Original subtitles

This week, we are in Glasgow's beautiful Central Station.

An amateur pianist will come and play on this public piano.

Now, you know the drill by now -

they're not just playing for the people in the station.

In fact, they're playing for two global superstars.

And not only that,

at the end of the two days,

Mika and Lang Lang - I'm whispering -

will have to choose just one to perform at the Royal Festival Hall.

This is The Piano.

Our pianists won't know it,

but hidden away, high above the station concourse,

Mika and Lang Lang will be able

to see and hear every performance.

Nice to see you. I'm very excited about today.

You look rested. Yeah. You look quaffed. Yeah. You look elegant.

I put more gel on my hair, so it's... You did. Yeah. I like it.

This is a really beautiful station. Really beautiful.

Ancl our view point is amazing. We get to see everything.

The best...the best view so far.

This is a much tougher place to play... Yeah.

...than Leeds or even London.

This is like you're putting the piano in the middle of the arena.

Cooee! Hey, Claudia!

Guys, what are you hoping for today?

Do you want classic? Do you want pop?

We already have a classical, we already have a rap.

# I book a flight where I take her this evening... #

Ancl we never expected to have that version of rap

and that version of classical. Yeah.

Who could have ever predicted Lucy?

Unique. Yes. That's what we want.

We want people who have an urgent story to tell

and that have a unique approach to playing the piano.

OK. Well, it's a beautiful station.

I'll see you guys later. Going, goodbye.

All right, see you later. See you later, Claudia. Ciao, ciao.

Glasgow, give us something good.

I'm Stan Breingan, 86, and I live in Prestwick.

H I, Stanley.

Hi! So lovely to meet you! Nice to meet you.

Oh! The piano tie.

Stanley, Stanley.

So, tell me about you and the piano.

Well, I've been playing the piano since I was about nine years of age.

I'm now 86, so I've been playing for...77 years.

But, in later years,

the family have started having more attention,

so I've got 11 children just now.

11 children?! He has 11 children, just now.

11 children. So far.

My wife is a young chick,

21 years younger than me, and produced all these children.

Er, sometimes.

I had a jazz band in the 1950s.

We played to thousands of people.

It's a great encouragement to have people listen to you,

especially if you're a show-off.

Unfortunately, all the people I played with are now dead.

Because everybody died, I had to keep going myself

and you get used to doing it yourself.

So, I'm the last of the red hot pianists.

You've got to watch how you say that last word.

# I hate to see that evening sun go down... #

He's singing at 86! That's different.

All right, now I'm interested!

# ..to see evening sun go down down down down down down down

# My baby's gone

# She's gone and left this town... #

All the different blues from the beginning of the 1900s in America

are the foundation of rock and roll, R&B and pop music.

That's where it all... ..came from. Wow!

# I'll just pack my trunk

# And make my getaway... #

The funny thing about a blues,

especially an old blues, is that you let it kind of fall to the floor,

but you never let it fall apart. I see.

You know, it never loses its groove. It's always pulsing.

And, at 86, to be able to have

that kind of suppleness is not nothing.

# Yeah, man, yeah, boy. #

CROWD APPLAUDS

Brilliant!

Bravo!

Stanley - utterly brilliant. Did you enjoy it?

Thank you.

We're so grateful.

Say hello to all of those amazing children.

I will, I will. Thank you very much.

He's a player. Yeah. And, if he's chosen this kind of music,

he probably is a player. Yeah.

Wooo!

Sorry about the whooping.

This is a man that's seen a lot of life... Mm.

...and made a lot of life.

Certainly - when you have 11 children!

This is a security message. If you see something

that doesn't look right,

speak to staff or text the British Transport Police...

Five points to me.

I've spotted the first kilt.

Left.

Super-hot!

CLAUDIA PURRS

Ladies and gentlemen, please keep going around...

Sorry - that was creepy.

Next to play our piano is 12-year-old Dana.

I was two years old when I started to learn piano.

I'd describe the piano

as something that you can express your emotions to

because, even though it can't speak, it can be good in most ways.

