Mystery pianist

last updated 8 January 2015

Sheerness, U.K.

Police asked for help this week in identifying a mute and frightened man they found last month wandering, soaking wet, on the streets of a town in Kent. The tags of his evening suit and all other garments had been cut out. When social workers offered him pen and paper, he wrote no words, but drew a grand piano. They brought him to a piano, and he played masterfully, nonstop, for hours. “When he plays the piano, his demeanor is completely different,” said social worker Michael Camp. “He is extremely relaxed and completely oblivious to people around him.” The man is being treated at a mental hospital while authorities search for someone who might know him. His description has gone out to all major orchestras in Europe.