Piano Man (Person)

By the media as a piano man ( Engl. Piano man ) became known Andreas Grassl (* 25. October 1984 ) was in 2005 in the southeast of England after a suicide attempt found. After that he didn't speak . Doctors attested that he had severe psychosis as a result of losing his job in Paris . As a result of his identification, a media hype broke out in which there was a very contradictory extremization of the reporting, for example about his illness or his musical abilities.

Andreas Graßl was found on April 7, 2005 in a wet suit on the beach in the coastal town of Sheerness in south-east England. The man looked confused, did not speak, and was taken to the psychiatric ward at Dartford Hospital. When he was given paper and pencil, he drew a grand piano on it. When he was led to a piano , he supposedly began to play on it for hours.

Since the silent piano player could not be identified, the investigators contacted several European orchestras to find out if he was missing there. The case attracted great international attention. A missing person hotline in England received more than 1000 clues about the alleged identity of the man, but the investigation did not advance.

It has been said several times that the man bears a striking resemblance to a Czech pianist. A woman claimed on Danish television that it was her Algerian husband. He was also mistaken for an Italian . Another hypothesis was that the blond man was a Scandinavian , as he once pointed to Oslo in Norway on a map and another time drew the Swedish flag on a piece of paper . Norwegian students then believed they recognized the man as an exchange student from Ireland .

Because of his behavior, doctors classified him as mentally ill, some believed he was autistic . In mid-August 2005, the piano man broke his silence and revealed to a nurse that he was German. The then 20-year-old came from Bavaria and had attempted suicide in the sea. According to statements by the clinic staff, he also told about his family, their farm and his two sisters.

The event led to renewed media hype. While in many reports before the identification it was said that the piano man had played the piano ready for a concert, according to other newspaper reports he was only supposed to have hit the same key. There was also a discussion in the tabloid media as to the extent to which one can or must assume that this and similar cases are made up of simulated and faked memory gaps. It was also said that he himself had stated that he had looked after mentally ill people and had now imitated their behavior. The clinic actually confirmed that he had severe psychosis .

The case is processed literarily in the book De Pianoman by the Dutch author J. Bernlef , published in 2008 .

See also

• Kaspar Hauser
• Forest boy Ray

Web links

• Süddeutsche Zeitung: A sad case , May 19, 2010 edition

Individual evidence

1. ↑ CNN: Silent 'piano man' baffles medics
2. ^ The Globe and Mail: Piano player man of mystery
3. ↑ Guardian: Do you know this man? Mystery of the silent, talented piano player who lives for his music.
4. ^ Guardian: What is wrong with the piano man?
5. ↑ Doctors fear mute 'Piano Man' will never be identified.
6. ↑ BBC: 'Piano Man' identified in Italy?
7. ↑ Aftenposten: "Ex-students recognize 'Piano Man'"
8. ↑ Andin Tegen: The piano man comes from Bavaria , Die Welt , August 23 2005
9. ↑ The enigmatic "Piano Man" comes from Bavaria
10. ^ Confirmation from German Embassy
11. ↑ West Kent NHS and Social Care Trust final statement ( Memento of the original dated November 1, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
12. ^ Piano Man's Identity is Revealed
13. ↑ Detailed background report from Der Spiegel (English)
14. ↑ Database with news reports on the case (English and Spanish)
15. ↑ http://www.dreamette.nl/recensie-de-pianoman/