify him because he stayed silent. It was only after he was given a pen and paper that carers were given an intriguing clue to his possible background when he drew an intricate picture of a grand piano. He was taken to the hospital's chapel where he played classical music on the piano for hours. However, despite his picture being posted on the National Missing Persons Helpline's (NMPH) Web site, no one has come forward to identify him. "Very little is known about him as he has not been speaking with staff at the hospital where he is being cared for, but he has a talent for playing classical piano," an NMPH spokesman said in a statement. Michael Camp, a rapid response social worker who had dealings with the man while he was in Gillingham, expressed reservations about the move, saying: "When he plays the piano his demeanour is completely different. He is extremely relaxed and completely oblivious to people around him. He is completely immersed in the music and the piano." Newspapers said members of the public had contacted authorities to say they may have seen the man giving concert performances around Europe. The Daily Telegraph said the man, in his 20s or 30s, is believed to be English and may have suffered a mental breakdown. But some other people suggested he could be a talented young Swedish pianist who divides his time between Scandinavia and the United Kingdom and plays the Wigmore Hall in London next month. One person wondered if he was the depressive musician from the north-west of England whom she knew in the 80s, while another seemed to remember him as a student from a college in Canterbury. The authorities were deluged by calls from people on Monday who believed they might have a clue to the identity of the "piano man." By Monday night staff at the National Missing Persons' hotline were sifting through hundreds of calls hoping to identify the man. Someone flagged up a close physical similarity between the "piano man" and a young musician called Martin Sturefalt who has bases in Stockholm and London. The lead seemed particularly promising as the stranger had pointed to a picture of a Swedish flag when shown an atlas. However, Sturefalt was found to be in good spirits though a little bemused when tracked down to his Stockholm flat. "It is very sad," he said. "I have tried to think who it could be but really cannot imagine." The story of this mysterious "piano man" echoes the 1996 Oscar-winning film "Shine," in which an Australian pianist named David Helfgott overcame a nervous breakdown to return to performing.
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