turning point

appreciate them, and she was right—I liked them all. But what really
struck me was the coincidence that Denver had written perhaps the
most beautiful of these songs for his wife and called it “Annie’s Song.”
By that time, I was able to practice a little, so I knew that I could still
play the flute. I decided that I would have to record “Annie’s Song”
when I got out of the hospital, and I did. Somewhat to my surprise, it
went to the top of the pop charts in Britain—it was number two for
a couple of weeks—and it won me a whole new set of fans.
But I’m getting ahead of my story. I didn’t literally get back on
my feet—that is, out of the wheelchair—until March. In between
sessions of physical therapy, I practiced my flute with a vengeance.
By January, I think it was, I was able to go back onstage, to play the
same concerto with my friend Marisa Robles that we had played for
the queen and Prince Philip. It was in Marisa’s hometown, Madrid,
and the warmth of the audience’s response was unbelievable. I
might add here that over the years, Marisa has played that concerto
with me more than with any other flute player.
I also performed in many other venues. I played in chamber
ensembles, for example, especially with my old friends the London
Virtuosi. But after a while I had to stop that because I just couldn’t
fit in all the performances they wanted to do with the solo oppor-
tunities that were coming my way. Playing solo with an orchestra,
to an audience of two or three thousand, took priority over doing
a concert with the London Virtuosi, which at that time was playing
mostly in smaller venues, the under-five-hundred halls. Although
the whole thing is not about money, it’s nice if you do get paid.
Another important aspect of my solo venture was making TV
appearances. Things have changed since then, but there was a lot
of classical music on TV in those days, and very popular it was, too.
While I was still in the wheelchair, I was asked to do a program for
the BBC’s World of Music series. I quickly discovered the enormous
reach of television. Suddenly, I became a sort of popular icon, rec-
ognized not only in the music world but also by the public, in air-
ports and on the street. I remember one day I went to Selfridge’s in

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