Piano Man Czech clue 'significant'
LONDON, England -- A suggestion that the so-called "Piano Man" may be a Czech musician is a significant lead, the health trust that is caring for him says.
They now plan to bring in a Czech interpreter to try and communicate with the mystery man who has not spoken since he was found wandering aimlessly on an English beach seven weeks ago.
Friends of a classically-trained pianist named Tomas Strnad who once played in a Prague four-piece tribute rock band called Ropotamo are "convinced" he is the Piano Man, British newspapers say.
The Mail on Sunday printed a picture of Strnad, whose father was a Prague dentist and mother an economist, playing the keyboard in 1983, which identification experts will now examine.
A West Kent NHS Trust spokesman said: "The information that has been well-documented in the weekend's press has been passed to the trust and it now plans to ensure it is investigated thoroughly. The trust is grateful for the help it has received.
The process may take some time, the spokesman told the UK's Press Association.
"At this stage it is not possible to confirm the identity of Mr X but it is fair to say this is a significant lead."
The Mail on Sunday quoted Klaudius Kryspin, a fellow member of Ropotamo 20 years ago, as saying: "When I saw the picture I know it was Tomas."
Friends told the paper Strnad's age -- around 35 -- matched that of the Piano Man and he was a classically trained pianist whose first love was always Chopin, Mozart and Liszt.
Kryspin's twin brother Richard, a computer analyst in Columbus, Ohio -- the band's guitarist -- told the paper Strnad had mental problems.
He said he saw the story about Strnad on CNN.
"Straight away I said: 'Wow this is an old friend of mine.' There was no doubt in my mind at all. The picture on the screen was obviously him. I was completely shocked."
The lead singer of Klaudius Kryspin's Czech Republic rock group told The Independent he had seen Strnad last month in a "disoriented" state and talking of going abroad.
Michael Kocab said: "His state seemed to be the way it has been described by the hospital. He was not himself. He walked beside me for a few meters and mumbled something about wanting to go abroad in order to build a career."
"Piano Man" stunned carers with a four-hour virtuoso piano performance after he was found wandering near a beach on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, southern England, more than seven weeks ago.
He was wearing a waterlogged dinner suit and tie, from which all the labels had been cut out.
Staff at Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham gave the tall, blonde man a pen and paper in the hope he would write his name or draw his country's flag.
Instead, he drew highly detailed pictures of a grand piano, showing not only the keys, but also the intricate inner workings of the instrument.
When shown a piano in the hospital chapel, he played classical music "beautifully." Since then, he has written music, but remains mute.
Interpreters from Poland, Latvia and Lithuania were brought in to see if he was from Eastern Europe, and possibly an asylum seeker, but no-one could get through to him.
"Piano Man" recently had an upright piano installed in his room at the secure north Kent mental health unit where he is being held and doctors have been considering using music and art therapy to try and communicate with him.
The case has drawn comparisons with the Oscar-winning 1996 film Shine, which tells the moving story of acclaimed pianist David Helfgott who suffered a nervous breakdown while playing.
