A Happy Memory: Playing Schubert's Piano
I recently found a photo of me, taken in February 1958, when I was still 11 years old. We were on our way back to England, via sea from Dar-es-Salaam on a Lloyd Triestino vessel (either the Europa or the Africa - I can’t remember which!) to Trieste, and then driving through Austria, Germany and France, before landing back in Blighty. In Vienna, we visited the Schubert Museum, and the curator must have seen me casting longing glances at the piano; she said, “I am going to go out of this room. What I don’t see, I know nothing about!” and made it clear I was allowed to play it.
There were notices everywhere, with “Do Not Touch!” printed on them; rules shouldn’t be broken, but they can be bent a little, and I remember that moment to this day.
One of my Grandma’s cousins had her LRAM diploma in music, and taught piano for years. When we were in Africa, I took both Royal Academy of Music and Trinity College of Music exams; I think the RAM examiners came out just once a year, so you had only one chance to get it right! but Trinity College people came out twice a year, which took the pressure off.
During our voyage to Trieste, our ship also called in at Venice. My Mum and I went ashore, and I was thrilled to see how Venice was built on so many islands, with the bridges across the canals connecting the houses and shops. I remember the Grand Canal and the Rialto Bridge, and lines of gondolas, some beautifully decorated, all waiting with their gondolieri, ready to ferry passengers from one place to another.
As we walked around Venice, we saw a little shop selling jewellery, and went in to see what was on display. I fell in love with a little silver and marcasite gondola brooch, and my Mum, bless her, bought it for me.
If you look carefully at the photo of me playing Schubert's piano, you can see the brooch, pinned on the right side of my coat; I still have it, and it is a treasured piece not just of jewellery, but of all the memories with which it has been imbued. Thank you, Mum, for recognising it would become an important part of items in my Happy Memory Chest!
