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A lot of "The Piano" articles on Magazines and Papers ! Daily Mail Weekend Magazine 20 Apr 2024 The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Review Saturday 20 Apr 2024 Daily Mail Weekend Magazine VIDEO Daily Mail Weekend Magazine VIDEO BBC One The One Show 19/04/2024 VIDEO Radio Times What’s on TV 27 April/3 May, 2024 What’s on TV 27 April/3 May, 2024 Closer UK – Issue 1105, 27 April/3 May 2024 Heat UK – Issue 1291, 27 April/3 May 2024 TV & Satellite Week 27 April/3 May, 2024 Total TV Guide 27 April 2024_The_Piano Radio Times VIDEO Radio Times ( COMPLETE ) 27 May 2024 Liverpool Echo Article and Video What to Watch OK ! Inside Soap New! Magazine 29 April 2024 Radio Times VIDEO ( Behind the Scenes ) and more...

A short interview filmed in Liverpool. We spoke to the stars of hit TV show The Piano.mp4

Radio Times Come behind the scenes of our cover photoshoot with Mika, Claudia Winkleman and Lang Lang in celebration of 'the most joyful show on TV', #ThePiano YouTube TikTok

New! Magazine 29 April 2024 Pressreader https://pressreader.com/article/282415584341880 PDF file ( 598 kb ) New! 29.04.2024_60+61_The_Piano.pdf KEYS TO SUCCESS Who strikes a chord in the second series of The Piano? Claudia Winkleman is reuniting with Mika and Lang Lang for another series of The Piano – Channel 4’s search for Britain’s next top pianist. Placing pianos in train stations across the country, the trio are looking for new talent as they watch whoever tickles the ivories from a hidden spot. From a classically trained boxer to an 80-year-old romantic, amateur pianists from all over the UK compete for a place in the final concert. The Piano, Sunday 28 April, 9pm, Channel 4

UPDATE ! Added PDF files !! OK ! 23 Apr 2024 Pressreader https://pressreader.com/article/282119231598476 PDF file ( 525 kb ) OK_33_UK_29_04_2024_p.56-59_The_Piano.pdf Inside Soap 23 Apr 2024 Pressreader https://pressreader.com/article/282888030744591 PDF file (1.7 MB ) Inside_Soap_UK_27_04_2024_p.62+63_The_Piano_.pdf

What to Watch https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-piano-season-2-release-date-interviews-and-everything-we-know The Piano season 2: release date, interviews and everything we know The Piano season 2 sees Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika return to seek out more budding maestros. Budding pianists are limbering up to tickle the ivories at train stations across the UK as Channel 4’s smash-hit show The Piano returns for a seven-part series, guaranteed to pull at our heartstrings. Claudia Winkleman is presenting once again, while adjudicating from a secret location are world-renowned pianist Lang Lang and pop superstar Mika, who will choose their favourite virtuoso from each station to perform in a special concert at Manchester’s Aviva Studios. This series visits stations in Edinburgh, Cardiff, London and Liverpool, but begins in Manchester Piccadilly, where nine-year-old Ethan stops commuters in their tracks with Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20, and 80-year-old Duncan, who has dementia, plays a stunning ‘thank you’ song for his wife, Fran. Plus, boxer Ellis gives a knockout rendition of Chopin’s Ballade No. 4. But unlike series one, the players now know that Lang Lang and Mika will be watching their performances, does it make a difference? What To Watch caught up with The Piano presenters Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika during filming to find out why series two hits all the right notes... The Piano season 2 release date The Piano will air on Channel 4, Sunday 28 April at 9pm and will air weekly for seven weeks in the same slot. The Piano season 2 interview How does it feel to be back filming the most heart-warming show on TV? Mika: "Incredible! We were amazed by the reaction to series one, which was a beautiful little project that was shot as more of a documentary. The whole thing has been such an astounding, tender surprise." Lang Lang: "I knew it was going to be something different from other talent shows out there, but I didn't expect it to be such a success!" Claudia: "It’s just magical. For example, a girl played today and a man was in floods of tears. I assumed he was her dad, so I said, ‘You must be incredibly proud?’ He whispered back, ‘I've never met her’. But she did something that really moved him, and that’s what the show’s about." Have things changed now the pianists know that Lang Lang and Mika are watching? Claudia: "All three of us were a little worried about returning because the first series was created with this idea of what happens when people play the piano and they think no one is watching? It was so poetic, but now everyone knows the show, I’ve been expecting people to turn up in ballgowns! However, they still can’t see Lang Lang and Mika, and the show is shot so subtly and beautifully that it doesn't feel like a hoo-ha. They just chat to me, then play." Mika: "We were worried that something would change with the pianists’ intentions or ambitions because they now know we are hidden away, listening. But we are still seeing extraordinary people who have amazing stories." Lang Lang: "And if somebody feels special, this time Mika and I can go out to see them to encourage them to do better." Have you seen a higher standard of performances? Mika: "The standard has gone up, yes, but you never know what’s going to move you. Someone can play Chopin and technically it’s all there, but it might not provoke emotion in me nor in Lang Lang. Then someone can play the most simple triad chords and sing, and it makes people cry. You can’t put your finger on it, but it’s magic." Lang Lang: "There’s more international music this time, and some places we visit have their traditions and types of music, like Cardiff, where we hear folk music. We see the whole world through the piano in this series." What can you tell us about the final this year? Mika: "After the series one final in London’s Royal Festival Hall, we wanted to do something different and more contemporary. Manchester’s Aviva Studios is a new, high-tech venue made for both classical and non-classical music. So we are putting on a real show and people have bought tickets." That must be quite nerve-racking for the finalists? Mika: "Like last time, we do mentoring days and full rehearsal days. They’re not going into a brutal gladiator-style situation, though. They’re just going to do something beautiful." Claudia: "This will make you feel nauseous, but I’ll say it anyway: once they join The Piano family, it’s our job to look after them. They all look after each other, which is my favourite thing, but our duty of care is really important because some haven’t even played in stations before let alone on the stage. They have two of the greatest musicians to hold their hand, too." Have you been tempted to take up the piano yet, Claudia? Claudia: "Oh, I’m not allowed to touch a recorder, or even sing Happy Birthday in my own house! I know nothing, honestly. Somebody played brilliantly the other day, and the crew and I were saying, ‘Yes! Smashed it!’ But Mika and Lang Lang said, ‘Good, but it was in the wrong key.’ So, we absolutely bow to them." Is there a trailer for The Piano season 2? No yet, but as soon as one is released we will add it to this guide. Ellis chats to Claudia before playing Chopin at Manchester Piccadilly station. (Image credit: Channel 4 / Nic Serpell-Rand) Claudia meets nine-year-old pianist Ethan at Manchester Piccadilly station. (Image credit: Channel 4 / Nic Serpell-Rand)

