This November/December, Australia will play host for only the second time to world-renowned viral hit, Hungarian virtuoso pianist Peter Bence.
Certified in 2012 by Guinness World Records as 'the world's fastest piano player' (765 piano key hits in one minute), Peter rose to prominence in 2015 when he uploaded videos to YouTube of him performing his arrangements of Michael Jackson's 'Bad' and 'Smooth Criminal'.
Since then he's performed covers of Queen, Toto, The Beatles, and more recently a crossover between Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata (3rd movement)' with 'Thunderstruck' by AC/DC. Now, his music has been collected on his latest album, 'The Awesome Piano'.
“I call it 'The Awesome Piano' because I think piano is so much more than just playing the keys and I just love to explore all the different kinds of sounds I can produce with a single piano,” Peter explains.
“Later when I put it back together in my studios, all these different sounds, it sounds like a whole orchestra or a whole band is playing. I wanted to limit myself as a composer to only using the piano and also show people how cool piano can be; that it's not just the traditional classical way that you're supposed to play the piano but it can be something much, much cooler.”
Peter deconstructs the conventions of piano as well as what's expected of a pianist by taking advantage of the instrument's rarely tapped-into percussive qualities and his use of modern technology such as looping equipment.
“By nature I think piano is much more like a percussion instrument and when I was a child I wanted to take drum lessons but I didn't have the time, so now I have this urge to combine the two somehow,” he says.
Peter is, by all accounts and definitions, a musical prodigy. As early as age two he was playing back melodies by ear from his favourite shows and movies. He began his formal musical education at the age of four in his hometown of Hajdúböszörmény in Hungary.
At age seven he wrote his first composition, heavily influenced by Mozart and Chopin, and at age eleven he published his first solo piano album collecting his early compositions. Peter continued his studies at the prestigious Berklee College Of Music in Boston majoring in piano and film scoring, with John Williams being a key influence among others.
After his debut Australian tour last year, Peter returns from November to perform 'The Awesome Piano' as well as a selection of his original compositions.
“Of course I have to play all the music that people expect me to play for sure, like the ones that are up on YouTube and those covers,” Peter says.
“But I also will add lots of my original music, which is always exciting because I never really get to share my original music. I think of myself more as a composer than as a pianist, so for me it's even more exciting to play some of my original music.”
Peter Bence Tour Dates
27 November – Astor Theatre (Perth)30 November – Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)
1 December – Sydney Opera House
2 December – Melbourne Recital Centre
