Peter Bence: No Pianos Were Harmed During My Performance
Yesterday evening this great virtuoso pianist held a concert at the Vatroslav Lisinski concert hall in Zagreb, Croatia. Guess who was there?
Well, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.
Here’s what that was like:
If you’re familiar with Bence’s work, then you already know that what makes him special is the way he uses his piano.
In his case, a piano is not your everyday piece of fancy furniture that you just PLAY.
And no, I’m not talking about the fact that this Hungarian-born fellow holds the Guinness World Record for being the Fastest Piano Player. That’s only part of the spectacular he puts on for his audience while he plays.
I’m also not talking about the fact that he has a MA in Film Scoring and Electronic Production & Design from the Berklee College of Music (hint, hint: he’s a big fan of John Williams. Duh! Who isn’t?!), which is pretty amazing by itself, don’t get me wrong.
For Christ sake I’m talking about all the divine sounds he can reproduce on a piano! And that my friends sounds like he has have a full blown orchestra right there beside him.
Bence’s unique playing technique made him a world renowned pianist and an instant YouTube sensation.
However, this unique style involves using the piano in a well…erm non-traditional way. This involves propping open the lid on a grand piano then smacking the keys, tapping the housing, plucking piano strings, playing with his elbow… just to name a few.
The way Bence uses keys, hammers, and strings to put his own spin on each cover is absolutely stunning.
And if you add to it his experimenting with the loop station — you get his best covers of Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen, Cheap Thrills by Sia, Despacito by Luis Fonsi, Attention by Charlie Puth, Human Nature by Michael Jackson, and Africa by Toto.
Oh have I mentioned he was classmates with Puth at Berklee? 😎
“No pianos were damaged on tonight’s show.”
Now, the issue is that when he goes on tour, he is unable to drag his own piano 🙁 Which means Bence is not allowed to play other pianos as he would his own.
Hence the disclaimer: “No pianos were damaged on tonight’s show.”
That’s why for yesterday’s performance in Zagreb he has certain segements pre-recorded in his studio back home. 😒
Lemme just tell you this:
Let the man smack the sh** out of those pianos will ya?
It’s a crucial part of the whole act as well as as sound. And besides, we’re talking about a 200.000 euro piano at Lisinski, what harm can ten fingers do in less than 2 hours? Oh alright, alright, rules and stuff.
Now, anyway, where was I?
Ah yes… As a big fan of Bach, he mixed this Bach vs. Justin Timberlake cover. Which conveniently was the first piece he opened last night’s show.
The Fibonacci Sequence
Now that you have gotten acquainted with Peter Bence’s covers — forget all those covers we’ve just talked about.
Let’s see the raw Peter Bence.
Listen to Bence’s original pieces such as Home, Letting It Go, and Fibonacci Sequence.
THEN tell me what you think. Bence is much more than his covers. Mark my words.
An interesting piece was his track titled (for now; can anyone pitch him an awesome title?) The Loop Song.
You can hear a bit of Ludovico Einaudi’s Divenire in it. And perhaps a dash of Nuvole Bianche. Perhaps that’s why the piece instantly stuck a cord with me.
Can’t wain for Bence’s new album to come out. Really looking forward to hearing more from this talented young man. I’m also very interested in seeing where his musical expression takes him in years to come.
