The story of the pianist on the ocean is a legend. This is the story of Gianni Vodret. And it is beautiful: he is 88 years old and plays for cancer patients. Or for anyone who passes by the lobby of the Oncology Hospital of Cagliari: patients, their relatives, doctors, nurses, couriers who come in for a delivery. As long as they are there on a Monday or Wednesday, from 10 to 11: he is bent over the piano. Giving away music. An old-fashioned, refined set list. Why does he do it? "Because it does good," he says. It does good for others and for him. "And because this emotion that is created makes me happy. Sometimes those who listen are moved. And I am moved too."
The old man on the floor
Those who enter Businco are not happy to do so. Those notes that reach your ears when you open the sliding doors, if they don't change your mood, make you feel an emotion. Wednesday morning in the hall, in front of the entrance, there were volunteers busy setting up the space for selling poinsettias: they are used to fund research. Everything there has to do with the fight against cancer. A little to the right, busy on the keys was "Gianni", as one of the receptionists who had just finished her shift confidentially called him : "Ciao darling, see you on Monday", she told him. Even if it's not written anywhere, Gianni Vodret never misses an appointment. Accompanied by one of his daughters or by Roberta, the handyman who helps him at home ("a wonderful cook"), he is rigorous. He wants to play the piano for those who come to the Oncology Department and has them drive him from his house in Monreale: "I don't drive anymore", he confesses. Thin white hair, sharp face, buttoned-up sweater, long fingers, he performs “Champagne” before realizing that someone wants to ask him questions. He is used to the audience and to those who film him with their smartphones. And also to the applause that comes at the end of the song. He welcomes them with a shy smile.
“Volunteering”
“I worked in a bank, half a century ago,” he says, “my love for music was passed down to me in my family.” Self-taught, he has his repertoire on a squared sheet of paper, written in block letters with shaky strokes. There are “Souvenir d’Italie,” “Ancora,” “Stranger in the night,” “Blue Moon,” “Tristezza” and many others. “They are the same ones we play with a group of friends, on Wednesday evenings. ” The ages of the group members? “The youngest is 76.” His favorite singer: “Memo Remigi.” Between one answer and another, he looks away and performs a piece: the 88-year-old pianist seems to prefer music to words to communicate who he is and what his intent is. “Yes, there are patients who stay here for a long time, they come down when they know I’m here,” says Vodret. He also played at the Metro station, in Monserrato: "In Piazza Repubblica the vandals had destroyed the piano", he recalls with disdain. But compared to the audience of passengers, that of Businco has another meaning: "In the past I volunteered at the civil hospital. I listened and spoke to those who were sick. Here since last summer I have been doing the same with music. There are so many people who pass by, some never come back. I play for everyone". A good part stops, listens to his music. He smiles. Even a woman in a wheelchair did it, with a mask over her mouth: you could see it in her eyes.