Talking about wedding ceremony, I have really thought about it if I can make a little ceremony next year I really would like to invite MIKA and fans to join as I'm also part of MFC lol? 😂 but I didn't really know MFC members, that's also a problem 😅 So I guess literally no one really interested in it but definitely I would play some MIKA songs, just absolutely would not be his love songs cause have been listening every day haha 🤣 And I didn't really like some of his old songs like Happy Ending, I knew so many fans might thought its so romantic broke up song but I just thought a bit too annoying since the lyrics was kind of quite negative and I was trying to imagine if I were that one he maight a crush on, no doubt I would not love a man like that but I more appreciated a man like my partner David that have the coverage to go for me even sometimes I maight aa bit hard to go out for a date, instead of like him written a song just moaning/singing haha 😆 Anyway, I wish MIKA would not see my this message. Otherwise he must be so angry or maybe want to kill me a bit cause as a fans I always say something like that but doesn't means I don't like him, hate him or not support him, just I express my feeling and thinking very straight away lol🙏🙏🙏

Liverpool Echo https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/tv/claudia-winklemans-visit-liverpool-airing 23 APR 2024 Claudia Winkleman's visit to Liverpool airing on Channel 4 Claudia Winkleman's adventures with Mika and Lang Lang airs on Sunday Presenter Claudia Winkleman was spotted in Lime Street Station in February filming Channel 4's The Piano. Film crews were present in the centre of the station while commuters made their journeys throughout the day. A small circle formed around Claudia while she stood beside a piano and welcomed people to step up to play one of their favourite songs. The sight was kept inconspicuous with only a small team present to not unnerve the pianists. The scenes were a portion of Channel 4's The Piano which sees amateur pianists from all over the country show off their skills. Hidden away elsewhere was pop superstar Mika and the greatest pianist in the world, Lang Lang. Behind the scenes, the pair watched the amateur pianists performing before making the difficult decision on who will progress in the show. Commuters will finally be able to catch a glimpse of themselves in the background as series two kicks off this weekend, Sunday, April 28, at 9pm, with Claudia, Mika and Lang Lang agreeing the talent is off the charts. Local musicians of all ages stepped up to perform in Lime Street with Claudia, Mika and Lang Lang admitting they were blown away by how emotional this series is. Claudia told the ECHO: "There was a girl and she was so nervous because she'd never sung in public before and she played her own composition. I found it incredibly moving. She made people who were watching cry. "Another amazing performer was Billy who's about to be 90 who brought his entire family and this was a song he wrote about his granddaughter. I'll look and there are people with tears streaming down their faces. There's so much emotion." The Piano's grand prize is a performance spot at the end-of-series concert in London's prestigious Royal Festival Hall. Series one victor Lucy Illingworth, a talented, blind and neurodiverse 13-year-old from Yorkshire, stole the hearts of the nation for her beautiful rendition of Debussy’s Arabesque No.1. The Piano stresses there is no "winner" as it opts to drop the competitive aspect in favour of highlighting the talents and stories of all involved. Series two kicks off this weekend, Sunday, April 28, at 9pm on Channel 4. YouTube We spoke to the stars of hit TV show The Piano The hit Channel 4 show The Piano is returning to screens later this week on Sunday April 28. Our reporter Christopher Megrath spoke to stars Claudia Winkleman, Mika and Lang Lang when they were filming in Liverpool in February, and they had a lot to say about the series and the city.

