2024 - Mika @ The Piano Final Concert - recording at Aviva Studios, Manchester, 21st April.

[Prisca]

On 4/21/2024 at 2:28 PM, ClaireRose said:

Thanks for your reply, can’t see anywhere to RSVP - just says event has passed😫

Yes, the day of the event it often says "passed". I guess a problem of the timezones, always RSVP before the day of the event.

 

However, as I see you got to meet him. So I would say happy end.  

[TinyLove_CJ]

   Doesn't look like there was a reports thread for the 2022 The Piano concert, I could open up a separate one for this event or shall we stick to discussing things here?

 

There's so much I want to say but... 

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

Funny thing happened today at the Manchester Piccadilly train station. There was a piano with a sticker with an announcement from The Piano production that they are looking for pianists.

There was a young man playing and a woman was filming him with her mobile giving him some instructions.

As I was in The Piano mood I stopped and started to film too.

Then I went to buy me a sandwich. When I came back the piano was gone!!!!

There was only another old piano like 5 meters further.

On the airplane I rewatched the video from BBC One Show. They put there a short trailer with some pianists from the show.

I think that the guy I saw today was in the trailer as well. I am not sure (you can see him for like a fraction of second) but I think it was him.

We will find out soon.

I posted my video on my Instagram account.

[CharlotteL]

Hey @Anna Ko Kolkowska I edited that one sentence out of your post cause I think it's a biig spoiler!!

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

5 minutes ago, CharlotteL said:

Hey @Anna Ko Kolkowska I edited that one sentence out of your post cause I think it's a biig spoiler!!

[mellody]

4 hours ago, Prisca said:

Yes, the day of the event it often says "passed". I guess a problem of the timezones, always RSVP before the day of the event.

 

Well yes, we usually set the events as an "all-day-event" instead of putting specific times, to avoid the time zone problems (it often used to show the events on the wrong days when we set a time, although we do specify the timezone of the event) and because when gigs are announced we usually don't know the detailled show times and it's too much work to edit it all later. And that's why you can't RSVP anymore on the day of the event, because then the "all-day-event" has already started.

[Kumazzz]

3 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

Funny thing happened today at the Manchester Piccadilly train station. There was a piano with a sticker with an announcement from The Piano production that they are looking for pianists.

There was a young man playing and a woman was filming him with her mobile giving him some instructions.

As I was in The Piano mood I stopped and started to film too.

Then I went to buy me a sandwich. When I came back the piano was gone!!!!

There was only another old piano like 5 meters further.

On the airplane I rewatched the video from BBC One Show. They put there a short trailer with some pianists from the show.

I think that the guy I saw today was in the trailer as well. I am not sure (you can see him for like a fraction of second) but I think it was him.

We will find out soon.

I posted my video on my Instagram account.

 

Anna Thanks a lot for sharing !

 

That guy in Your INSTAGRAM post

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6DxG1nA1wH/

 

is in the Channel 4 trailer "The Piano Season - 2"

 

 

 

[krysady]

12 hours ago, TinyLove_CJ said:

   Doesn't look like there was a reports thread for the 2022 The Piano concert, I could open up a separate one for this event or shall we stick to discussing things here?

 

There's so much I want to say but... 

Here would be fine, I think, otherwise we have nothing else to discuss here and this thread would be dead 

[TinyLove_CJ]

  I shall share my little review here and it is only short because it has to be spoiler free!

 

  Just want to say first that it was nice to meet a few of you at the venue, I apologise for my shyness getting the better of me, otherwise I would have spent longer talking to everyone. I'm socially awkward and now you all know it! 

   My Mum says hi again and that she liked a lot of your outfits! (She was experiencing, and hiding, back pain so that's why we dashed off to our seats when the doors opened).

 

   What a day Sunday was! Seeing The Piano concert is one event I will never forget.  Obviously I can't say too much about it other than it was filled with pure piano joy. Each amateur pianist truly deserved to be in the final. All their stories for why they have the love of the piano was so touching and at times quite emotional. One in particular really resonated with me and I couldn't hold back tears at their particular story! Same goes for my Mum who enjoyed every minute of the show and also admitted to shedding a tear near the end 🥲.
   All of the pianists were truly amazing! They put so much passion into their performances, even if a few of them looked quite nervous.
   The magnificent trio of Claudia, Lang Lang and Mika were all full of energy and together they really made the night very special. Performances by Mika and Lang Lang were more than wonderful, they made my heart sour with the utmost happiness!
   With the seat I had I couldn't believe how close to the stage I actually was! And then Mika and Lang Lang walked right infront of me!!! This was during the show for something they had to do so I couldn't really disturb them to say hello, but they were so close! 
   Each pianist took a piece of my heart that night, it felt far too short and all I want now is to experience it all over again!

