Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted an old friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.
Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of a concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.”
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about ot begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and the spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horro, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out ‘twinkle, twinkle little star.’ At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “don’t quit.” “keep playing.”
Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in the bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child, and he added a running obligato.
Together, the old master and the young novice transformed what could have been a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn’t recall what else the great master played. Only the classic, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little star.’
