Lang Lang, Mika and Claudia Winkleman were in Edinburgh this weekend!
The Piano returned for another heart-warming episode tonight (Sunday 12th May) as Lang Lang, Mika and Claudia Winkleman found themselves in Edinburgh, ready to find the next breakout piano star.
The trio are blown away once again with a range of talent, from a boy in a bow tie, a piano-playing postie, and an Argentine tango – Edinburgh was a city to remember as they look to find one special pianist to perform at the final concert. But tonight, there was a twist!
After all the performances, Mika and Lang Lang had a tough decision to make and they changed things up by inviting two pianists to perform in Manchester, rather than the usual one.
As Mika and Lang Lang met the performers at the end of the episode, they sung their praises and revealed the surprise.
“[This was] one of the highest standards we have seen in any city so far in this adventure,” Mika said. “Every single one of you, in all your different styles, you open a door onto a secret part of you.”
He continued: “We are planning a very special concert and we’d like to invite one person to perform onstage at the concert. That person that we will be inviting to Manchester is Daria.”
Daya grew up in Ukraine and was put in music school from a young age, but her “life was changed forever” amid the ongoing war.
“It was the most difficult decision in my life to leave my family, to leave my hometown, to leave Ukraine,” she said when explaining her story.
When Mika and Lang Lang revealed the exciting news, Daria was overcome with emotion and said: “Are you kidding me? Really?… It means what I’m doing, when I’m playing, it’s not empty things. So people can hear, they can listen to what I want to say through the music, through the piano.”
But the heart-warming moments didn’t stop there. “We actually decided to have two,” Lang Lang revealed. “I would like to invite Sum! You will do great.”
When Sum was younger, he was drawn to a toy piano and had “no interest” in any other toys. He performed a Sonata 37 in D Major and at the end of his performance, Lang Lang gave him a hug and signed his book.
After finding out he would be performing at the concert, Sum said: “It is unbelievable. It feels like a dream or something and I was like, ‘I don’t know what to say.’”
Next week, the trio will be at London Victoria station, hoping to discover the next piano star!
The Piano season 2 continues on Sundays at 9pm on Channel 4.
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