David Helfgott
what I’ve learnt
BORN to Polish-Jewish parents in Melbourne, Australia, in 1947, David Helfgott, now 66, mastered the piano by the age of eight. He was the inspiration for the 1996 Oscar-winning film, Shine, for which Geoffrey Rush won a Best Actor Oscar. While at the Royal College of Music in London, the young Helfgott displayed increasing signs of mental illness, and spent much of the next decade in Australian mental institutions before finding a job at a piano bar in the early ’80s. There he met astrologer Gillian Murray, who became his wife and manager, and whom he credits for his return to concert performances in 1985. “The fog lifted, I could hear again … I survived.” Since his comeback, Helfgott has performed in more than 40 countries on six continents. His final concert tour of SA, entitled Farewell,
South Africa! begins next week. My children. dad was I still very remember controlling the terrible of all his arguments. He’d lost his family in World War II and this made him determined that his children would follow his directions in everything, which caused conflict and sadness. I should have gone to America to study when I was 14. Not going caused much pain between my father and me. My life would have been immeasurably different. I was playing wonderfully then and I would not have had all the conflict and heartache I experienced after that. I would have been in a structured musical environment, and had companionship. My experiences in mental institutions taught me to live in the moment. Without doing that, I don’t think I would have got through my time there. These experiences also taught me patience, as one does not have control over anything.
Gillian is my best friend. When Gillian and I married, she gave up her life in Sydney to come to Perth to look after me. I’d be lost without her, and would have died years ago.
I know I am different from most people. I have an overactive brain and need medication, but I now never think of myself as mentally ill. I am so glad I have Gillian to look after the practical things, as I am not good at that. I guess I am a bit eccentric and fussy but don’t have mood swings. Gillian just lets me be free. It is wonderful that I don’t have to fit a pattern. I was smoking 125 cigarettes a day when I met Gillian. She took me swimming for hours every day, which meant I could not smoke, and she’d guide me to play pieces without the cigarette in my mouth. I gave up in November 1986, when I was down to 20 a day. We were at Heathrow and Gillian said what a lovely thing it would be if I got off the plane in Perth and had given up smoking altogether and how happy all our friends and family would be. So I went and stubbed out the cigarette and have never had another. Music has made my life worth living. The beauty of the music and the joy of being able to play such challenging works have taught me to be happy, and think, but this only came with great concentration and dedication. I never found practising a chore; indeed, it has been my greatest joy for over 60 years.
I practise around four hours a day. I like to start at 10pm and go through to 2am. I love the peace of the night, and find that inspiring.
I like to swim before I practise. I always play better then. And I always swim before my concerts. I swim at least two hours a day, sometimes up to five. The water clears my thoughts and gives me such a sense of peace and happiness. I find my spirituality through my music, nature, and love. When I play Franz Liszt’s Dante Sonata, I feel inspired and have a wonderful sense of the universe.
I love books on wildlife. I live in the countryside between Sydney and Brisbane, at the foot of the Great Dividing Range, which runs the length of Australia. I watch the sunset every evening in our garden and love the trees, birds and animals. I have been called a horse whisperer. A horse on the neighbouring property had been badly treated by its previous owner and would not let anyone near her. So I stood at the fence every day for a month and just talked to her gently. As the days passed, she came closer and eventually let me pat her. I had a lovely time talking to her. The horse’s new owner thanked me and called me a horse whisperer. ‘Shine’ changed my life in so many ways. I felt so much better once I had shared my story with the world. It seemed as if a load had been lifted. I no longer had the pain of my relationship with my father to bear alone. Talking about it made it lessen its impact on me. It was a great release. Geoffrey Rush was superb in his portrayal of my life. He deserved his Academy Award. Gillian felt that she had two husbands, as Geoffrey had captured my character so wonderfully.
I don’t have any unfulfilled ambitions … I am giving concerts in Australia and Brazil until December, prior to winding down my touring. Gillian and I are getting older and the international travel is becoming more demanding. I long to spend more time in my lovely garden, reading and swimming. It has taken a long time for me to feel secure and trust in life. I now trust most things, except silly things like have I
turned off the bath tap? — Tiara Walters • Helfgott will be performing in Pretoria (Sept 7), Joburg (Sept 8), Bloemfontein (Sept 11) and Cape Town (Sept 14 and 15). Book through Computicket.