David’s music teacher, Scott Hicks changed Frank Arndt’s name to Ben Rosen
in the film.)
Under Frank’s tutelage, David had made a lot of progress by the time he was twelve and he didn’t seem to have any problem
in learning difficult pieces. David was always practicing, so all his siblings would absorb the melodies of various concertos
by constant exposure to them. I would hum a tune from one of them around the house as a matter of course, in the same way
as a child today might sing something from MTV.
David used to perform at the Capitol Theater, which was then Perth’s main concert venue and the seat of the West Australian
Symphony Orchestra. (The Capitol has now been demolished and replaced by the Perth Concert Hall.) The whole family would go
and hear him play and it was a thrilling experience for us all. We had to ensure David looked good and was properly dressed
for such grand occasions, so any spare money would go toward clothes for him. My father had a lovely green corduroy jacket
specially made up for him and he also wore smart trousers, nice shoes, and a cute little bow tie. David looked very elegant.
I felt very proud of my little brother up there playing with an orchestra. If it had been me performing in front of such a
sizable audience at that age, I would have been very nervous; I used to keep my fingers crossed, hoping desperately that David
didn’t forget anything or make mistakes. But not only did he always get through the pieces without any problems, he played
beautifully.
David soon began entering Australia’s principal concerto and vocal music competition for young musicians, which was held every
year under the auspices of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. First there were rounds in each state, then the winning
pianist, instrumentalist, and singer would go forward to the nationwide final, known as the Commonwealth final, which was
usually held in Sydney or Melbourne.
Every year David would enter this competition with a different piano concerto; he played concertos by Tchaikovsky, Ravel,
Mozart, and Bach, interpreting their complexity quite brilliantly. He not only played them, he mastered them. He also played
Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. He did not, as is strongly suggested in
Shine
, play Rachmaninoff’s Third for the first time many years later in London, which supposedly led to his collapse. He had played
it on a number of occasions, both publicly and privately, over a period of several years, before he even went to London.
All in all, David was creating quite a sensation with his musical excellence and was constantly being written about in newspaper
reports. By the time he turned thirteen in May 1960, not a month seemed to go by without David receiving several rave reviews
and write-ups.
“Head judge Dr. William Lovelock complimented thirteen-year-old pianist David Helfgott, who brought the most sympathetic applause
with his dextrous handling of Ravel’s often difficult Concerto in G Major,” wrote the music critic Francis King in
The West Australian
on June 17, I960.
“The audience was startled as thirteen-year-old David Helfgott gave an amazingly strong performance of the difficult Ravel
Piano Concerto … David has that indefinable something—a quality which marks him for the future,” wrote James Penberthy, the
music critic for one of Perth’s leading newspapers, the
Sunday Times
. “This is the first sight of a rare and prodigious talent, startling from one so young,’ he added.
“Individual talent was present in a highly promising young pianist, David Helfgott, who played three Hungarian dances by Brahms,”
said another review.
The music critic Sally Trethowan, writing in another newspaper under the heading “Youth Shines in Concert” (which may have
provided the inspiration for the title of Scott Hicks’s movie), said: “[Watching] the West Australian Symphony playing selections
from
in the film.)
Under Frank’s tutelage, David had made a lot of progress by the time he was twelve and he didn’t seem to have any problem
in learning difficult pieces. David was always practicing, so all his siblings would absorb the melodies of various concertos
by constant exposure to them. I would hum a tune from one of them around the house as a matter of course, in the same way
as a child today might sing something from MTV.
David used to perform at the Capitol Theater, which was then Perth’s main concert venue and the seat of the West Australian
Symphony Orchestra. (The Capitol has now been demolished and replaced by the Perth Concert Hall.) The whole family would go
and hear him play and it was a thrilling experience for us all. We had to ensure David looked good and was properly dressed
for such grand occasions, so any spare money would go toward clothes for him. My father had a lovely green corduroy jacket
specially made up for him and he also wore smart trousers, nice shoes, and a cute little bow tie. David looked very elegant.
I felt very proud of my little brother up there playing with an orchestra. If it had been me performing in front of such a
sizable audience at that age, I would have been very nervous; I used to keep my fingers crossed, hoping desperately that David
didn’t forget anything or make mistakes. But not only did he always get through the pieces without any problems, he played
beautifully.
David soon began entering Australia’s principal concerto and vocal music competition for young musicians, which was held every
year under the auspices of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. First there were rounds in each state, then the winning
pianist, instrumentalist, and singer would go forward to the nationwide final, known as the Commonwealth final, which was
usually held in Sydney or Melbourne.
Every year David would enter this competition with a different piano concerto; he played concertos by Tchaikovsky, Ravel,
Mozart, and Bach, interpreting their complexity quite brilliantly. He not only played them, he mastered them. He also played
Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto. He did not, as is strongly suggested in
Shine
, play Rachmaninoff’s Third for the first time many years later in London, which supposedly led to his collapse. He had played
it on a number of occasions, both publicly and privately, over a period of several years, before he even went to London.
All in all, David was creating quite a sensation with his musical excellence and was constantly being written about in newspaper
reports. By the time he turned thirteen in May 1960, not a month seemed to go by without David receiving several rave reviews
and write-ups.
“Head judge Dr. William Lovelock complimented thirteen-year-old pianist David Helfgott, who brought the most sympathetic applause
with his dextrous handling of Ravel’s often difficult Concerto in G Major,” wrote the music critic Francis King in
The West Australian
on June 17, I960.
“The audience was startled as thirteen-year-old David Helfgott gave an amazingly strong performance of the difficult Ravel
Piano Concerto … David has that indefinable something—a quality which marks him for the future,” wrote James Penberthy, the
music critic for one of Perth’s leading newspapers, the
Sunday Times
. “This is the first sight of a rare and prodigious talent, startling from one so young,’ he added.
“Individual talent was present in a highly promising young pianist, David Helfgott, who played three Hungarian dances by Brahms,”
said another review.
The music critic Sally Trethowan, writing in another newspaper under the heading “Youth Shines in Concert” (which may have
provided the inspiration for the title of Scott Hicks’s movie), said: “[Watching] the West Australian Symphony playing selections
from
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