Farewell

When I was 11, the school of music in Hilversum where I sang in a choir and took my pianolessons organised an evening for the parents to come watch their kids perform. I remember I was on fairly late on the bill (i.e. they must have thought I did well) and my mother and grandparents came to see me play.

My dad had left us by then.

My teacher had given me a piece to play that I found fairly difficult. It had a lot of notes running off the scale and I was crap at reading notes. I think I only managed to play it faultlessly once before performance night. The performance was a blur, I remember making one mistake but otherwise doing well.

Afterwards, holding my mum's hand, one of the other parents came up to tell my mum he'd enjoyed my performance. I was well chuffed. (In hindsight, perhaps he was just hitting on my mum, who was a very beautiful woman)

It was the last time she saw me play. My mother went into hospital soon after that, never came out and died 7 months after.

I've been buying all my old study books and since I got the piano on Friday, I've been working my way through every piece I was ever taught. I found the one I performed that night. I've been trying to play it, but I'll need some serious practice.

The thing that struck me was the title. It's called 'Farewell'.