Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Helfgott’s last time to shine in South Africa
The Australian concert pianist, who was made world famous by the Oscar-winning movie Shine, will return to Cape Town for the last time next month for his Farewell, South Africa! tour, writes SUE SEGAR
HE floods the bathroom, is addicted to sugar and has been known to “steal” people’s pens to add to his huge collection. He’s spent 12 years in mental institutions, has a brilliant intellect, but has no inhibitions.
His wife calls him “the most stable eccentric you will ever find”.
People from around the world write to him thanking him for the greatest experience of their lives, for exuding joy and for opening his soul to them.
He recently received a 16-minute standing ovation after a piano performance in Vienna, and is a firm favourite in South Africa.
So, when Australian pianist David Helfgott, who has been performing sold-out concerts in South Africa since 1998, takes his final bow in Cape Town next month, it will, no doubt be to packed houses.
The legendary performer, who is known to hold the country close to his heart, has final concerts scheduled in Cape Town, Joburg, Pretoria and Bloemfontein.
He will perform in the Cape Town City Hall on September 14 and 15.
And, while it will be his last visit to South Africa, Helfgott insists he will be playing the piano “until the end”.
He practises piano for five hours a day, often late into the night, preferably while playing at least two radios and the television at the same time.
Helfgott became a household name internationally after the release of the Oscar award-winning film Shine, starring Australian actor Geoffrey Rush, which told his story.
It captured the imagination of the world, and has inspired millions of people.
His music has since taken Helfgott to some of the most renowned concert stages in the world.
Born in Melbourne to PolishJewish parents, he was taught the piano by his father from age five, and it soon became clear that he was a musical child prodigy.
Local composers raised money to send him to the US to study music, but his father refused to allow him to go.
At 19, Helfgott, who had started showing signs of mental illness, went to London to study at the Royal College of Music with Cyril Smith, who described him as his most brilliant student in 25 years of teaching.
He won numerous awards but, towards the end of his time in London, he faced increasing emotional instability.
He said he felt happiest “when I am with Gillian, and when I am playing the piano”. “Then the circle is complete.” He loves playing the music of Liszt, Rachmaninov and Chopin, and the highlight of his career was playing the Rachmaninov Third Piano Concerto at the Royal College of Music in 1969, and again in the Albert Hall in London in 1997.
Asked to comment on his sugar and pen addiction, Helfgott said: “I used to eat too much sugar, but Gillian hides it from me so I am now used to not having any in my tea. I used to put five teaspoons in each cup.
“I like to have pen and paper on hand in case I think of some fragment of music, and want to write it down.”
In a frank interview, Gillian described her first encounter with Helfgott – 10 days short of her 52nd birthday, at the home of the owner of the Perth wine bar, Chris Reynolds.
“David came in from the swimming pool in Chris’s garden and gave me a very wet hug, talked exceedingly fast and asked me if I was coming to hear him play at Riccardo’s that night.
“I went and heard him play and I guess I fell in love with him then.”
At the time, she was working as a professional astrologer.
“I was instantly drawn to David and had a strong feeling he would be part of my life. Astrologically I was expecting a life-changing event to happen, but not in the form of David
He returned to Perth in 1970, married an older woman and was institutionalised in a mental hospital after the marriage collapsed.
He suffered frequent relapses during the 1970s – a period Helfgott described as the time as when he lost his “inner music”.
And then one day the music came back: “The fog lifted, I could hear again… I survived,” he recalled.
In the early 1980s, Helfgott started performing at a Perth wine bar on Saturday nights – and it was here that he met his future wife, numerologist Gillian Murray, who, with the support of promoter Mike Parry, helped him to gradually resume his concert career.
Helfgott married Gillian in 1984 and, with her help, he has managed to overcome his illness and reestablish himself as a concert pianist who tours the world.
In an interview with Weekend Argus, conducted via e-mail, Helfgott, who turns 67 next May, said he would be cutting back on overseas tours.
“I look forward to more time in the garden and having time to play just for pleasure,” he said.
The Helfgotts live on a twohectare property at the foot of the mountains, about 45 minutes from Coff ’s Harbour in New South Wales.
Helfgott, who loves cats, horses, swimming and playing chess, said he also loves “the sunset, the sea and the changing pattern of the seasons”. Helfgott.
“The next day he asked me to marry him and I had to stop myself saying yes on the spot.”
Gillian believes her meeting with Helfgott was written in the stars.
“To use (psychotherapist Carl) Jung’s words, it was real synchronicity. My love for him was sure and so I moved to Perth and we lived together for four months before we got married.”
Soon, she was working on helping Helfgott to resume his concert career. “Firstly, I helped him cut back on smoking 125 cigarettes a day. Once he did this, within the first two months, he was able to give his first professional recital.
“I took him swimming a lot which helped his health and, with the security of companionship, his health improved dramatically.”
Gillian said they spend at least half the year touring around Australia and overseas.
“When we are at home, we cherish the time. We have a lovely lagoon inhabited by water birds. David and I love the garden and he swims in the swimming pool for hours every day.”
Asked about the highlights of her life with Helfgott, Gillian said: “In nearly 30 years I have never had a boring day. He is always loving and entertaining. To watch him perform in the great concert halls of the world and see how he inspires those who face mental challenges has been wonderful.”
Asked about the challenges of her life with David, she responded: “The noise. David plays radios, at least two, as well as the television – and then he plays the piano, so there is hardly ever any quiet within the house. He was very untidy when we first married and flooded the bathroom often, but he has changed … and keeps the kitchen clean, makes the beds, but still floods the bathroom.”
But the plus side, she said, was this: “Many people say hearing David play is the greatest experience of their life.
“He exudes joy and this remains with people. They write to thank him for opening his soul to them. We receive e-mails every day of appreciation for his music and his example of handling life. His influence on those battling a mental wilderness is profound, and he has helped open a different awareness of mental illness. This has been one of the greatest benefits to come out of Shine.”
Gillian, who has described Helfgott as having a “brilliant intellect, but having no inhibitions”, said: “When meeting people, he immediately embraces them, regardless of their standing. He was recently at a garden party for Queen Elizabeth so, needless to say, I held on to him very strongly in case he was introduced.
“It is part of his brain function that he does not have inhibitions. He can sight-read a piece of music, carrying on a conversation with someone – not about the piece of music – and comment on a conversation going on in another part of the room. His brain appears to function on multi levels and at a very rapid speed.”
Would she do it all again, if she had her life over?
“Without a moment’s hesitation. We have a wonderful life, full of travel, music and love. I feel greatly blessed.”