UPDATE ! Here is a TRUE PDF file !!! It's easy to read. Radio Times 27 May 2024 Pressreader https://pressreader.com/article/281801404017769 PDF file ( 4.2 MB ) 2024.04.27_Radio Times_The-Piano.pdf Page 1 BRAVO! THE PIANO RETURNS KEY PLAYERS Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika reveal the secrets of the most joyful show on TV Page 3 From the Editors THE STORY OF HOW The Piano began life may be apocryphal, but it’s worth repeating. A TV executive on his commute walked past an old piano, installed at St Pancras Station to amuse passing passengers, and found the sound of those brave enough to sit on the stool and start playing so uplifting, he decided it must make a television show. That the show then became one of last year’s most unlikely hits – and Channel 4’s biggest ratings success of recent years – is testament to live music’s power to move an audience. Not to mention our love of plucky amateurs ready to have a go at entertaining us that goes back long before TV talent shows such as The Voice and The X Factor. But unlike those shows, the contestants in The Piano had no idea they were part of a competition. They thought they were merely playing for the hell of it, thinking they were being filmed for a documentary about people who play pianos in public spaces for the fleeting entertainment of passers-by. What made the series such a success? In our interview on page 12 The Piano’s trio of Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika have their say. To their eyes – and ears – the show worked precisely because it didn’t set out to entertain using all the usual props of TV entertainment: shiny floors and showbiz glitz twinned with fake pathos and jeopardy. But there may have been another key to its success: the simple joy that music can bring, performed at the highest level or by a tinkler of the bar-room ivories. Last September C4 boss Ian Katz told RT that 2023 spelt the end of mean television. And that he was ready to pronounce a new era of Happy TV. Which may explain why The Piano is back for a second run – especially since he said all this before cycling off to attend a piano lesson. Once you have fallen for The Piano, it's hard to forget it. Tom Loxley & Shem Law Editors, Radio Times Page 4 27 APRIL—3 MAY 2024 TV The Piano Sunday 9.00pm C4 It was a somewhat unlikely hit last year; now more of the nation’s train stations play host to talented ivory tinklers hoping to impress pop star Mika and virtuoso pianist Lang Lang. The brilliant Claudia Winkleman returns to present. INTERVIEWS P12 Page 12 ‘What I can’t bear is “Yeah, I’ve got this”. I’m allergic to any form of arrogance’ CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN PHOTOGRAPHED EXCLUSIVELY FOR RADIO TIMES BY ROBERT WILSON Page 13, 15 The Piano Sunday 9.00pm C4 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒏 𝑻𝑽 As The Piano makes a swift return, hosts Claudia Winkleman, Mika and Lang Lang reveal the secrets of the show’s success. No glitz, no make-up, no pathos, it’s all about the music… WELCOME TO BANTER Central – a photographic studio in west London, where Claudia Winkleman and Mika are recovering from throwing shapes under strobe-esque lighting against a dazzling backdrop of black and-white 1960s Op Art à la Bridget Riley. There are a few serious moments but mostly it’s wise-cracking verbal ping-pong. Claudia, peering out from under what she calls her “Unapologetic Fringe”, is munching through two bags of crisps and a packet of mini-Oreos, for which she apologises quite often. Then, witness ing my faffing with tape recorders while dealing poorly with a cup of tea (lack of spoon, saucer and so on) as Mika is talking, she quietly slips it away and dispatches the damp tea bag in what I suspect is a characteristically kind and unob trusive intervention. These are two of the three faces (I meet Lang Lang later in the week) of what is surely the most joy-filled television series of recent times: The Piano, the Channel 4 gem that went out early last year following a most unusual music competition between amateur piano players invited to perform on public pianos at major train station across the length of the country, from London’s St Pancras to Birmingham, Leeds and Glasgow. The participants – of all ages and from all backgrounds, with the most tremendous back-stories, playing every genre of music from classical to pop and rap – were under the impression that they were being filmed for some kind of documentary presented by Claudia. Unbeknownst to them, the world’s leading classical piano player, Lang Lang, was hidden away in a small room, usually next to the public toilet, alongside the beguiling performer and pop star Mika. Both men were judging their performances with a view to selecting one pianist from each location to appear in a concert at the Royal Festival Hall, where an overall winner would be announced. Last year this was stand-out star, blind 13-year-old Lucy Illingworth from West York shire, who is unable to communicate in conven tional ways because of her autism and other conditions. Her transformation when she started playing the piano (Chopin’s Nocturne in B flat Minor) with such tenderness and artistry was deeply affecting, moving viewers at home and in the station to tears, including the judges. The first series had the highest ratings for the channel since 2017, with three million viewers, and in July last year it was announced that the show had been recommissioned for both a second and third season, as well as a Christmas special and a documentary on what came next for Lucy (The Incredibly Talented Lucy is coming soon to Channel 4). Sitting across from me, Mika looks like the offspring of Stephen Mangan and Beatrice Dalle, while Claudia’s vibe is more Carine Roitfeld, the deliciously dishevelled and very rock ’n’ roll French fashion editor. We talk a little about an old clip that has emerged, of Claudia looking very different in her 20s [she’s now very happy to be 52 – “I love being older”], without the famous fringe and tan, and with a different way of talking [she calls it her “university voice”, adding of her time at New Hall, Cambridge: “I did go to a quite fancy university”]. She looks quite Sloaney? “Very,” she agrees. So when did she develop rock ’n’ roll Claudia? “Well, I don’t feel rock ’n’ roll at all. I’m definitely not.” It started with the fringe when she went to a hairdresser and said, at 28: “‘I think I’d like a fringe’ and he gave me – you’re both going to feel nauseous when I say this word – a wispy fringe and I said, ‘I think I need an unapologetic fringe.’ And once I had that, everything else followed.” The black eyeliner? “I think I had that already but not in that clip because I was doing telly and I had no idea what I was doing and they said, ‘Let’s make you up like this’ and I was like, ‘OK,’ but I was always a bit Emo.” Maybe a bit Goth, too? “Oh I was very Goth– even now, a pointy boot and a long duster coat...” she swoons. WHAT DOES SHE make of Nick Cave and his wife Susie Bick, who used to rock that Goth look. “Love. I met Susie once and I mounted her. I don’t think I’m allowed to meet her again. I also love Ozzy Osbourne and in the end, I just want to eat a bat.” One of the reasons we love Claudia – apart from her sense of mischief, warmth and genuine curiosity – is that she is an original. I mean, honestly, who says the things she says routinely – particularly now – and gets away with it? The journalist Stuart Heritage captured her presenting style brilliantly, writing that she is “the concept of free jazz made corporeal” and “has made a career of appearing to say whatever happens to be ambiently floating through her head at any given moment”. I remind her that she actually said, “My ovaries just clacked” on The Piano when she spotted a baby. Mika is aghast: “Did she really say that? She does get very, very excited around babies. Honestly, she’s the babysitter at the station.” “I don’t remember that,” Claudia says. “We never watch it.” Is she desperate to be a granny? Is she already encouraging her children (Jake, 21, Matilda, 17, and Arthur, 12) to become young parents? “Yes I am, and if they were here now they would be, like, ‘Please just tell her to relax!’” She travels with her youngest on the Tube to school every day and this is when she listens to music – “and once I’ve kissed him and tried to lick his eyebrows in front of his friends – which by the way is not what one should do but it’s my job to be embarrassing – then I put my headphones on and listen to music very loud. I want Missy Elliott, I want Dr Dre and rap and – BOOM! – it wakes me up. “At home, I’ll usually have Radio 4 or Radio 2 on if I’m cooking or just pottering around, but I don’t normally listen to music then because I’m usually pestering the kids. Am I being boring?” This is typical of her. Claudia is self-deprecat ing to a fault. I was berating her about it when we met for an interview 14 years ago, but she’s even worse now. SHE IS AN integral part of The Piano’s appeal (as she is in Strictly and that other successful series The Traitors, for which she won a Bafta last year), but she demurs. Isn’t it about time, dear Claudia, to own your success? “I’m super-happy and super-grateful, but I’m just the conduit who says, ‘Hello.’ The Piano is about these extraordinary people who come to play, it’s about the instrument and it’s about Mika and Lang Lang – [she turns and says to Mika] Don’t respond!” “She knows me!” he laughs. “I love this conversation – I’m serious, I really mean it.” He clearly agrees about her tendency to put herself down. “I feel quite secure in the stuff that I know I can do,” she responds. “Reading out loud on Strictly. Greeting a lovely person who’s come in and might be a bit nervous to play the piano. Walking around a round table. What I really can’t bear is ‘Yeah, I’ve got this’. I’m allergic to any form of arrogance. “I love a healthy bit of imposter syndrome and I am a big believer in being bad at things. When my kids were like, ‘Mum, shall I learn a musical instrument?’ I said, ‘I wouldn’t. Not unless you really want to.’ I want them to be bored and I just want to say aloud, ‘It’s OK not to be good at stuff.’ You know, I’m not good at parallel parking – fine.” We move on and touch on the wars raging around the world. Claudia’s response is to donate and keep informed: “Read about it from every angle so at least you feel informed, not ‘I just can’t look at it’.” Her personal solace to sorrow is to wrap herself around the people she loves, which is her family. For Mika, it is music. “There has always been this association with processing the inexpressible through something that allows you to deal with it in a different way. There was this fine line with my family between tears and joy, and music was always this form of poetic resistance, which can have huge and strong consequences.” The bare bones of biography can mislead. Read that 40-year-old Mika was born in Beirut, moved to Paris, then Pimlico adjacent to London’s Chelsea, went to the famous Westminster School in London, with an American father in banking, and it paints a picture of gilded ease. The reality was rather different. In 1990, during the war in Kuwait, Mika’s father, Michael Holbrook Penniman, was trapped in the US embassy for seven months. He returned to his family a shell of a man: heavily bearded, gaunt and troubled. Mika didn’t call him Dad again, I read? “I called him ‘Mike’ because I didn’t recognise him. It was hard to understand that he had trauma but then when everything fell apart and he lost his job... “There were five of us children and we lost everything, then we started again. We knew every phrase to say to be within the law to make sure the bailiffs didn’t come into the house. At a certain point, it became too much and we kind of ran away from France and started again. We didn’t run away, sorry – we left. And then we lived in a bed and breakfast near Pimlico for two years.” His parents managed to stabilise things, but it was still bumpy. Mika was suspended four times at Westminster, for quite long intervals, because his school fees couldn’t be paid. This led to almighty rows between his parents and he would tell his mother – American-born Lebanese-Syrian Joannie – that he would be happy at any school. However, when the family first moved to London the nine-year-old Mika had attended the Lycée, where he was so badly bullied that he was home-schooled for a while by his mum, to whom he was particularly close and who sadly died three years ago. “She was very eccentric,” he says, affection ately. “Home was music, colour and tears all mixed together. My father was an amazing part ner to her... you can’t really speak about one without speaking about the other. There was turbulence but he was the perfect partner to her hurricane of colour.” MIKA IS DYSLEXIC and as a child had reading and writing issues – but he speaks five languages and broadcasts regularly in at least three of them. He also has a wonderfully evoca tive turn of phrase. I am particularly taken by “the crutch of snobbery”. But back then, life was more of a challenge. “I stopped communicating with the world around me. I was hardly speaking. I forgot how to read and write. My path out of it was music – it allowed me to start rebuilding and gave me another sense of value. I may have been failing at the spelling exam and having a hard time, but I’m not worthless – ‘Look, I can do this!’” To which Claudia is keen to point out: “Mika hid in