 

Some fun things:

 

> Before the concert started me and Mum were having a rather random conversation about shoes. I'd made a comment that I wasn't keen on white trainers; they get dirty too quick. Me after the concert "I want white trainers!" (if you know, you know! 😁).

 

> When Mika first appeared on the stage Mum whispered in my ear "Look, we're outfit twins!" She couldn't quite believe it, for those of you who met my Mum, I'm sure you know why! 😃

 

> Next morning at my hotel, I saw one of the pianists at breakfast! It was lovely to see them but I didn't want to disturb them when they were with family, I wouldn't dare do something like that. All I'll say is, this rather young person still looked very happy!

 

> When checking out if the hotel, I recognised two people from Love Productions and also one of the musicians who accompanied Mika's performance at the end of the show. They actually looked like they were heading back to the studio. Who knows, maybe Mika was in the same hotel all along!

[TinyLove_CJ]

18 hours ago, Hero said:

I'm still elated from the final duet, wasn't expecting that song but it was brilliant. ❤️❤️❤️

Same here! That's one performance I won't forget any time soon. When I saw the instruments being placed on stage I was thinking "ooh it could be THIS song, no THAT song!" but then it was something else entirely and from the first note I couldn't stop beaming! I was crying happy tears throughout it!

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

9 hours ago, Kumazzz said:

 

Anna Thanks a lot for sharing !

 

That guy in Your INSTAGRAM post

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6DxG1nA1wH/

 

is in the Channel 4 trailer "The Piano Season - 2"

 

 

 

Thank you Eriko for your confirmation  I was not sure.

[krysady]

Do we know how many episodes will be this time?

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

39 minutes ago, krysady said:

Do we know how many episodes will be this time?

 

I've read somewhere there will be 7 episodes instead of 5 planned at the beginning.

As well before the recording they asked us to keep it secret during next 7 weeks.

So actually there was 5 locations:

Edinburgh

Cardiff

London

Manchester

Liverpool

 

I hope it's not a spoiler if I say that Mika and Lang Lang decided to choose 7 finalists.

So maybe that is why there will be 7 episodes? Or 6 episodes plus the finals?

 

I found this text confirming 7 episodes:

https://www.nationalworld.com/culture/television/the-piano-season-2-claudia-winkelman-start-date-channel-4-spin-off-confirmed-4596585

 

 

 

[krysady]

6 hours ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

I found this text confirming 7 episodes:

Thank you! 

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

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. 

 

 

Edited April 23 by Anna Ko Kolkowska

[krysady]

25 minutes ago, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

This is probably his method of becoming invisible

Yes, it is his superpower! 

[TinyLove_CJ]

   Shout out to the camera man who was nearest to me, there was a brief moment where he had to come round the front and it obstructed my view. He looked at me, gave me a nod and pointed at his camera. I realised I could see everything he was filming really clearly on the camera screen. He was doing close ups of Mika and Claudia! It was like they were smiling right at me!

[Anna Ko Kolkowska]

On 4/22/2024 at 9:09 PM, Anna Ko Kolkowska said:

Funny thing happened today at the Manchester Piccadilly train station. There was a piano with a sticker with an announcement from The Piano production that they are looking for pianists.

There was a young man playing and a woman was filming him with her mobile giving him some instructions.

As I was in The Piano mood I stopped and started to film too.

Then I went to buy me a sandwich. When I came back the piano was gone!!!!

There was only another old piano like 5 meters further.

On the airplane I rewatched the video from BBC One Show. They put there a short trailer with some pianists from the show.

I think that the guy I saw today was in the trailer as well. I am not sure (you can see him for like a fraction of second) but I think it was him.

 

 

We will find out soon.

I posted my video on my Instagram account.

 

Here is a website with a sort of compilation of what we have already seen/read.

 

https://www.whattowatch.com/watching-guides/the-piano-season-2-release-date-interviews-and-everything-we-know

 

And I think there is a photo of a guy I filmed at the Manchester Piccadilly one day after The Piano recording.

So his name is Ellis.

 

 

And it looks like this boy was playing in the mall when we met together at Arndale Market. He is at the end of my video shot in front of the big piano. He is Ethan. And the man with grey hair was filming him.

 

And I have seen somewhere a video with Danny playing in the market as well. Actually he is from Manchester.

 

 

I regret I didn't record the guys playing piano outside after the show when I was waiting for Mika.

Most of them were the participants!  They had such a fun playing together!

 

 

Edited April 26 by Anna Ko Kolkowska