'Magic' Gloves Let Famous Brazilian Pianist Play Again
2020-02-03
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Shortly before Christmas last year, Brazilian piano player João Carlos Martins invited his friends to a bar near his home in Sao Paolo.
2He wanted to show them the best gift he had received in many years: a new pair of gloves.
3They are not just any gloves, however.
4The specially made bionic devices are letting the 79-year-old play with both hands for the first time in more than 20 years.
5The artist is considered one of the greatest players of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
6Martins retired last March.
7By then, he had undergone 24 medical procedures to try to reduce pain caused by a progressive disease and from a series of accidents.
8His limitations had forced him to work mostly as a musical conductor since the early 2000s.
9But in the final days of 2019, friends returned to his home.
10They listened to him once again bring his favorite classical music back to life on his piano.
11Before the gloves, which were especially developed for him, Martins could only play songs slowly with his thumbs and, sometimes, his pointer fingers.
12He told the Associated Press,"After I lost my tools, my hands, and couldn't play the piano, it was if there was a corpse inside my chest."
13Martins' health problems date back to 1965.
14He became known for coming back from every struggle he faced.
15For example, he suffered nerve damage in his arm from a soccer injury.
16While he was on tour, a robber hit him over the head with a metal pipe in Bulgaria.
17But even his close friends believed that the latest surgery, on his left hand, would mark the end of his days as a pianist.
18However, one designer believed Martins' retirement had come too early.
19That designer, Ubiratã Bizarro Costa, created special bionic gloves for Martins' hands.
20The gloves help move his fingers up after they press on the piano keys.
21Costa said he created early models based on images of Martins' hands.
22But he said those models were "far from ideal." He then decided to tell Martins about his efforts.
23Costa and Martins then spent several months testing different models.
24The perfect match came in December, and cost only $125 to build.
25These days, Martins never takes off his new gloves -- even when he goes to sleep.
26He said, "I might not recover the speed of the past. I don't know what result I will get. I'm starting over as though I were an 8-year-old learning."
27Martins said he has received more than 100 devices in the last 50 years as possible solutions to his hand problems.
28None worked well or long enough.
29"But these gloves do," he said.
30The new gloves have given Martins a new goal.
31He hopes to play the piano at New York's Carnegie Hall in October.
32He is already set to conduct a concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of his first appearance there.
33I'm Jonathan Evans.
1Shortly before Christmas last year, Brazilian piano player João Carlos Martins invited his friends to a bar near his home in Sao Paolo. He wanted to show them the best gift he had received in many years: a new pair of gloves. 2They are not just any gloves, however. The specially made bionic devices are letting the 79-year-old play with both hands for the first time in more than 20 years. 3The artist is considered one of the greatest players of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. 4Martins retired last March. By then, he had undergone 24 medical procedures to try to reduce pain caused by a progressive disease and from a series of accidents. His limitations had forced him to work mostly as a musical conductor since the early 2000s. 5But in the final days of 2019, friends returned to his home. They listened to him once again bring his favorite classical music back to life on his piano. 6Before the gloves, which were especially developed for him, Martins could only play songs slowly with his thumbs and, sometimes, his pointer fingers. 7He told the Associated Press,"After I lost my tools, my hands, and couldn't play the piano, it was if there was a corpse inside my chest." 8Martins' health problems date back to 1965. He became known for coming back from every struggle he faced. For example, he suffered nerve damage in his arm from a soccer injury. While he was on tour, a robber hit him over the head with a metal pipe in Bulgaria. 9But even his close friends believed that the latest surgery, on his left hand, would mark the end of his days as a pianist. 10However, one designer believed Martins' retirement had come too early. That designer, Ubiratã Bizarro Costa, created special bionic gloves for Martins' hands. The gloves help move his fingers up after they press on the piano keys. 11Costa said he created early models based on images of Martins' hands. But he said those models were "far from ideal." He then decided to tell Martins about his efforts. 12Costa and Martins then spent several months testing different models. The perfect match came in December, and cost only $125 to build. 13These days, Martins never takes off his new gloves -- even when he goes to sleep. 14He said, "I might not recover the speed of the past. I don't know what result I will get. I'm starting over as though I were an 8-year-old learning." 15Martins said he has received more than 100 devices in the last 50 years as possible solutions to his hand problems. None worked well or long enough. 16"But these gloves do," he said. 17The new gloves have given Martins a new goal. He hopes to play the piano at New York's Carnegie Hall in October. He is already set to conduct a concert celebrating the 60th anniversary of his first appearance there. 18I'm Jonathan Evans. 19The Associated Press reported this story. Ashley Thompson adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 20________________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22glove - n. a covering for the hand that has separate parts for each finger 23bionic - adj. made stronger or more capable by special electronic devices - usually used figuratively 24corpse - n. a dead body 25conductor - n. a person who stands in front of people while they sing or play musical instruments and directs their performance 26tour - n. a series of related performances, appearances, competitions, etc., that occur at different places over a period of time 27ideal - adj. exactly right for a particular purpose, situation, or person 28match - n. someone or something that is suited to another person or thing