I heard a story about this on All Things Considered this evening. The social worker says that he has no background in music at all. They're trying to get the guy a piano.

Why don't they get him a piano and a pianist at the same time? Let the pianist play, listen, communicate with The Piano Man in the way musicians do (we all know there is a lot of unspoken humor in music, for example). Find someone who is conversant in a broad array of musical types and see what can be narrowed down. But don't keep him in the dark with non-musicians all around him.

I worked as a volunteer in a recreation program for mentally retarded and emotionally disturbed kids and adults. I did this for several years while I was in college, but then, as college students do, I went away after graduation. I returned a year or two later on a Saturday to visit the group, only to find that while the participants were the same, there was a whole new set of paid staff and all new volunteers. The place was rather dead that afternoon. I asked "why don't you have Frank play the piano? That always perks up the group." They didn't know what I was talking about. Somehow they'd missed transmitting the information that Frank was a music savant. I had them open the room with the piano and let Frank in and he was thrilled to get to play and everyone gathered around. He was so non-communicative in every other area that he couldn't even speak up to tell them of this gift of his.

There are many gifted pianists in the world, not all of them are know by regional orchestras. But maybe some sharp-eared volunteer somewhere will catch on that one of their flock has gone astray. Good luck to him in the meantime.

SRS