Peter Bence, a keyboard wizard between classical and pop
19/12/2017
written by Benedikt Lachenmeier
Michael Jackson, Queen, Sia - Peter Bence can do them all. On the piano. The Hungarian became a YouTube star with his cover versions. His videos have been clicked on over 150 million times so far. With 765 strokes per minute, the 26-year-old is the fastest pianist in the world.
Peter Bence manages to break down the boundaries between classical music and pop like no other. Without further ado, the Hungarian turns a hit song into a groovy piano piece. He hits the keys and imitates rhythmic elements of the songs in between with tapping noises. His cover of Michael Jackson's "Bad" reached ten million clicks on YouTube in just a few days. That made him famous all over the world.
"Bad" by Michael Jackson in the version by Peter Bence.
Last year, Peter Bence gave concerts in 16 different countries on four continents. The 26-year-old started very early. At the age of two, he could already play the songs from his favorite cartoons on the piano. Peter Bence composed his first piece at the age of seven - and at eleven he released his first album, which was heavily influenced by Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann.
This is how Peter Bence interprets "Cheap Thrills" by Sia.
In 2012, Peter Bence achieved a world record with an entry in the Guinness Book of Records by playing the piano 765 times in one minute. This remains unsurpassed to this day.
The summer hit "Despacito" is also available in a version by Peter Bence: over 12 million views on YouTube.
As Peter Bence reveals, not every song is so easy to cover on the piano: "It depends on the rhythm, the melody or the chords whether it is possible or impossible to arrange a song for the piano. I tried it with 'Uptown Funk' by Bruno Mars. But no matter how you try: The arrangement just sucks on the piano. It's still a great song. The feeling has to be right. Very repetitive melodies don't work either. They just sound boring and stupid."
During his studies at Berklee College of Music, the artist began publishing videos on his YouTube channel. By interpreting famous pop songs, he has found his very own style. His first album is due to be released soon.