I'm Claudia. Hello! Lovely to meet you. You, too. Nice to meet you.

I'm so glad to see you today. I'm so happy.

Like, maybe you just don't want anyone to speak to you

or you just don't want to hear, like, anyone's opinion

because you might take it the wrong way.

I'm just a bit nervous. You feel horrible? A bit.

But, with the piano, it doesn't really say anything.

It listens to you.

What is it, specifically, about now that's making you scared?

Is it the other people?

Urn, it's just, like, the people around me. I'm just scared, like,

like there's... Yeah. ..so many people watching me.

I will stop people from watching - physically, I will stop them.

I'm short but I'm strong.

Claudia's brilliant.

So, shall we walk there? No biggie. OK, I'll try.

Deep breath in...

Out.

Here we go - we're just walking. Dana... just walking.

...good luck. Don't say good luck, otherwise I'll kill you, Amelia.

I won't really. She's a very nice woman. OK.

Have you ever had stage fright?

I'm actually terrified now!

For me, her problem is a problem for many of the young pianists.

They don't perform so much onstage.

But once you start somewhere,

then you're totally passing this problem.

It's like a paper - when you go through it, it's very simple.

OK, I'm just here with your mum.

You have to find a stage for yourself

and this is something that you can do better in the train station.

It's like a rite of passage. Yeah, you have to be brave enough

to go through this door.

Yeah - see, that's the problem.

When she's so nervous, her hands get froze.

It's more a psychological thing.

Do you want me to get these people to turn round? Yes. OK.

Guys, you're going to have to do me a favour -

can you turn the other way? She's too nervous.

DANA PLAYS A FEW NOTES

just don't look at her. Don't look at her. Thank you.

DANA RESUMES PIECE

Let's look this way. Turn the other way.

If you look the other way because she's nervous.

OK - now we're in business.

Just breathe.

She plays very well. Pretty even - the left hand.

This left hand can be so annoying, you know?

Da, da-da, da, da-da, da.

You know? She plays really even.

She's just very nervous,

so I'd like you to look at the board, don't look at her. Sorry.

Nice!

She's amazing.

Super secure. It's getting better and better.

She's wonderful. It's like all the anxiety's disappearing. Yeah. Yeah.

Thank you!

I didn't cry!

I got rid of everyone. I got rid of everyone, like a lioness. Yeah!

If you never take that first step,

you will always be nervous and you're so afraid of everything.

But once you just cross that little path, you're fine, you know?

Do you feel good? A little bit, yeah.

Did you?! You're so talented!

I mean, I did mess up a bit, but I did keep going. No!

This is a process

that, I think, after today she's probably less nervous.

And, if she doesn't have this stage fright, I probably will take her

to the Royal Festival Hall.

I think she will be great.

OK. I'm smiling so much my cheeks are hurting. Good. Good.

# They're standing still... #

Glasgow Station street pianists have no idea

that they're being watched.

# I'm running still... #

I love this song.

Mika and Lang Lang are hoping

to discover more raw, undiscovered talent

to star in their concert at the Royal Festival Hall.

# Forever drives

# I had drowned in lights... #

She's certainly more a singer than a pianist.

# Runnin', runnin', runnin', runnin'

# Runnin'... #

Her voice is good and she has an intensity,

but, here, the piano's really just accompanying her. Yeah.

I think it's really... It's not dancing with the voice. No. No.

We've seen flashes of talent

and we've seen real technical ability. Yeah.

But there hasn't been that thing that's made me go, "Ah!"

HE PLAYS MAPLE LEAF RAG

Ah! This one!

I like that dynamic.

His touch is very light.

Very light.

He's so careful - he doesn't want to play the wrong notes, I think.

Yeah, we need more from Glasgow.

Why is everyone so well-behaved, Lang Lang?

Let's get him drunk!

Yeah. Yeah.

Be less good! Yeah.

Not too nice.

Don't be so nice! Be dirty.

What was the craziest thing you've ever clone on the piano?

I think with Metallica.

When we did our first rehearsal, they did not play

with their electric guitar, you know, so they just kind of...

