Thomas Kielinger

DIE WELT (Berlin), September 19th 2015

IAN GOMES
The favourite piano entertainer of the royals prepares for
his next session with Spaghetti all’ arrabiata
(Picture caption: Ian Gomes was born in Calcutta, in 1942. Having lived in London
since 1965 he soon began playing the piano at the legendary “Savoy”. Since 1995 he
has provided the musical flair at the “Ritz”, ten hours a day.)

Where does one go when wanting to meet the star pianist at the London
“Ritz”, who with his alluring play for twenty years has drawn the rich and
the beautiful and the nobility into the orbit of his art? It certainly can’t be
the “Ritz” itself, this historic place at 150 Piccadilly, where the very notion
of glamour must have been born.

Ian Gomes is too well known there, in the palm tree courtyard in the style
of Edward VII everyone would want to talk to him at tea time before he
would go three steps down to dazzle at the grand piano.

Well, where to, then? Certainly not to the “Wolseley”, either, next door,
less other-worldly than the “Ritz” but enveloped, too, in a similar
ambience. But it’s slightly too crowded with tables too uncomfortably close
to one another which would make a digitally-recorded conversation well-
nigh impossible. Ian, who I came to know two weeks previously at a
sumptuous private chalet soiree in Austria’s Dachstein mountains, has the
answer to our conundrum: Holiday Inn at 3 Berkeley Street in the direction
of Mayfair, a veritable anti-thesis to the “Ritz”

Here, in a spacious bar-cum-restaurant, they’ve known Ian as a frequent

visitor when he comes to have lunch between his sessions of his
performance duty. The room is almost empty, so without any undue noise
interference I plunge into the exciting vita of someone whose fingers seem
magically to glide across the keyboard.
I heard him for the first time in the Alpine surroundings play from memory,
whether Gershwin, Cole Porter, American Swing or the Beatles, whether
musicals or operettas. He fulfills every request without fail, never
disappoints, from his inexhaustibly treasured store of music.

His 73 years discreetly concealed behind a tinted pair of glasses, married

for the third time, to Zoe, the light of his life, he chats amiably occasionally
helping himself to pasta all’arrabiata, a light salad and fizzy water; he still
has his afternoon sessions to go through this Wednesday at he “Ritz”,
virtually around the corner, so better no wine for lunch.

There are no airs about him as he expresses his astonishment that anyone
could be interested in his life where everything revolved around music, and
nothing but music. He shuns interviews, it was the fortuitous encounter in
Austria which allowed me to get to know him. Now we are soon on the
same wave length – the unforgettable Queen Mum’s favourite entertainer at
the keyboard and the journalist with a soft spot for the royals.

“The last 20 years have been the happiest of my life”, confesses the Indian-
born Ian. It was the Barclay twins, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay,
with the “Ritz” amongst their portfolio, who in 1995 invited Ian to join the
”Ritz”, away from the “Savoy”, his previous place of employment. He
speaks with great fondness of Sir Frederick and Sir David.

One can find Gomes on occasions accompanying the “British Rat Pack”, as
they revive “The Legend of Swing”. Alternatively he might do the honours
for his friend, the singer Peter André whose recent wedding he graced with
a performance. The grand piano at the “Ritz” is a social network of its own
magical appeal.

Music was Gomes’ birthright, as it were, his father was first violinist and at
the same time conductor of the Calcutta symphony orchestra, the only one
of its kind in the post-war years between Israel and Japan. As a result
classical greats like violin virtuosi Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, David
Oistrach, or renowned pianists like Horowitz, Ashkenazy, the young Daniel
Barenboim or conductor Zubin Mehta and others, some of whom were
guests at the family home. His father was particularly close to Yehudi
Menuhin.
“Dad, who was also a professor at the Calcutta Conservatory, only missed
one concert in the 40 years of his association with the orchestra”, the son
proudly recounts. Although brought up in the canon of classical piano
music young Ian was also drawn to the lighter genre to which his father,
who was a gifted fiddler, too, had introduced him.

In 1965 Ian decided to settle in England which at that time was still
possible for citizens from the Commonwealth. There followed a hard slog
for Ian, from pub to pub to a rock band until, eventually, he landed a job
with the BBC where he triumphed over all other applicants in the contest
for a coveted vacancy. Soon the “Savoy” became aware of this master of
the keyboard and no less aware did Lady Elizabeth Anson become, a
cousin of the Queen from the Queen’s mother’s side who heads a business
organizing high-calibre society events.

