World Piano Day will be celebrated around the globe this weekend.
Like most planned events and celebrations this year, World Piano Day has been affected by the coronavirus. However, a number of organisers and artists have decided that their love for the piano and its music shall play on. (Featured image: Dolo Iglesias)
Viewers around the world will be able to tune into various channels throughout the day and hear the sweet sounds and melodies of the world’s most popular instrument, played by some of the world’s most prodigious talents.
Thanks to Australia living in the future, the first live stream will actually begin on Friday night at 11:30pm (GMT). The broadcast will feature Margaret Leng Tan, toy piano virtuoso, with a short recorded performance from her home — as well as a performance by Simon Tedeschi playing Debussy’s Clair de Lune.
The broadcast is also slated to include unseen recordings as well as interviews. Hopefully, they’ll play the exclusive interview with Nils Frahm, the founder of World Piano Day & Germany’s genre-defying piano-prodigy. Listen to a song of his below or check out this Boiler Room set to blow you away.
Not far behind Australia, Italy’s Alessandro Russo will be performing 88th Midnight beginning at exactly 12am on Saturday, March 28. In the evening, piano enthusiasts can tune into Under Changeover from Lugano, or Melaine Dalibert from outside of Paris, both at 6pm. Otherwise, Giovanni Renzo will hold a three and a half-hour session from Napoli beginning at 6:30pm, while Luca Longobardi will hold a three-hour set at 7pm from his home.
However, the best-confirmed line-up of pianists so far actually takes place on Sunday via Sonoraspace, which is hosting the first-ever Virtual Piano Festival. Currently, there are 10 pianists from countries like Poland, the USA, Spain, Italy and Lebanon on the lineup. The UK’s own Simeon Walker will also feature, with the festival beginning at 6pm (GMT). It is free for everybody to join.
Every year, World Piano Day asks piano players—amateur or professional, of any age or any musical persuasion—to share with them and the whole piano community their specially composed pieces. These pieces are then collated into mammoth playlists and have been made available all year round on Soundcloud. Check out the 2019 Piano Day playlist and lose yourself to the sounds of the keys.