the music room from the bullies.” Music comforts him still. He suggests you give the same attention to it as you would reading a book or watching a film – one song and you absorb yourself in it totally. It could be Joni Mitchell’s A Case of You or Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique: “All those colours, all those textures – you can’t listen to that in the background while you’re making your tomato sauce!” “Mika and I get on so brilliantly but you’re about to go off me!” Claudia announces. Addressing him she adds: “So this is how I listen to music... I don’t like anything new. I stopped listening to bands in probably 1995 and those are still my favourites. That period of Brit Pop with Oasis, Blur, Pulp. We would run around university singing Wonderwall at the top of our lungs and that is the music I revert to.” THE PLAYFUL BOND between Claudia and Mika is evident for all to see – but what of his relationship with his fellow judge, the renowned pianist Lang Lang? Initially he had seemed very reserved in contrast to Mika’s exuberant chattiness, his sherbet-coloured shirts and bold necklaces. But over the weeks it was clear that an endearing friendship had developed, almost a bromance. “There are moments when Lang Lang is quite tactile and you wouldn’t expect that,” Mika says. “When he’s finding something really funny he can’t control himself. He’ll laugh and he starts stroking my face and I’m, like, ‘Oh my God!’ There’s very few situations in my life where I’m having a nice time, especially with a man, and he just strokes your face out of affection.” All three of them are clearly, and quite rightly, proud of the show: “We’re a beautiful little poetic success – there’s no big shiny floor, there’s no mechanic of pathos,” Mika says. “They haven’t had make-up or been zhuzhed,” Claudia adds. “There isn’t a floor manager saying, ‘Come in and please introduce yourself.’” But now everyone knows how the The Piano works, did that change the dynamic for season two? “I was so worried that they’d come in a ballgown waving – ‘Lang Lang! Mika! I’m here!’” Claudia vamps. “But actually because you can’t see them, they’re sort of forgotten.’” So the authenticity remains... “It’s beyond that,” Claudia says. “I’m holding their bags!” “And they’re sitting at the Costa coffee shop or Greggs!” Mika adds. “But once they play,” Claudia chimes in, “it’s not humdrum.” Mika smiles: “Exactly. It’s magic.” Page 17 ‘I need to do better’ Pianist Lang Lang on his work-life balance – and the magic of Mika Born in China in 1982, Lang Lang started to learn the piano just three years later - and it's been a part of his life ever since. Aged nine, he was dropped by his tutor for having "no talent" and his strict father advised that he take his own life. "We're very good friends now. I've forgiven him for many years already," he says today. Instead of giving up, Lang Lang rose to great heights. Today he's probably the world's most famous pianist, a prodigy who has performed at the White House, the King's Coronation and concert halls around the world. Now aged 41, many credit him with single-handedly creating a new generation of pianists in China, and with his International Music Foundation's Keys of Inspiration programme, he's trying to do the same in the UK and America. Assuming, of course, that he hasn't already found the next big thing while hiding in a train station for Channel 4... THE OVERTURE My first memory is of there being a piano in the house from when I was one. We listened to classical music and Chinese folk music on a videotape cassette and later CDs. My father plays the Chinese violin, which is called the erhu. When I was a kid, it was harder to make friends because I was always practicing. CHANGING MY TUNE My life has improved tremendously, which I do appreciate but, honestly, I don't have so much time to feel it. I'm always on the road and focused on how I'm going to get better as a pianist. But I think now that I'm married, with a baby, I have to fly back home more often [he has houses in New York, Paris and Shanghai. An artist's life is very hard to balance. I need to do better. I need to cut some activities. STRIKING A CHORD I knew immediately that we needed The Piano. Shows like that are often core-classical and are very hard for people to watch on television - this is something for everybody. But being on The Piano is quite a different experience for me. I normally have to talk about my new recording or my foundation work, not as a judge, so I'm very happy that I have Mika and Claudia. SINGING FROM THE SAME HYMN SHEET I really love what Mika does. He's a great musician and I have a huge respect for him. This guy is so knowledgeable, I really learnt a lot because his repertoire... honestly, I had no idea. And he's a very lovable person. We became very, very good friends in a short time and it has remained this wonderful friendship. This season the bonds are even closer. And Claudia, too, has this magic that, no matter who she is talking to, in five minutes she is getting that person's entire life story. FACING THE MUSIC In this second series, there were more people sending in their videos and applying to be on it and the quality is very high. Of course, it's hard to match Lucy [who won the first series]. No one can compare to her. But we do have some different talent; some different stories; some different backgrounds. This is not like shooting some other talent competitions where you have to push them many times and re-film- even if we wanted to do a retake, it would not happen. Everything is "in the moment" and very authentic. Page 46 Sunday TA-DAH! Claudia Winkleman, Mika and Lang Lang seek Britain’s best pianists REALITY The Piano It was an unlikely premise for a hit and yet the first series of this X Factor for pianists became something of a sleeper success when it debuted last year. Now it returns, as more train station concourses transform into a stage for talented musicians to tickle the ivories. Contestants of all ages and backgrounds take a seat, with moving personal stories and bewitching recitals flowing. The piano prowess is stunning; the fingerwork dizzying. Claudia Winkleman returns as host — her sincere enthusiasm one of the major keys to this show’s success — with pop star Mika and virtuoso pianist Lang Lang in the wings. They eavesdrop on the performances and will decide which of the day’s players will play at the series’ finale concert. Unlike before, though, the pair are able to break cover. One moment during their time at Manchester Piccadilly sees them personifying Simon Cowell when, after one performance, they ask to hear an alternative song. “Everything has gone rogue,” notes Claudia. “I loved it when they were next to the toilets.”

