the good-natured neighborhood
dog, who would often trot over to visit us. Then, suddenly, he took to kicking Bitzy—behavior that astonished us and made
me feel terribly angry.
It is difficult to know whether David’s strange behavior was merely an early sign of a difficult adolescence, or an indication
that something more serious was afoot. My parents never talked to me about David’s moods. Perhaps when they were alone they
discussed their talented son. Maybe they simply concluded that geniuses are prone to difficult periods. I believe that David
probably regarded all of us as competition and wanted to put us in our place so that he could be “the only star” in the house.
The way my parents spoiled David, in spite of his bad behavior, made growing up with him tough for the rest of us. As a reward
for playing the piano so brilliantly he was always given one more lamb chop or an extra pint of milk. My father felt that
David needed to be strong if he was to excel at playing the piano, and David had no problem obliging. He had such a voracious
appetite that he could eat six lamb chops at a single meal.
Despite David’s moods, the relationship between him and my father continued to be close. David was the apple of my father’s
eye, and my father did everything to encourage him. If there was any spare money, it was spent on nice new clothes for David.
The rest of us couldn’t help but be a little resentful of this special treatment, feeling that things should have been more
equally shared.
My father’s preoccupation with David was particularly hard on me, because I desperately wanted him to recognize my achievements
too. I took my Junior Certificate examinations at the age of fifteen and passed all nine subjects, from art to commercial
studies. This was an above-average performance in Perth and I proudly raced home to show everybody. When I rushed up to my
father and told him that I had passed my Junior Certificate he said, “Shhh, David’s practicing.” That was the only reaction
I got. The next day at school I found out that all the other children’s parents had given them radios, clothes, and all sorts
of presents for passing. But all I had received was a “Shhh, David’s practicing.”
I began to understand our situation better later in life. Books such as Carol Easton’s biography of English cellist Jacqueline
du Pré and a psychological study called
Nature’s Gambit
by David Henry Feldman taught me how hard it can be for the other siblings to get enough attention when there is an exceptionally
talented child in a family. It was especially so in our case, since we were all studying hard and learning musical instruments.
As he won praise on all sides, David’s arrogance grew. One particular incident in the spring of 1961 had quite an effect on
him. Shortly before David’s fourteenth birthday in May, the American violinist Isaac Stern and the pianist Abbey Simon were
on a tour of Australia. After hearing David perform at the West Australian State Final of the ABC Concerto and Vocal Competition,
the two musicians were very impressed. They described David as highly talented and suggested that it might be a good idea
for him to pursue his musical studies in the United States.
Stern and Simon were such celebrated personalities that their comments were taken up by the press and turned into feature
stories. The music critic of the Perth
Sunday Times
, James Penberthy, wrote a prominent front-page article. Under the heading “He’ll Bring Honor to Perth,” the paper announced
it was setting up a fund for David to send him to America. Initially David was quite upset by this article because it revealed
that he sat on a homemade stool, that he couldn’t reach the pedals, and that his pant legs were too short. But he soon became
very excited by all the media attention.
Many other papers followed the
Sunday Times
lead. Under the heading “Will He Be a
dog, who would often trot over to visit us. Then, suddenly, he took to kicking Bitzy—behavior that astonished us and made
me feel terribly angry.
It is difficult to know whether David’s strange behavior was merely an early sign of a difficult adolescence, or an indication
that something more serious was afoot. My parents never talked to me about David’s moods. Perhaps when they were alone they
discussed their talented son. Maybe they simply concluded that geniuses are prone to difficult periods. I believe that David
probably regarded all of us as competition and wanted to put us in our place so that he could be “the only star” in the house.
The way my parents spoiled David, in spite of his bad behavior, made growing up with him tough for the rest of us. As a reward
for playing the piano so brilliantly he was always given one more lamb chop or an extra pint of milk. My father felt that
David needed to be strong if he was to excel at playing the piano, and David had no problem obliging. He had such a voracious
appetite that he could eat six lamb chops at a single meal.
Despite David’s moods, the relationship between him and my father continued to be close. David was the apple of my father’s
eye, and my father did everything to encourage him. If there was any spare money, it was spent on nice new clothes for David.
The rest of us couldn’t help but be a little resentful of this special treatment, feeling that things should have been more
equally shared.
My father’s preoccupation with David was particularly hard on me, because I desperately wanted him to recognize my achievements
too. I took my Junior Certificate examinations at the age of fifteen and passed all nine subjects, from art to commercial
studies. This was an above-average performance in Perth and I proudly raced home to show everybody. When I rushed up to my
father and told him that I had passed my Junior Certificate he said, “Shhh, David’s practicing.” That was the only reaction
I got. The next day at school I found out that all the other children’s parents had given them radios, clothes, and all sorts
of presents for passing. But all I had received was a “Shhh, David’s practicing.”
I began to understand our situation better later in life. Books such as Carol Easton’s biography of English cellist Jacqueline
du Pré and a psychological study called
Nature’s Gambit
by David Henry Feldman taught me how hard it can be for the other siblings to get enough attention when there is an exceptionally
talented child in a family. It was especially so in our case, since we were all studying hard and learning musical instruments.
As he won praise on all sides, David’s arrogance grew. One particular incident in the spring of 1961 had quite an effect on
him. Shortly before David’s fourteenth birthday in May, the American violinist Isaac Stern and the pianist Abbey Simon were
on a tour of Australia. After hearing David perform at the West Australian State Final of the ABC Concerto and Vocal Competition,
the two musicians were very impressed. They described David as highly talented and suggested that it might be a good idea
for him to pursue his musical studies in the United States.
Stern and Simon were such celebrated personalities that their comments were taken up by the press and turned into feature
stories. The music critic of the Perth
Sunday Times
, James Penberthy, wrote a prominent front-page article. Under the heading “He’ll Bring Honor to Perth,” the paper announced
it was setting up a fund for David to send him to America. Initially David was quite upset by this article because it revealed
that he sat on a homemade stool, that he couldn’t reach the pedals, and that his pant legs were too short. But he soon became
very excited by all the media attention.
Many other papers followed the
Sunday Times
lead. Under the heading “Will He Be a
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