The most annoying thing when you want some peace and quiet in your house is when your neighbors decide that it’s the perfect time to do some drilling. But what if your neighbor was playing the piano and you could hear a muffled melody through the wall? Would you feel annoyed by that?
A TikToker who discovered that his neighbor was a pianist wasn’t annoyed at all. In fact, he was enjoying them playing so much so that he wrote them a note expressing his admiration and asking the neighbor to play “My Heart Will Go On.” And that is how a beautiful friendship started as well as an amazing piano duet that went viral on TikTok.
More info: TikTok
Giorgio's neighbor was a great pianist and after enjoying their music for a while, Giorgio decided to ask if they could play "My Heart Will Go On"
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
One of the main characters of this story is Giorgio Lo Porto, an Italian living in the UK and making TikTok videos, as you do. On January 31st, Giorgio posted a video of him listening to his neighbor playing the piano and it seemed that he was really enjoying the concert.
Then, on February 6th, he posted a follow-up video saying that the day before, he had left a note to his neighbor letting them know that he loved their playing and asking if they could play "My Heart Will Go On." The neighbor's answer was clear as we can hear them playing in the background.
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
This was the beginning of a lovely friendship of two people who enjoy playing the piano and of a series of heartwarming TikTok videos. The story unfolds further and Giorgio writes another note thanking his neighbor and praising their piano skills. And this time, the neighbor responds with a note as well: “This is actually fun, let’s keep doing this.”
Giorgio actually plays the piano himself and has a keyboard, but he hadn’t played in a long time, so this was a great opportunity to return to his passion. He wrote another note to the neighbor suggesting that they could play a duet: “and I said as soon as I stop, you start.”
After the neighbor answered with their piano playing, Giorgio went further and suggested playing a piano duet
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Giorgio was not disappointed: a few seconds after he stopped playing the piano, he heard music coming from the other side of the wall continuing the melody
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
The TikToker was very excited and nervous, not knowing if the neighbor would answer him, but he recorded himself starting to play the piece "River Flows In You." He wasn’t even sure if the neighbor could hear him or if they had forgotten. But not at all! The neighbor answered the call and continued to play the melody. When Giorgio heard the notes coming from the other side of the wall, you can really see in his face how moved he was and the caption of the video says: “It was really fun.” To add to the magic of this moment, it started snowing and the whole thing is such a movie-worthy story, having in mind that Giorgio still didn’t know who the amazing pianist was.
The video of the first duet with the secret pianist has 1.7 millions views on TikTok
Giorgio and his neighbor scheduled a weekend "meet" when they would play piano together
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
The fun didn’t end there. The two pianists agreed to “meet” on the weekend. They still hadn’t actually seen each other, but they played the Amélie piano theme and on Valentine’s Day, it was the first time the neighbor started. On this occasion, they played River Flows In You again. Giorgio wrote in the video: “This was our way of saying ‘I don’t know who you are, but I’m here. You’re not alone. This is for you too.’”
And the identity of the neighbor at that point was still a mystery
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Living through a lockdown can become really lonely, so even this little interaction can lift one's spirits up
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
The videos got people really invested and a lot of them were saying that the pianists’ story had to become a script. They were guessing who could be the secret neighbor, what they were like, and that maybe they were also a TikToker recording on the other side of the wall with the same anticipation as Giorgio. The mystery was really intriguing, but the time to meet finally came.
One day Giorgio finally met his neighbor and it was a 78-year-old widower who lost his wife due to Covid
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Giorgio informed his viewers: “It was better than I expected.” Turns out, his neighbor’s name was Emil and he was 78 years old, originally from Poland. His wife had passed away in December from Covid and the apartment in which he was staying was a temporary accommodation until he would sell his house. The only consolation left to Emil was his piano. The reason he was playing at 2 pm and also duetting at that time with Giorgio was because his wife loved it when he played.
Emil was grateful to Giorgio for keeping him motivated and making him feel less lonely. It is really sad that Emil had to lose his wife like this, especially when we all are feeling lonely as it is. That is why Giorgio promised Emil to play with him on the weekends until he sold his house and needed to move.
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
His name was Emil and he was trying to heal his heart by playing music which his wife loved
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
The first time that Giorgio heard Emil play was in January and he recorded it, but didn’t upload the video until February 10th. Emil was playing Marriage D’Amour by Senneville that time, a very beautiful, emotional piece. The video was posted when Giorgio still didn’t know anything about his neighbor and he then thought: “It’s telling me a story, without saying any words. You can feel the pain, but you can also feel the hope from this.”
And it was really true. Giorgio heard Emil’s wounded heart crying in the music and probably he himself later became that hope by reaching out and making a stranger’s day. Their shared interest in music touched many people on the internet and stories like these always make you feel warm inside. In the comments under one of his videos Giorgio said “My message through the video is—be nice and present even to strangers. They could go through something and need your love. Especially now.”
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Giorgio promised to continue playing with Emil until he needed to move out
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Giorgio was so inspired by Emil's story that he composed a music piece of his own
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
This whole situation of communicating with a stranger through music and later getting to know the pianist’s heartbreaking story inspired Giorgio to write his own music piece. He explains in a video that it is “about fighting loneliness, about kindness, and about not taking anything for granted.” This is the first piece that Giorgio ever composed, and he named it “Dear Emil.”
“When I wrote this piece I started picturing Emil’s life. A 78 widower that lost the love of his life because of this stupid virus. Spending day alone at home due to lockdown. Looking forward to play her favorite piano song at 2 pm every weekend. Until a note appeared on his door. A letter showing that he was heard, and not alone. And a new friendship started. Two pianos between a wall. Not knowing who was playing. But it didn’t matter. You can be the light to somebody else’s darkness.” This is the meaning behind the music Giorgio composed and it is truly touching.
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Unfortunately, Emil recently passed away, but Giorgio continues to play alone in his honor
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Giorgio uploaded more videos of him playing alone after Emil moved away. Sadly, in a video published on March 14th, he was playing with a heavy heart. News of Emil passing away reached him. Emil died in his sleep and now, as Giorgio puts it, “he’s reunited with his wife.”
Giorgio dedicated these words to his friend: “Dear Emil, I knew very little about you, but you changed my life. You gave me back my passion and we shared that with the world. You’ll be in my heart. I’ll keep playing, thinking of how powerful music can be. You said I was your light, but you’ve been mine too. Bye Emil.”
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
Image credits: giorgio_lp_
It is really amazing how a stranger can change your life and take up so much space in your heart. Giorgio was motivated to play again and for Emil, it was easier to deal with the tragedy of losing a loved one.