Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor Photo: RNZ
There was no clue, just an envelope.
Inside, a leaflet advertising the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition
Someone, Benjamin Grosvenor doesn't know who, had posted the envelope through the front door mail slot of the family home in Essex, east of London.
Despite not knowing who had made the suggestion, or even what entering the competition might involve, the then nine-year-old young Grosvenor thought it might be a fun thing to do.
He went on to win the piano section of the 2004 edition of the competition, aged just eleven.
Pianist Benjamin Grosvenor. Photo: Andrej Grilc
Now, Grosvenor is one of the most sought after pianists in the classical world, and later this week he'll be playing Mozart's sublime Piano Concerto No 21 with the Auckland Philharmonia.
Grosvenor spoke with RNZ Concert's Bryan Crump ahead of his concert, and a masterclass at Auckland University.
He spoke about his early career, how Mozart's 21st piano concerto was the first work with orchestra he played in public with his own Westcliff High School band.
Grosvenor also talked about his love of Chopin - the Polish composer's gift for melody, music which on the surface can sound deceptively simple, but never shallow.
Chopin was one of the first composers Grosvenor's music teacher mother introduced him to at the age of five.
Music education is another thing that matters to the pianist.
Since 2013, he has been an Ambassador of Music Masters, a charity dedicated to making music education accessible to all children regardless of their background, and championing diversity and inclusion.
Grosvenor is all about passing on opportunities to the next generation of music makers, but more than twenty years after someone slipped that life-changing leaflet through his door, Grosvenor still has no idea who left it there.
Benjamin Grosvenor Photo: Andrej Grilc
