The Piano: The Final, review: this delightful evening belonged to 13-year-old Lucy
The Piano (Channel 4) reached its finale with a concert at the Royal Festival Hall. The four amateur pianists chosen at auditions in railway stations were on the bill. “They have just a few weeks…” said presenter Claudia Winkleman, inevitably. The jeopardy of a deadline is always built into shows of this type.
This has been a delightful series that succeeded because the charm and talent of the participants outweighed the manipulative behaviour of the programme-makers. Watching it, one had to wonder. Did all of these contestants, with their heartbreaking/inspiring backstories, just stumble upon an advert for an audition and pop to their nearest participating station? The premise was billed as “secret” but what exactly did they all think they were doing, performing in front of a TV crew with Winkleman as host? Were these four really the finest pianists to audition, or the ones with the most interesting lives?
These questions bounced around my mind for the first half of the final episode. But when the performers took to the stage, the questions disappeared. Specifically, they disappeared at the sight of 13-year-old Lucy, a sublime pianist who is blind and unable to hold a conversation due to her developmental delays. She played Debussy’s Arabesque No 1 beautifully. When Lang Lang called her a “genius”, it didn’t feel like hyperbole.
Lang Lang and Mika have been great judges – the former’s technical expertise married with the latter’s enthusiasm and ease. Although it was annoying when they kept loudly whispering during the performances.
The other three performers also did everyone proud – they didn’t put a foot wrong. Jay, Sean and Danny performed their own compositions. Danny, when aged just nine, had lost his father to suicide. His song moved Winkleman to tears.
At the end, each performer was given their own piano, which was a nice touch because none of them owned one, and Lucy was named star performer. Asking the judges to pick a winner felt unnecessary, but nobody could argue with their choice.
