IN MEMORIAM JOHN ROBSON

As you may have noticed, John Robson has passed away. I am creating this thread to have a place for any reactions or questions you may want to post.

- Chris

 

Yes I can confirm all that (except the crying bit which we never did).

John was that kind of guy - impossible not to like, and hard to not become friends with. I guess many of you had a special relationship with him. He never failed to emphasize how much being part of PS meant to him and how much it helped to give a new meaning to his life. His brother Charles, who brought us the sad news yesterday, specifically thanked us for that. I'm pretty sure John had instructed him to do this, which would seem very typical of him.

 

It was brought to my attention that non-admin users cannot reply in this forum (thanks juufa72 for pointing this out). Oops. I've reverted that change, at least tempoarrily, so that people can reply.

Please post your reactions if you have any. I'd like to collect these and eventually present them to his brother.

 

Though I never met John, I can easily say that he is a kind and gentle man. I am quite glad that I sold him my edirol recorder so that he could record a wide variety of pleasing music.


-jG


p.s. Tech, I might have been a bit confusing. What I meant is not to create a separate page for two names, rather to just include a simple text box on the main page.

 

Hey. hey. Monica, instructions are useless when they are written overseas. I sent him everything I had. So it was the case of being resourceful to disregard the instruction manual.

 

We will all miss him but we have all his recordings to listen to and can always read the comments he made on the forum. Take care on the other side John.

 

I am sad that John passed away and I think that he was still very young. What he just wanted was play piano and now that he retired he had the time but didn't last much.

I have CDs recordings of him in my car that I use to hear every single day and then talking about it with him and I have his advices printed out to me follow when I am practicing. It's hard to read them now...

He was a great guy always with a good word for everybody and a great pianist.

His favorite month was November in Miami.

R.I.P. John.

 

Thanks Guest. You are very right. I think many people here feel the same and I hope more people will react.

But why don't you identify yourself ? The possibility to post anonymously was an oversight of mine which I've corrected. Would you mind registering and making yourself known ?

 

Thanks Guest. You are very right. I think many people here feel the same and I hope more people will react.

But why don't you identify yourself ? The possibility to post anonymously was an oversight of mine which I've corrected. Would you mind registering and making yourself known ?[/quote]

I am sorry, I thought I was on line when I wrote about John.

 

Ah it's you Eliana. I could have guessed, considering what you said in your PM.

I'm a bit disappointed that not more people have something to say. I think he was friends with many here and I hope they all come forward.

 

John posted a kind reply when I submitted my first recording here two years ago, writing about sensitive phrasing and dynamics. I think this was an important aspect of his own playing, which we can foud both in his recordings of rare piano music, from Honegger for instance, and in the ones of famous works, like these Chopin preludes that he offered to us only two months before he died. At that time, he wrote

We don't mind at all John. Your preludes are precious gifts.

 

I was shocked and saddened to learn of John Robson's passing, and am glad that Chris started this electronic memorial to him. John had been a member of Piano Society well before I joined about a year ago. Thereafter, John was occasionally absent from the site due to injury and serious health issues, so I did not get to know him nearly as well as some of the other members. But I have greatly admired John's pianistic interpretations and artistry. He played with a beautiful expressiveness and sensitivity.

My own earliest recordings here resulted from an effort to raise awareness of the forgotten composer Sergei Bortkiewicz. John not only listened, but took a personal interest in the project. To my surprise he learned and recorded the complete Pensees Lyriques, Op. 11 of Bortkiewicz. I was delighted to say the least! He served the composer very well and made a fine contribution to the Piano Society archives. I'll never forget John's thoughtfulness in that regard.

John will be remembered and greatly missed. Fortunately we have his very substantial legacy of fine recordings which members and visitors to Piano Society will continue to enjoy. Rest in peace, John.

David April

 

It's very sad to hear about someone's passing away and even more so when this someone was a fellow member of our small online community. However, I believe that musicians are somewhat special as they leave a part of them behind in the form of their work and recordings. This way, they can be remembered and continue to be admired and perhaps influence and inspire others in the future.

I didn't have the chance to know John personally which I regret deeply, but judging from his recordings, I am certain that he was a fine man and a talented pianist. Undoubtedly a great loss for his own people and for all of us here.

In times like that it would be useful for us remaining on the precarious journey of life to recollect the famous quote by the ancient rhetorician, Isocrates:

"Μηδενί συμφοράν ονειδίσης. Κοινή γαρ η τύχη και το μέλλον αόρατον"

which can be paraphrased as:
"Do not blame or mock anyone for their disaster (thinking that it can't or won't ever happen to you). Fortune is common to all and the future is invisible"

Farewell, John. May our Lord rest your soul in peace.
Pantelis

 

It’s difficult for me to put into words what I feel about John’s death. I didn’t know him well, just the talking on PS forums and a few emails mostly about the left hand repertoire, and yet the sense of loss is great, as always happens when you share so strongly a passion. Then realize that his time has ended and could well be your time instead, so what you do at the piano, using up all your spare time saved from work and mundane activities, becomes again of paramount importance.

Ciao John, ti sia lieve la terra.

 

I'm just now seeing this. How tragic! I really wish I'd been around more so I could have known John a little better. From the short exchanges we had, I could tell he was a REALLY nice guy and most devoted musician.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

Life is so short, but he left a legacy, his soul...in music.

Farewell, friend.
Pete

 

Great John, honour to your life and pianism. Honour to your generous and intelligent approach to music. I'm proud of the reciprocal attention and esteem about our recordings here.
Bye John, thank you by heart.

 

I was not expecting what has happened to John.

Here is my respect for John.

We loved his chopin waltz,

He is a warm person when I last spoke to him in 2007.

This is another dim day for me and God Bless HIM.