The Fiction Factory

Piano Revisited

Looking back through this blog I see that in Part 33 from February 2023, I noted, “…something on my bucket list is to play the piano for the public in a railway station. We have pianos in stations here for anyone to sit down at and entertain the public. I thought doing a talk in stand-up fashion in the Comedy Club in Edinburgh was scary enough. Playing piano in public really scares me. I’m rehearsing the now and I will keep you posted later in the year.” By Part 123 in September 2024, “I have chosen a couple of pieces to play on the piano in Waverley train station next year. One by Bach and the other by Beethoven.” In Part 128 from October 2024, “I’ve already chosen the pieces I’m going to play and rehearsals are underway. I don’t know when I will go for this, I just know I’m going to do so at some point.”

I’m delighted to announce that yesterday, the 23rd September 2025, I actually sat down and played in Waverley Station in Edinburgh. Only for a couple of minutes, but I did it. I hadn’t set out to play this day and I hadn’t imagined I would. I had spent lunchtime at the National Gallery, partly because I had viewed a painting by Degas entitled Dancers (1905) in the Wallraf in Cologne in July, and I hadn’t been for a couple of months. When I looked it up I saw that the National had another example of his work in a similar vein, so I went along to view it. Turns out they have two paintings on display. Group of Dancers (about 1898) and Before the Performance (about 1895-1900). The gallery was very busy and there was a bit of negotiating for space to stand in front of the paintings. There was a young lady standing up close to Before the Performance, engrossed with sketching her own interpretation. There was actually a fair number of folk drawing, some even sitting on stools while they sketched. It’s good to see the place so popular. The gallery was noticeably busier than those I had visited during the summer (the Kunstmuseum Basel, Modern Art Museum Strasbourg, and the Museum Ludwig and the Wallraf in Cologne). To be fair those are larger establishments, but Edinburgh certainly fills the space it has with visitors.

I had a train to catch so headed to Waverley, stopping off to take yet more photographs of the Scott Monument. I’ve recently purchased his novel which happens to be called Waverley, and I’m looking forward to reading it, so it seemed appropriate to take some pictures while I was passing. I had time to grab a latte from Cafe Nero (as I have a gift card, and as you know there is nothing like free coffee) and then had the notion to walk down to where the piano is situated. It was at this point as I approached and saw no one was playing that I realised this was my chance. Usually, there is someone there and that has been enough to put me off, but today, no one was playing. I noted a few folk sitting on the benches round about and at that point the nerves vanished. I’m used to talking to audiences and although nervous beforehand, there is a point when the nerves just switch off and the focus is on the next moment, and only the next moment. Not having played piano for anyone, with hindsight it is interesting to realise the same process occurred. While playing, I forgot about everyone and everything else around me, and only concentrated on the next note.

I placed my coffee cup on the ground, as I didn’t want to take the chance of spilling it on the piano, and keeping my backpack on (which to be fair kept my back straight), I played a shorter version of Passacaglia based on the Handel/Halvorsen arrangement and then opted to play Beethoven’s Fur Elise, possibly because I know these from memory. The piece by Bach (Prelude in C Major) which I could have played, never crossed my mind. I then got up and walked away with the impression that no one was looking horrified or amused so I take it from that, it went okay.

So that’s that ticked off my bucket list. I imagine I will do it again one day, though I suspect I will leave it till next year.