Training With An International

I’d been in London nearly two and a half years, and lived in the downstairs of a house in Palmers Green. Life remained a series of ups and downs – unexpected opportunities and new friendships alternating with periods of uncertainty.

When the Fritz Gottlieb Memorial Scholarship came to an end, Vera Yelverton and I parted company on good terms and the international concert pianist I’d met in East Finchley agreed to take me on next, free of charge.

Under her supervision, I studied Chopin studies, Bach’s Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue, Debussy’s Estampes, Mendelssohn’s Serieuses Variations op54, and the demanding Liszt Dante Sonata with its octave flying sections and sobbing G minor chords in the middle section.

Apart from the Fugue from the Chromatic Fantasy, I performed all the works from memory. My entire conception of piano playing changed and I finally learnt about the correct use of the wrists. Crucial.

I gave some fifty concerts over a two year period, culminating in another recital at St Lawrence Jewry, Central London. This time, I chose the most technically demanding and psychologically daunting programme to date – Bach’s 2nd Prelude and fugue from book 1, the Serieuses Variations by Mendelssohn and Liszt’s Dante Sonata.

No problems.

Better Days Ahead

I’ve always found the narrative of these posts – i.e. my first few years in London – the most difficult to order. I arrived in London, but ended up homeless, like I had on a previous occasion. This time, a man in Stamford Hill helped me out. I auditioned at London College of Music. I received a place, but I couldn’t afford the fees or living expenses, so I deferred the place for a year and began looking for scholarships. Eventually, I won the Fritz Gottlieb Memorial Scholarship for Piano and studied with Vera Yelverton for two years instead of taking up the place at London College of Music.

When the scholarship ended, an international concert pianist took me on for a further two years. I gave concerts, lots of them. I appeared at the Reid Concert Hall in Edinburgh and Sutton House in Hackney and returned to Edinburgh the following year to give a recital at St Mary’s Cathedral as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. I also performed in the City of London on a regular basis and gave weekly recitals around north London and Essex.

The successes, though, corresponded with great struggles, especially in regards to Post Traumatic Stress and anxiety, and a build up of events culminated in a serious self-harming incident that led to repeated infections. In the months following, I plummeted into further despair, to the point where I genuinely believed that a curse had been place on my life and that the curse would never lift.

At some point, I wandered across the street to the local Anglican Church (High Church) close to where I lived. There, I received a cautious welcome, although this would change over the course of three years and the congregants would welcome me into their community and offer me a musical position at their church, along with friendship and fun.

Three years, though, is a long time to wait.

New Friends

Another birthday came and went. I’d reached breaking point. Despite my best efforts, life hadn’t worked out and I couldn’t envisage my circumstances ever changing.

A friend recommended an Anglican church in Muswell Hill, north London. Upset, I made my way to an evening service there, convinced I would spend the rest of my days experiencing hell on earth, cursed and tormented for ever. After the service, I spoke to a couple of people in the Side Chapel (Prayer Ministry). One of them felt certain that my life wasn’t over at all and that coming to this church would be the start of new things for me, including new friends. She was correct.

The following day, the curate gave me permission to practise the grand piano in the adjacent coffee shop area (astonishing, since the instrument was out of bounds). From that point on, I would catch the bus up to Muswell Hill every day to play the new piano and chill out in the coffee shop.

After eighteen months of social isolation, I’d returned to the real world.

Major Piano Repertoire During This Period:

Bach – Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
Beethoven – Moonlight Sonata
Chopin – Third Ballade
Liszt – Dante Sonata

Works Studied In Previous Eighteen Months:

Debussy – Estampes
Chopin – Etudes (selected)
Schubert – Sonata in A minor

All-Chopin Recital Repertoire:

Polonaise in A-flat, op 53 (heroic), fantasie in f minor, various preludes, waltzes and nocturnes