London, May 16: The identity of a man found wandering on a beach in an evening suit and who will not talk but who expertly plays piano concertos for hours is baffling police.

The six-foot tall man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s, has been dubbed the ‘Piano Man’ since being found, soaked to the skin, on a beach on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, five weeks ago. Now in a psychiatric unit at Medway Maritime Hospital, in Gillingham, he will not speak but, when left a pen and paper, drew a Swedish flag and a picture of a piano. When staff sat him at a piano in the hospital chapel, he played expertly for two hours and, since, has staged recitals lasting up to four hours.

Despite his picture being posted on the website of Britain’s National Missing Persons Helpline, nobody has identified him yet.

Orchestras are now being contacted to see if they can identify him. “We have had a lot of calls from members of the public telling us they have seen him performing in various parts of Europe,” said Ramanah Venkiah, manager of the psychiatric unit. “He has been playing the piano to a very high quality for up to four hours at a time and staff say it is a real pleasure to hear it. ”

Despite the fact that he drew a Swedish flag, police believe he is probably English. He is believed to have suffered a mental breakdown.

The plight of the man has echoes in the story of Australian pianist David Helfgott, who overcame a nervous breakdown to return to performing. His experience formed the basis of the 1996 film Shine starring Geoffrey Rush.