The celebrated pianist Byron Janis has always felt a special pull toward Chopin. As a child of about eight or nine he remembers breaking out in tears after playing a Chopin waltz, then asking his mother to find him a book about the composer. Now, after a seven-decade career, the 89-year-old pianist has his share of Chopin stories to tell – some are astonishing and others downright spooky.
As spokesperson and Ambassador of the Arts for the Arthritis Foundation since 1984, Byron performs at fundraisers and speaks to children living with arthritis and other disorders about following your dreams. It is apparent that encouraging children has become one of Byron’s passions.
“Anybody who loses the child in him has a less interesting, pitiful life. Because all the great artists I’ve known - I’ve known Picasso, painters, all kinds of people - they are children. They grow up, mature, whatever. But the child remains,” says Byron Janis, concert pianist and composer.