All of them if it is not a problem for you

I realized one more detail abot this today. The impression I got from parts of the show was a bit like at the ESC, where every word was rehearsed to the last detail and in addition read from a teleprompter. For the ESC I totally get that, and in fact I don't think Mika rehearsed every word he said at the concerts (and he definitely didn't have a teleprompter)... but at times it came across in a similar way, and sorry, at a concert I don't want to see this level of perfection, because (at least for me) it takes away so much of the emotions and of the connection. It's like you're trying to create the connection and the emotions not through the people (including yourself), their energy, and the emotions that music itself creates, but by "content" presented in a specific way. That works for TV shows because those are not about the interaction with the audience - and well, Mika did interact at the concerts, and of course also at past concerts he had certain elements that were well rehearsed and that he repeated again and again... so I'm not sure why the feeling this time was different, why his shows, although fantastic, didn't TOUCH me as they used to - or well, they did, at times, but those were rare moments, mostly created by the music itself and probably it was the moments when Mika lost himself in the music instead of thinking of his performance. I don't want to see him dance like Michael Hutchence, I want to see him dance like Mika. Maybe by doing so much TV the last few years, this "TV Mika" has become so much part of his personality that this is him right now, also at his gigs, and I just have to get used to it. But while I understand why he does TV and I enjoy watching some of it as well, I never was a huge fan of "TV Mika". Already when he did Casa Mika, and that was a really fantastic show and a great opportunity for him to have his own TV Show, amazing concept and stories too... but even back then I didn't like this way of acting on rehearsed scripts. I want pure and unfiltered emotions. Which you only really get at concerts, because even on an album you have the production of the music that puts the original emotions through a filter. (btw that's why I'd love an acoustic album, haha!) And I suppose I had expected this especially from this tour, because of the concept of the "apocalyptic ball" and the question he asks in his tour program "what would you do if the world ended?" - that this would mean not caring about perfection or it "going smoothly", but be more like "wrap your arms around everybody, if we're all gonna die let's party". There were a few gigs on the 2nd part of the Revelation Tour where he actually went to hug some fans (of those he knew) while walking through the audience. Not me, sadly, but this was such a surprising and beautiful gesture. And just one example of how he is capable of creating the intimacy of a small gig also in big venues, making an arena feel like a tiny club, where you feel connected to him and to everyone else in the venue as if you were all friends... and you're not jealous at all but simply very happy for the people he hugs, and it makes you feel so much love. Haha well but I guess I'm mixing things, maybe that latter thing is just me and my own way of seeing and experiencing things, which might be different now from what it was 4 years ago. Anyway, long story short, I want emotions at a gig, and not a perfect TV show. Thank you for sharing your experience, it's especially interesting to hear the point of view of someone who doesn't have this comparison to previous tours. That helps me to see where my discontentment is rather based on too many expectations than on actual facts.

Here is my edition YouTube 2024.04.23 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀　This or That with Claudia Wincleman & Mika

Don’t worry, this happens to me Every. Single. Time. I see him. And the funny part? I have a couple of friends his height, but for some reason he is just taller!

Or both please!!

Had to pause the video just while I was talking to my Mum and this has to be the perfect moment I paused it on! This is right after he says the word "POP" too and look at his eyes! They are popping! Excuse me sir, but I think Andy may have something to say about this! 😅

When he walked past me at the concert, and I was seated at the time, I thought exactly the same thing! I mean, I KNOW he's tall, but when I was so close to him I didn't realise HOW tall! 😅

Yes, it is his superpower!

