The Concert Piano

The Concert Piano

The music recital in our small town was due in three days. The sponsor, a local entrepreneur, sponsored by his mother-in-law, the chief of the local government administration, led me and my assistant to the old Community Center. The recital was aiming at presenting young, local musicians from the town’s Music School.

In the murky auditorium, there was the stage encircled in maroon-colored plush curtains, and about fifty chairs stacked against the walls. The majorettes had their practice a bit earlier; some colored parts of the pompons were scattered over the parquet.

There was something terribly wrong in the chamber, besides the stale air and the sight of general neglect. Cobwebs hung from a very high ceiling. I tried to figure out the length of the broom handle in order to get rid of them, or the length of the vacuum cleaner’s hose, wondering what the bathrooms looked like.

As we were getting closer to the stage, I realized the concert piano was missing. A large Conrad Graf work of art, a beauty. Just to sit close by and watch it is a holiday, imagining all the music it has given to the world for two centuries, and its history to be researched. I asked the entrepreneur:

- So, where is the concert piano?

He stood there smiling, his arms crossed on his groin.

- Well, obviously, it’s gone!

Knowing him, I should have been ready for such a reply. But, you don’t put a concert piano into your pocket and walk away with it. It’s about 2.5 m long, its weight is about 150 kilograms. If you are going to steal it, you need experts to move it. And if you have the buyer who knows what he's taking home, he will take care of this incredible instrument with respect and due care. Half of this town had to be engaged in this heist.

Then my assistant finds the words:

- Are you telling us the concert piano has disappeared? For God’s sake!

And the entrepreneur had a ready counter-question:

- Well, why are you acting stupid? Don’t you see it’s gone?

Biography: Đurđa Vukelić Rožić (1956) earned an associate degree from the Faculty of Economics and Business, Zagreb. She is a writer in Croatian, Kajkavian and English and authored 23 books of poetry and prose. She edited a number of anthologies, miscellanies, and haiku collections. For 16 years she served as an editor in chief of the IRIS Haiku Journal. 

She received the Lifetime Achievement Award given by the town of Ivanić-Grad to individuals for their overall career. She also received over one hundred awards for her work in Croatia and abroad. She is a member of the Croatian Writers' Association (DHK), Matrix Croatica, World Haiku Association (Japan). She lives in Ivanić-Grad.

Image: Unsplash, downloaded (https://unsplash.com/photos/black-grand-piano-on-brown-wooden-floor-Zu2P0CV7B2k) 24. 10. 2025.

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