At the age of 98, Phillip Springer is an extraordinary musician. This acclaimed artist has composed music recorded by 20th-century icons such as Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
Despite Springer’s many achievements, he has remained relatively unknown to the public for years. His daughter, Tamar Springer, revealed to the Epoch Times that he has “never received the recognition he deserves”.
Springer started playing the piano at the age of 6. In less than six months, he was able to play Bach without looking at the sheet music.
“He was clearly destined to enter the music world in some capacity and became a pianist,” Tamar said. She currently manages the family music publishing company, Tamir Music, which holds the copyrights to most of her father’s songs.
At the age of 17, Springer formed a professional band and performed at popular venues in New York City before joining the military.
During his time in the military, he embarked on an extraordinary musical journey.
“When they discovered that he could play all the popular songs, they relieved him of his guard duties,” Tamar said. “They had him sit at the piano all night long.”
After leaving the military, Springer studied at Columbia University before beginning his professional career. His father, a successful lawyer, had hoped his son would become a classical pianist rather than a songwriter.
“While my father indeed became a popular songwriter, his study of classical composers including Beethoven was an integral part of his life, as it was a way to connect with his father and make his father proud,” Tamar said.
Even after marrying and having a child, Springer did not stop playing the piano.
“I grew up surrounded by classical music every day,” Tamar said. She was born in New York and raised in California.
Springer and his wife enjoyed 67 years of marriage, and despite suffering from a neurological condition, he continued to play the piano. He was dedicated to improving his skills, practicing the piano multiple times a day with a timer.
“I sometimes see that if something is causing him a great deal of stress, he will immediately get up and play the piano,” she said. “I think this is his way of coping with anything he is going through.”
At the end of each day, the elderly man in his nineties would treat his neighbors to a classical music concert every night.
Springer would perform a song for his daughter every year on her birthday. In 2020, on the eve of Tamar’s birthday, he performed Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata”.
“He sat down, and it just flowed naturally from his hands,” Tamar said. She recorded the performance on her phone and shared the video on her Facebook page.
The video was discovered by a Beethoven Facebook group and quickly went viral, sparking interest from figures like Dan Rather.
Due to its release during the height of the pandemic, Tamar believes the video brought “hope, spirituality, and humanity” to the world when it needed it most.
The video has since circulated multiple times on the internet and recently gained popularity on Instagram.
“It’s vibrant, it’s spreading,” Tamar said. “It’s a very unique rendition. I think what touches people is that it’s a pure, heartfelt emotion.”
Tamar enjoys reading reviews about her father’s music, noting that they are all filled with appreciation rather than hatred.
“I only see love,” she said. “I see gratitude, admiration, respect, and comments on his excellent performances.”
The popularity of the video has led various media outlets to contact Tamar, allowing her to share her father’s story with the world.
The video of “Moonlight Sonata” recently won the World Classical Music Award, and Springer was awarded the Webby Award for Best Individual Performance by the judging panel, all at the age of 98.
Tamar is excited about the recent recognition her father has received.
“I admire him greatly,” Tamar said. “It means the world to me because I have always been his loyal fan. Now I know the whole world is his loyal fan, and I think that makes him feel great.”
She is evidently not the only one who admires her father’s talent. Claire Graves, the president of the Webby Awards, informed Tamar that she received a variety of emails saying her father truly deserved the award.
Tamar is passionate about her father’s music and believes he left behind an incredible legacy worth celebrating.
“His journey has touched many iconic places and people in the 20th century, and I think it is a memorable part of music history that should be shared with the world,” she said.
Promoting her father’s retro music catalog is Tamar’s “heartfelt mission”, as she feels the public is not aware of his achievements.
To share her father’s legacy with the world, Tamar is producing a documentary titled “More Than Santa Baby”, which tells the story of her father’s life and career.
When asked about the wisdom her father would impart to aspiring musicians, she said, “I think he would say, truly understand your craft, understand your instrument, understand it. Learn from the predecessors.”
The original article, “98-Year-Old Musician Who Won an Award for His Rendition of ‘Moonlight Sonata’ Has a Classical Music Concert Every Night”, was published on the English Epoch Times website.