So here is my report. Or rather my diary from my travel to Manchester. It was my first time in Manchester and I must admit that I really liked this city. Full of architectural contrasts evoking images from New York, Lyon or Paris. A city full of colors - even the hotel I chose was located in the Gay Village, which I learned about only when I got there. Rainbow markings everywhere on walls, sidewalks and benches. And at night there's a buzz in cafes and clubs. I flew to Manchester in the morning on the day of the recording, which was Sunday. Since I had to wait until 2 p.m. for my hotel room, I decided to explore the city center. I heard from the media that Channel 4 was organizing a weekend event at the Arndale Shopping Centre. Among other things, a big keyboard was installed on the floor, on which you could play melodies with your feet. I had to see it! I even was ready to try playing it. I got there around noon. And of course, I immediately came across a group of fans from Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and, of course, England The world is really small! I shot a few videos and we decided to go visit the famous Saint George Cathedral. As it turned out, St George's name day was celebrated on Sunday (as in Poland). And on this occasion, a huge parade was to pass through the city. Thank you @Anilado for the information! Another coincidence - the parade was due to pass in a few minutes, so we quickly found a great place to observe. I laughed that we had a place at the barrier, like at Mika's concerts. First row 🙂 If you would like to see it, here is a link to the video on YouTube. After the parade, I was able to check into the hotel and get some rest. We decided to meet again around 4:30 p.m. at the recording location, i.e. at Aviva Studios. And so we did. Animations were to be held on site from 4 p.m. These were performances by pianists - as I noticed only after the event - they were participants of the second edition of The Piano. And not only. Anyway, I recognized Danny from the first edition. I follow him on Instagram and Twitter, so when I saw him sitting down at the piano, I got closer and started filming him. Then I posted the film on Instagram, which later turned out to be quite important. This lady is probably a participant of the second season. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-3OyP09CIQ8 Then we had to take our seats. We couldn't film, but I took out my phone a few times during breaks. I also can't talk about the details of the performances yet. But I became very emotional very quickly. After all the finalists had performed, there was a break and Mika and Lang Lang left the hall to discuss who is the winner. Well, they are all the winners but they will choose the performer who made the biggest impression this very evening. They just had to pass in front of my seat, so I quickly recorded this short moment. I won't say anything about the results. Let me just say that the performances were great, that I had tears in my eyes many times - and I wasn't the only one. The emotion will certainly be similar when watching individual episodes. This season, auditions took place in five cities: Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, London and Cardiff. Seven episodes were planned, even though initially there were only five. Of course, our entire group was eager to meet Mika after the recording. But nothing was planned with the management. Since we were sitting in different places in the hall, after the concert I went outside and started looking for my friends. I haven't seen them anywhere. I thought they might be waiting at the artists' exit, but I didn't know where that might be. However, I noticed a black Mercedes waiting with its lights on and I thought that it was probably waiting for Mika. Especially since the driver seemed familiar to me. In the meantime, I exchanged messages on WhatsApp with Prisca. The entire group was inside Aviva Studios. I wrote that I thought I saw a car waiting for Mika, but no one joined me. I noticed Danny standing nearby. I walked up and introduced myself as being from Poland, and Danny replied that he was half-Polish, his mother was Polish His grandparents emigrated to England. He doesn't speak Polish himself. I told him that I was following him on SM, that I had recorded his performance before the show and posted it on Instagram. I showed him the post and he found it on his phone and started following my profile We were having a conversation and then suddenly someone stopped on my right and said something to Danny. I look at that person's face and…..it was Mika! Dressed in a gray coat and a gray cap, he was almost unrecognizable! This is probably his method of becoming invisible There was no time to talk. It was obvious that Mika was in a hurry. I just said that I had just found out that Danny had Polish roots and Mika already ran to the car. There were several ladies with him with large paper bags. Everyone quickly jumped into the van and the car quickly drove away. I let Prisca know that Mika had just left. We finally found each other and decided to find a bar or restaurant to eat and talk. Ultimately, however, me and Ani left the group and returned to our hotels. I had been on my feet since 3:00 a.m., so I needed some rest. But that wasn't the end yet. The Piano returned to me the next day. At around 10:30 I arrived at Manchester Piccadilly Station to buy a train ticket to the airport and sandwiches for my journey. In the noise of the station, I suddenly hear the sounds of a piano. I get closer and see a young man playing a song (I think it's a tune from Sounds Of Music). A woman stands next to him and records him with her phone and giving him some instructions. But what was interesting, there was a sticker from The Piano program on the piano, talking about the search for participants for the next edition. You can watch this video here. Then I went to get some sandwiches and when I came back the piano was gone!!!! It's good that I recorded it, because I would have started to doubt whether it really happened Then, on the plane, I watched my videos and photos. And I found the BBC One Show video in which Mika and Claudia Winkleman talked about the new edition. The trailer of the program was then shown. This time I recognized the faces of several participants! But I also saw a young man there who looked like the one at Manchester station. As @Kumazzz already mentioned above this is the man! So I will learn his name later after the episode from Manchester will be broadcast. And at the end this rubbish video with Mika's Mercedes going away. VID_20240421_203725408.mp4

You are so lucky to have mum with u to watch show together and if I were with my mum, I usually would not that shy lol 😆 About back pain, if your mum is not allery to Royal Jelly, actually it is good for her to have some which is anti-inflammatory material to help the reduct a bit back pain. Also physically, chiropractic adjustment, massage or acupuncture would also help her suitation. Wish her get a bit better soon!🙏

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to me, yet every time I see him next to people who are similar in height to me I go „gosh is he TALL!“

Radio Times Pop or classical? Concerts or festivals? We challenged #ThePiano stars Claudia Winkleman and Mika to answer some quick-fire musical questions during our photoshoot for this week's issue of Radio Times - and this is what they said YouTube This or That with Claudia Winkleman and Mika

Thank you!

