Listen to this neurodivergent blind 13-year-old child prodigy play the piano. It is moving and unbelievable. She makes the instrument sing. The music she feels and expresses through her fingertips goes right to the listener’s heart. It felt like I was hearing these well-known classical pieces for the first time. This is how Lucy communicates with the world. It is profound and incomprehensible! These videos tell the story.
BBC – The One Show – Talking about Channel 4’s ‘The Piano’
BBC’s The One Show invited the host and a judge of a new television show, The Piano, on England’s Channel 4. Host Claudia Winkleman and pop star Mika, one of two judges with pianist Lang Lang, discussed the concept for their series and how they were secretly judging amateur musicians playing on street pianos located outside train stations in selected cities. That portion of the interview starts at 1:26 and concludes at 7:25. They don’t give too much away, but we later find out in future episodes that the series will conclude with a final concert performance at England’s premier Royal Festival Hall.
Lucy performs Chopin’s Nocturne in B flat minor
One of those musicians is Lucy, a 13-year-old blind girl who stuns the crowd with her piano performance of Chopin’s Nocturne in B flat minor, Opus 9 number 1. We first see Claudia speak with Lucy’s mom outside the Leeds train station as they wait for Lucy’s teacher, Daniel, to lead her to the piano on an elevated platform. What happens next is breathtaking! It leaves Lang Lang speechless wondering how Lucy can learn how to play the piece. That question is answered below in The Amber Trust video – Lucy’s Story, showing us how Daniel instructs her using The Amber Sound Touch method.
Here is the FULL BROADCAST of that episode. It serves as a backgrounder leading up to the final performance. At 10:24 Claudia reveals to all of the musicians gathered together for the first time that they not only played for people at the train station locations, but also for the world’s greatest classical pianist and a well-known pop star who were secretly watching them. Lang Lang and Mika are introduced, surprising everyone. The explanation of what their intent was, and the power of music, is worth listening to. They invite everyone to attend the upcoming Festival Hall performance as their VIP guests and, after hours of deliberation, announce who and why 1 of the 4 finalists was selected to perform at the finale—Lucy. Actually, as it turned out, all 4 finalists—Jay, Sean, Danny, and Lucy—played, and Lucy was selected as the performance of the night.
Lucy performs Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1
Lucy performed Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 on Channel 4’s Finale of “The Piano’ at Royal Festival Hall. You could hear a pin drop in the hall, the audience was that intently focused on her, many moved to tears. After her performance, Lang Lang and Mika rose to their feet applauding, shouting “Bravo.” Everyone joined them giving Lucy a standing ovation.
Here is the full episode of 13 Year Old Blind Lucy’s Final Performance at the Royal Festival Hall on The Piano Show. You can read the YouTube notes for fuller explanations. There was one last surprise for the 4 finalists—a piano delivered to their homes!
Complete version of Lucy playing Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1
Enjoy this complete version of Lucy playing Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1. It starts at 1:48. An earlier well-edited short section of the video introduces us to Lucy’s mom explaining her daughter’s medical condition, then segues to Daniel walking Lucy to the piano where she plays Chopin’s Nocturne in B flat minor. It’s where Lang Lang, speechless, not knowing what to say, calls her a genius. At the end of this final performance, everyone is on their feet applauding wildly. The applause continues as Daniel and Lucy leave the stage. Claudia returns and proudly says, “Ladies and gentlemen, THAT is Lucy!”
The Amber Trust – Lucy’s story
The Amber Trust – Lucy’s story is a film made 3 years earlier about Lucy when she was 10 years old, blind, with autism and severe learning difficulties, but exceptional musical potential. Her teacher, Daniel, explains and demonstrates how he guides Lucy to play classical pieces on the piano. Adam Ockelford, founder of The Amber Trust, speaks at the end of the film. Lucy’s story is a part of ‘Amber Sound Touch’, The Amber Trust’s online resource for teaching music to blind and partially sighted children and young people, including those with additional disabilities. For more details, visit The Amber Trust website.
The Amber Trust has now worked with Lucy for over 10 years through their Music Awards program, funding the piano lessons she receives with her wonderful teacher, Daniel. Lucy achieved ‘performance of the night’ on the finale of Channel 4’s The Piano, receiving a standing ovation for her performance of Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 at the Royal Festival Hall. They are very proud of everything she has accomplished on the show!
May 7, 2023: Astonishing moment blind and autistic pianist Lucy 13, stuns 20,000 spectators at Coronation Concert
Tens of thousands of spectators at King Charles’ Coronation Concert were left speechless Sunday evening as 13-year-old blind and autistic pianist Lucy Illingworth gave a jaw-dropping performance. The pianist, who is part of Queen Camilla’s patronage, The Amber Trust, was one of the talents chosen to perform at a concert taking place on the grounds of Windsor Castle. Playing a rendition of Bach’s Prelude in C Major, the teenager prompted smiles and applause from the Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte, leaving the newly crowned King and Queen speechless. Her mother Candice Illingworth was beaming as she proudly sat next to her talented daughter as she wowed the crowd.
One of Mika’s Fan Club members from Japan posted Lucy’s performance of Bach’s Prelude in C Major at The Coronation Concert. So inspiring!!!
More videos of Lucy on YouTube
Lucy’s father, Mark Illingworth, takes videos of her joyfully playing a range of musical pieces, which he posts on his YouTube channel.
Other inspiring artists featured on The Uncarved Blog
To see other inspiring artists featured on The Uncarved Blog, scroll through the Archive of the ‘Music’ Category.
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