She wished him luck and begged him always to relax the upper body and foot arches, so that energy could ‘come through to all of us’. He received flowers from the John Sampson Agency with a note from Ursula, voicemails from Laurent Mattier Brzeska of the London Piano Competition, and from Olivier Desormand of the Conservatoire in Paris. Everyone knew about the concert. The Guildhall’s Alistair Banville said his pupils were coming. There would be London-based concert pianists, Frank’s production team, sundry figures from the British musical establishment, critics, the public, and friends. He rose late and wandered around his bedroom getting dressed. He was neither confident nor nervous. He was in the pre-concert groove of strained determination, a familiar state. One sleepwalked through all the intervening stages of the day incapable of doing anything except become tensely ready. He booked his cab, checked his shirt and tailcoat. For the last three days he had practised without break, dawn to dusk, an onslaught.
What do You think about The Concert Pianist (2006)?
