GG: Helfgott redux

[Tim Conway <tpconway@ozemail.com.au>]

Hi Miners,

Some time ago the Aussie pianist David Helfgott, aided by the film 
'Shine', sprang to the scene and was declared (by some) to be another 
Gould. The List, almost unanimously, rubbished that declaration, as did 
many critics. However, he hasn't given up (why should he?). I thought the 
List might be interested in an article in The Australian of 17/6/98, p3, 
which is about as anti-GG regarding action and reaction as you can get 
and goes as follows:

__________________________________

[HEADLINE] Broken finger takes shine off Helfgott tour

[by] KIMINA LYALL

GILLIAN Helfgott was worried last week when in the middle of one of her 
husband David's final performances of a sell-out European and Asian tour, 
he didn't appear to be playing at his best.

At interval, he told her he was favouring his sore hand -- injured in the 
hotel swimming pool that morning -- then took her concerns back to the 
stage and gave a "wonderful" performance in the second half, topped with 
four encores.

Two days later, the concert pianist faced the career-threatening news 
that he had broken his little right finger, and was forced to cancel his 
five remaining European concerts. His first response? "I've never missed 
a performance before."

Yesterday, the couple made famous by the Scott Hicks movie Shine, flew 
back to Australia, and a 5am appointment with surgeon friend Murray 
Stapleton.

Seven hours later, the news was better. Helfgott did not need surgery, 
but a splint and a three-week rest from practice.

In fact, the accident occurred when he was planning to return to 
Australia in any case, for a six-week rest before continuing to tour the 
world, beginning again in Auckland on September 1.

The five missed concerts, in Amsterdam, Brussels, Aachen, Vienna and 
Innsbruck will be rescheduled for later in the year, when he returns to 
Europe as part of a trek including the US, Israel, South Africa and Asia.

Gillian isn't surprised Helfgott hadn't explained how sore his finger 
was. After all, she jokes, this is the man who has had three root canal 
fillings without an injection, and whose fear of needing surgery on the 
finger was largely based on his dread of needles.

The accident occurred when Helfgott, a passionate swimmer, swam without 
wearing contact lenses, and crashed his hand down on some steps inside 
the pool. But when Gillian asked him later that day if it was hurting, he 
said, "no, not really".

"I don't know anyone else who's played Beethoven's Appassionata with a 
broken finger," she said with obvious pride and relief in Melbourne 
yesterday.

As for Helfgott himself, he simply said: "Keep smiling, keep smiling. It 
doesn't hurt when you smile."

________________________________

I hope I have copied the article correctly. I have not asked permission 
to reproduce the article so please do not broadcast it without permission 
from The Australian and the author.

Some questions arise from this piece:

1. Is Helfgott really a trek (see para 7) or part thereof? [Answers on a 
postcard, please.]
2. Isthe Appassionata the worst piece to play with a broken finger?
3. Which finger, for a pianist, is the worst to break?
4. Was GG afraid of needles?
5. Is there any doubt that there is absolutely no comparison between GG 
and Helfgott, not just on their pianistic ability but on their approach 
to pain and health, if this piece is to be believed?
6. Would GG have agreed with the last paragraph?
7. Would GG have been happy married to someone like Mrs Helfgott (this is 
not a dig at that woman, just an attempt to see what the List thinks 
about the sort of woman GG _might _ have been happy married to).
8. Could GG swim? and would he have been a "passionate" swimmer (see para 
9)?
9. If he could and did swim, whether passionately or not, did he wear 
gloves while swimming? If not, why not?
10. Would he have insisted on the pool being heated to -- for want of a 
better word -- lobster temperature?
11. Could GG read underwater? If so, would that explain his love of 
Handel?

I am sure other questions arise but they are left for the reader to 
devise and disseminate as an exercise.

Yours flippantly,

Tim
<tpconway@ozemail.com.au>