LONDON (Reuters) - A smartly dressed man found wandering in a soaking wet suit near an English beach has baffled police and care workers after he refused to say a word and then gave a virtuoso piano performance.
The man, wearing a formal black suit and tie, was spotted by police in Kent on April 8 and taken to a psychiatric unit where it proved impossible to identify him because he stayed silent.
It was only after he was given a pen and paper that carers were given an intriguing clue to his possible background when he drew an intricate picture of a grand piano.
He was taken to the hospital's chapel where he played classical music on the piano for hours.
However, despite his picture being posted on the National Missing Persons Helpline's (NMPH) Web site, no one has come forward to identify him.
"Very little is known about him as he has not been speaking with staff at the hospital where he is being cared for, but he has a talent for playing classical piano," an NMPH spokesman said in a statement.
Newspapers said members of the public had contacted authorities to say they may have seen the man giving concert performances around Europe.
The Daily Telegraph said the man, in his 20s or 30s, is believed to be English and may have suffered a mental breakdown.
His story echoes the 1996 Oscar-winning film "Shine", in which actor Geoffrey Rush played Australian pianist David Helfgott, who overcame a nervous breakdown to return to performing
The so-called Piano Man who triggered massive efforts to identify him after he was found wandering in Kent in April has been released from hospital.
On Monday the German foreign ministry confirmed the 20-year-old, who has not been named, was from Bavaria and had flown home on Saturday. West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust, would not comment further on the case because of patient confidentiality.
The man, said to be an excellent pianist, was found on Sheppey in April. A national newspaper reported on Monday that the man had finally broken his silence and stated he was German, before leaving the UK. The health trust said the patient had been discharged following a marked improvement in his condition but the rules regarding patient confidentiality meant there would be no further statement. The trust also declined to comment on the circumstances in which the patient left its care.
The German embassy in London said it had been contacted on Friday morning by the Little Brook Hospital, in Dartford, with a report of a man claiming to be a German national.
"We contacted his parents and his identification was confirmed," an embassy spokesman said.
"We gave him replacement travel documents and he left the UK using his own arrangements on Saturday morning.
"This was a neutral affair for us, it was someone who had lost his passport and needed to get back to Germany and we helped him."
'Stunning performance'
The man was first taken to Medway Maritime Hospital where he drew a picture of a grand piano and was then taken to the hospital chapel.
It was reported that health and social workers said they were "stunned" when he proceeded to give them a virtuoso performance.
However, newspaper reports now suggest he was only able to play one note continuously.
Theories put forward and later discounted included that the man was a French street musician and a Czech concert pianist.
A Norwegian speaker was brought in to try to communicate with the man, in his 20s or early 30s, after he pointed to Oslo on a map.
A ship from Norway was thought to have been in the area when he was found and there were suggestions that his suit was soaked because he had been in the sea.
His social worker Michael Camp claimed that his client "came to life" at the piano.
All the labels had been removed from his clothes when he was found on The Broadway in Minster, Sheerness.
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May 16th, 2005 04:24 PM
