A HERO AMONG US

BYRON JANIS ARTICLE FROM ARTHRITIS TODAY SEPT/OCT 1999

courtesy of the Arthritis Foundation 

Imagine the glistening hands poised and arched above the piano’s keys. These hands dance and twirl across the ivory like lightning bugs through sticky fingers, like rocks skipping waves.

These hands are the pianist’s pen, brush, scalpel and hammer.

And for 12 years after his diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis in 1973, Byron Janis, world renowned concert pianist, lived in fear that his hands would fail him. He shared this fear with almost no one. Only his wife, Maria, his doctor and a friend knew that each concert was a test of passion and perseverance.

He continued playing, but every performance hit new highs in pain and fear that each song would be the last.

Finally, the inevitable happened. “I can remember one performance in Europe when, in the second half, my fingers stiffened- they just locked up,” says Janis, now 70. “I had to end the performance. I was scared.”

So in 1985, after a performance at the White House, Janis announced to the world that he had arthritis and would no longer perform in public.

Until one day....Janis decided not to let arthritis win. Instead he changed his strategy. He took the focus off performing and put it on composing. After six months, he emerged from his studio with renewed self-esteem and the score to a Broadway-bound version of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”.

“I’ve told kids with arthritis, “Don’t have a dream- have dreams”, says Janis. “You never know what will happen in life. If you can’t reach one goal, you should always have others.”

Surprisingly, Janis’ career has come full circle and he is performing again. In May his new CD True Romantic was released. On November 1, he will perform at Carnegie Hall to honor the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death.

Janis’ message to others who find themselves facing defeat: “Never underestimate the power of the mind. You can overcome.”

Michele Taylor