File from My Teacher

MAESTRO
PETER GOLDSWORTHY 9780732281489

Teacher’s notes on Maestro Prepared by Kay Perry Biographical Background Peter Goldsworthy was born in 1951 in Minlaton, South Australia, and grew up in various South Australian towns and in Darwin. When asked, in an interview, to recall a particularly significant personal memory Goldsworthy responded “the moment of illumination in my case might be my arrival at Darwin airport at two am on a wet season morning in 1966”. Arrival in Darwin, the reader may note, is also significant in the life of Goldsworthy’s fictional character, Paul Crabbe. Goldsworthy graduated in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1974 and has since combined medical practice with a busy writing career. Peter Goldsworthy’s Place in Australian Literature Peter Goldsworthy is one of the more prolific of contemporary Australian authors, having published two novels, four books of poetry and numerous works of short fiction. He has received many awards both for his poetry and his prose. Sequence of Events Maestro tells the story of Paul Crabbe, the son of music-loving parents, who arrives in Darwin at the age of fifteen. Paul’s parents arrange for him to take piano lessons from Eduard Keller, the “maestro” of the title. Paul is curious regarding Keller’s past in wartime Europe but knows very little about him. The relationship between teacher and student is not an easy one, and, although Paul makes progress under Keller’s tutelage, other interests eventually distract him from serious musical study. Years pass. Paul marries and has children. Although he works as a musician, he does

not feel that he has achieved his full potential. As time goes on, he attempts to learn more about his former teacher. He visits the dying Keller and tries to come to terms with what Keller has meant to him. Setting The main action of the novel takes place in Darwin before the advent of Cyclone Tracy. Paul’s father sees Darwin as a philistine place and quotes Banjo... [continues]

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