Total TV Guide 27 April 2024_The_Piano PDF file ( 2.4 MB ) Total TV Guide 27.04.2024_The_Piano_.pdf Page 4 + 5 In perfect harmony Lang Lang and Mika on why they chime together... Have you learnt anything from doing the first series that's been useful this time? Lang Lang I would love to say yes but the truth is, in the first season there were a lot of songs that I had no idea about and it was thanks to Mika's knowledge the show wasn't a disaster! This second season I thought I was going to be better, but in Liverpool I realised I'm not at all! Mika You never know what's going to move you. Sometimes a person will play something really complicated - some Chopin or something - and technically it's all there, but it doesn't provoke emotion in either of us. And then someone comes and plays something with the most simple chords, and maybe lyrics, and for whatever reason it clicks. Everything aligns and it makes people cry. It's magic. You can't quite put your finger on why it happens, you just have to be open to it. LIFTING THE LID

TV & Satellite Week 27 April/3 May, 2024 PDF file ( 1.5 MB ) TV_Satellite_Week_-_27_Apr_24_2024-p8+9.pdf Page 8 + 9 TV WEEK Keys, to success Claudia Winkleman, Lang Lang and Mika are on the hunt for more amateur pianists as the talent show returns In the centre of a crowd at Liverpool Lime Street Station, a fast-tempo jazz tune is being belted out on a piano and TV&Satellite Week spots Claudia Winkleman and her famous fringe swaying to the beat. We’ve been invited to watch filming for C4’s ivory-tickling talent show The Piano, which stole the nation’s hearts when it first aired last year as budding musicians showcased their skills in UK train stations, unaware that world renowned classical pianist Lang Lang and pop superstar Mika were secretly watching. In this new seven-part series, the talented virtuosos now know that Lang Lang and Mika are nearby, debating which performer to pick from each station to send through to the grand final. But now that there’s no big reveal, will it make a difference to the performances? ‘ All three of us were a little worried about returning because the first series was created around the idea of: what happens when people play the piano, and they think no one is watching?’ explains presenter Winkleman, 52, when we chat in a nearby hotel after a long day of performances. 'Now that everyone knows how the show works, I’ve been fully expecting people to turn up in ball gowns,. But Lang Lang and Mika are still hidden away, and the show is shot so subtly that it doesn’t feel like a hoo-ha. They just chat to me, then play.’ CONCOURSE CONCERTS This new series also takes the trio to busy concourses in Edinburgh, Cardiff and London and kicks off this week in Manchester Piccadilly, where a young boxer, Ellis, gives a knockout rendition of Frédéric Chopin’s Ballade No.4, while drum- and-bass DJ Salome belts out the jazzy show tune Feeling Good, made famous by Nina Simone. There’s also nine-year old prodigy Ethan, who stops commuters in their tracks with his take on Chopin’s Nocturne in C# Minor No.20, and 80-year-old Duncan, who is living with dementia and plays a stunning ‘thank you’ song for his wife, Fran. ‘The standard has gone up this year, but you never know what will move you,’ says Mika, 40. ‘Someone can play Chopin, and technically, it’s all there, but it might not provoke emotion in me or Lang Lang. ‘Then someone can play the most simple triad chords and sing, and it just clicks and makes people cry. You can’t put your finger on it, but it’s pure magic.’ The first run culminated in a concert at London’s Royal Festival Hall, where blind and neurodiverse 13-year-old Lucy was crowned with the winning performance. This time, the final will be at Manchester’s Aviva Studios, with ticket sales helping to fund more pianos in train stations across the UK. A WORLD OF MUSIC ‘After the Royal Festival Hall, we wanted to do something different and more contemporary, so the final will be in a brand-new, high-tech venue that’s made for both classical and non-classical music,’ says Mika. ‘So we are putting on a real show.’ Lang Lang promises there’ll be a broader range of music, too. ‘It’s made me appreciate new types of music because this show is not only classical, it’s everything,’ says the 41-year-old superstar. ‘There’s more international music this time as well, and some places we visit have their own traditions and types of music, like Cardiff, where you’ll hear folk music. You’ll see the whole world through The Piano.

Heat UK – Issue 1291, 27 April/3 May 2024 PDF file ( 797 kb ) Heat_-_Issue_1291_2024_p69.pdf Page 69 The Piano CHANNEL 4, SUNDAY 28 APRIL, 9PM Claudia Winkleman meets more talented amateur pianists who are making commuters stop in their tracks playing in train stations. Listening in will be musicians Lang Lang and Mika. And Claudia, who says she’s not musical at all, admits she is still blown away by the reactions, saying, “As a musical outsider, it was amazing for me to watch everyone rushing through the stations, then stopping as soon as someone started playing the piano.” The opening ep takes place in Manchester Piccadilly Station.