‘How come?’
‘One of the things I learned very early on is that most classical pianists tend to come from Europe, the USA or the Far East. Jamaicans are rare. I’m not saying this country doesn’t produce pianists at all, because we do. But they tend to be jazz or contemporary rather than classical. In that arena you’ve basically got a guy called Paul Shaw and me.’
‘Right, but that’s only to be expected, given that Jamaica is a very small country compared to the other places you mentioned. What’s it got to do with your accent?’
‘The truth is that nobody took me seriously all the time I spoke with a Jamaican accent. My classmates would tease me and say things like, “You’re in the wrong place. Reggae is next door.” So I cultivated a British accent.’
‘That’s outrageous!’ I exclaim. ‘It’s blatant racism. Did you raise it with the teachers?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because, deep down, I think they felt the same way. I mean yes, they told the other students off if they heard them say anything, but it was pretty half-hearted. There was an upside though.’
‘Really? What?’
‘It motivated me to work harder than pretty much everyone else, because I had a point to prove.’
‘Are any of the others as successful as you?’
He grins. ‘I’m the only one in my year listed on the “Stellar Alumni” lists.’
‘I bet that grates on them.’
‘I probably take more pleasure in it than I should. Pride is one of the seven deadly sins, as my mother is keen to remind me.’
‘It’s not pride. It sounds to me like you worked your arse off to get where you are, and surely it isn’t wrong to be pleased with the way things have turned out?’
‘Mm. I think the line between being pleased how things have turned out and pride is pretty thin, but thank you.’
‘So, you’re living in the Jamaican High Commission, studying like mad and then what?’
‘Then it all went wrong. Dad had a massive heart attack when I was eighteen, and didn’t survive it. Mum had never liked living in London, so as soon as Dad’s affairs were put in order, she and the rest of the family moved back here.’
‘What about you?’
‘I was at the RCM. I had to choose between being left behind to continue to pursue my dream, or give it all up and move back with them.’
‘Difficult choice.’
‘Not really. I love Jamaica, but I feel at home in London. It probably sounds weird to someone like you, given how the British are seemingly obsessed with complaining about the weather, but I like the different seasons, sometimes all of them in one day. Here, apart from the odd hurricane, it’s pretty much the same all year round. And, of course, there are more opportunities for someone like me there.’
‘It’s a crowded scene though, isn’t it? I mean, you’ve already mentioned your classmates as competition, and that’s just one year. How come you got noticed above the others? You’re clearly talented, but there has to be more to it than that.’
‘Boringly, I think it’s just hard slog again. I took every piece of work going, played concerts in some pretty obscure places, and entered every competition for pianists. The one that finallygot me noticed on the world stage was the International Chopin Piano competition. It’s only held once every five years, but I won it, and that broke the barrier.’
‘You were playing Chopin the evening I first met you.’
‘Well remembered. I play a lot of Chopin. Seems only fair really, given it was his music that launched me.’
‘Surely it was the way you played his music that launched you.’
‘Maybe, but I prefer to see it my way. Less risk of pride.’
A thought comes to me. ‘Do you have a rider when you’re doing a concert? Please tell me you do.’
He smiles. ‘Actually, I do. It’s?—’
