Novecento. Un monologo

The Virginian was a steamship. In the interwar years, it shuttled between Europe and America, carrying its cargo of billionaires, emigrants and ordinary folk. They say that every evening on the Virginian, an extraordinary pianist would perform – a man with astonishing technique, capable of playing marvellous music that had never been heard before. They say his story was incredible: that he was born on that ship and never set foot ashore. They say nobody knew why. This story, which began as a theatrical monologue, was first published in 1994. In 1998, Giuseppe Tornatore adapted it into the film La leggenda del pianista sull’oceano.