As chance had it Lady Elizabeth was also a close friend of the Queen
Mother who liked to hold court, so to speak, at the posh “Goring” hotel,
when not at her residence, Clarence House. Gomes captivated her with a
bravura performance of melodies from “Helly Dolly” and became her
favourite piano entertainer.

He even received invitations to play at Castle Mey in the far north of

Scotland as well as to other venues of the royal estates. Lady Elizabeth was
always a party to these events, she was, and is, to this day his guide through
all the royal channels. On the eve of the wedding of Prince William and
Catherine Middleton, in April 2011, the Queen held a reception for the
honoured state guests at the magnificently opulent “Mandarin” hotel where
Ian Gomes was the entertainer at the keyboard.

Talking to him I get the impression he has remained the humble boy from
Calcutta, a perception he himself cherishes. He’s not into collecting laurel
wreaths of glory. Instead he prefers to show me on his Ipad pictures of
some of his previous performances, when he played to the great and the
good which someone with lesser breeding would boast about endlessly –
Tony Bennett, Andrew Lloyd-Webber or film stars like Roger Moore,
Gene Kelly, Glenn Ford, Kirk Douglas. Tony Bennett chose to sing a
favourite Sinatra song, “How do you keep the music playing?” with Ian
accompanying him at the “Ritz” Palm Court.

And Frank Sinatra, of course, who made it a habit during his regular shows
in London to descend on his preferred hotel, the “Savoy”. One evening
after appearing at the Albert Hall, at 11pm Sinatra called for Gomes who
by then was already home to come to his suite and play for him - “but no
jazz, please, no Dave Brubeck, and no Sinatra.” This initial encounter
turned into quite a custom well into the small hours of the morning, while
“Ol’ Blue Eyes” would already have gone to sleep on his couch.

It was Horowitz who once complimented Gomes with “I wish I could play
the relaxed rendition of the classics”. Thus extolled, however, he inserts
such anecdotes only sparingly into the conversation. But there is one he
cannot do without. One day still during his days at the “Savoy” he is
allowing his inspiration to modulate George Gershwin’s “Embraceable
You”, when an elderly gentleman approaches the grand piano full of praise
about what he was hearing. To which Ian, with thanks, responded: “I’m
frequently asking myself what Gershwin, were he still alive, would say
about my interpretation of his tunes.” “Oh well,” the man retorted, “my
brother would have enjoyed it very much indeed.” It was Ira Gershwin.

It’s approaching 4.30 pm, I follow Ian on the short walk to the “Ritz”,
where I ensconce myself in a comfortable armchair not far from the grand
piano. Generously he orders for me one of those beloved “Ritz” specialties,
an assortment of cakes served in a dainty three-tiered silver tray plus a
glass of champagne, for good measure. Noblesse oblige. Then off he goes,
starting with Irwin Berlin’s “Puttin’ on the Ritz”, eventually arriving at the
romantic “A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square” which was the
favourite tune of both the Queen Mother and Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher
spent the last months of her life at the “Ritz” where the Barclay brothers
had given her the royal suite to stay in, until her death in April 2013. “She
used to come to me often”, recalls Ian, “regularly requesting this particular
song, with a line like ‘there were angels dining at the Ritz’, and she
accompanied me always sotto voce stretching the pronunciation of
“Berkeley Squaaaeehre” in this high-falutin’ aristocratic manner.”
He plays and chats at the same time which the father had taught young Ian
as the non-plus-ultra of the relaxed style. But there is more to him than the
appearance of someone supremely relaxed. Rather he bewitches people
with his art, taking them into dream worlds amidst the dream-like milieu of
the London “Ritz”. Asked when he would retire Ian replies: “Not for
another twenty years.”

(Additional segment:)
We made do with a spartan meal, Ian still had some six hours of play before him, so no
wine, no prandial excess. The pianist had Spaghett all’arrabiata, I seconded him with
Spaghetti bolognese. In addition salad, fizzy water, Pepsi Cola and Caffè Macchiato
plus American Coffee for afterwards. The bar of the Holiday Inn – in 3, Berkeley Street
– let us off with a modest £31.79