Helfgott

For Berel Helfgott, who commuted fromStaten Islandto teach the College's one course in Jewish history, something from Joyce Chen or even Madhur Jaffrey— something Helfgott would never get to taste except here in the Weisfelds' strictly kosher yet cosmopolitan home.

Fascination Susan Kleinman 2011

Though he does achieve moments of surprising delicacy and understanding, Helfgott favors pyrotechnic crowd-pleasers -- Liszt's "La Campanella" and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6, Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumblebee" -- that are beyond his ability.

The Piano Man 2008

Yet while musical and cultural critics are smarting off, Helfgott and his wife and his audience seem to be sharing something beyond analysis.

The Piano Man 2008

With Helfgott, there are no boundaries: he can never get you close enough.

The Piano Man 2008

And even Gillian's famously antagonistic former friend Dr. Chris Reynolds, the early Helfgott rescuer who introduced them, gives her grudging credit.

The Piano Man 2008

Unlike Geoffrey Rush in "Shine," the real Helfgott hums, sings, moans and mumbles along with his playing, sometimes drowning out the thin, shallow tone he gets out of the piano.

The Piano Man 2008

Helfgott is the Australian boy piano prodigy, devolved to a shuffling mental patient, now resurrected as a freakishly inspirational concert performer.

The Piano Man 2008

Gillian tells the reporter she's bought David a new pair of gloves, and wonders how cold it's going to be in New York; it's high summer on their small wooded property in New South Wales, with its mountain views and the outdoor pool in which Helfgott swims four hours a day to keep his energy and anxiety levels down to somewhere near manageable.

The Piano Man 2008

Just in ease the publicists do manage to keep the critics out, here's what a Helfgott concert is like.

The Piano Man 2008

Helfgott watches his life story, for the seventh time.

The Piano Man 2008