Strummed along. Yeah. And I was like, "Oh, wow, this is like

"a nice jazz band, you know? They're not crazy at all."

I love that. What happened?

Lang Lang mistook Metallica... Yeah. ..for a light jazz band.

So, after, they look at me, "Are you ready to rehearse?"

I said, "That wasn't our rehearsal?"

"No, no, we were just reading the notes.

"So, are you ready?"

And, then, plugged them in.

Bhhmmmfff!

Ancl I said, "I need my piano totally amplified."

I said, "I need to make my piano ten times louder!"

The thing that makes an audience stand up -

that's what we're also looking for here.

We're still not seeing somebody go really wild, right? Not there yet.

I can smell a piano at 50 yards.

Next to play our street piano will be Sue.

How are you? I'm very well, thank you.

I'm Claudia. Lovely to meet you. Nice to meet you, too.

You look like a summer's day. Thank you. Would you mind having a seat?

She's just bought something?

When I play, I always have interesting things.

So, if it's somebody's birthday, I'll put a happy birthday banner.

Oh, interesting.

And it will go about there.

This is all about...um...

Blood? It is about blood.

It's just got dark!

Oh, my God! This is like Halloween hands or something.

Agqqhhhhhz

That is to depict that music is in my DNA.

I'm in Sue world and I like it.

You are phenomenal!

Sue, when you are not playing the piano... Yes.

...and making these magnificent stands, what do you do, darling?

Well, I was a music teacher for 25 years. Yeah.

I went into schools and made sure that

the...the children who are looked after by local authority had

all the things they needed

because children who have had not a good start... Yeah.

...need to be boosted. Yes.

They need somebody on their side. Yeah.

Over the course of my career, I would go into children's homes

to see young PEOPLE

with strong emotions

that find difficulty expressing how they feel in words.

We may not have spoken for 20 minutes, we just played.

We 1H5'! played.

And they, then, expressed themselves.

Crashing on a piano is...

Actually, you know exactly how they're feeling!

Music will help develop confidence,

and a sense of well being and a sense of belonging.

Everybody has a talent...

...we've just got to find it.

And that...that goes to my heart.

So...

People say, "Well, why are you crying, Sue?"

I've had challenges in my childhood and growing up.

Music has always helped me and now it's pure joy.

It reminds me of being free

and riding my motorbike, years ago.

You just open that throttle and you're off!

SHE PLAYS BOOGE-WOOGE

Oh! Whoa! Sue, welcome!

Didn't expect that. No.

Here we go, finally!

We've got a lot of audience.

I really was so ready not to take her seriously.

She's not messing around.

Look at her head.

Oh! Oh! She just did that with the palm of her hand!

Boom! She's, like, smashed it out!

Oh! Now you know why there's bloody hands on those things.

This is how you do it. You're such a good dancer.

MIKA LAUGHS

No, that's not how it's clone.

You roll out... Yeah.

Roll in - like a Swiss Roll.

Roll in, roll in, roll in.

No, no - the other way round.

Roll in, roll in, roll in, roll in. Ah! Roll in - like this.

Stay there

and I'm gonna rip you out!

BOTH LAUGH

Brilliant!

Sue... Thank you! ..you are magical!

Thank you. You were excellent.

Thank you! Thank you. It was so lovely to meet you.

The banner... That was... Yeah. ..the blood... Yeah. ..the flowers.

Everything. All... I'm just... I'm in!

I love the fact that we thought

she was completely strange.

Completely.

Ancl then, somehow, she gets the technique, she gets the rhythm,

she gets this over-excited...er...energy -

that ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!

She has this big presence.

She has a big presence. Right?

A big personality. Yeah. Big personality. But, guess what? Yeah?

You close your eyes, you've never seen her before,

and you still feel that personality, and that's why she's good.

We have a contender. Yeah.

I need more.

We need to be able to choose from a few in order

to really be sure that we're taking the right person to London.

Yeah, yeah, we have to.

Wait. So, you two are twins? How old are you?

Nine. Nine. Who was born first?

Me. Literally, by, like, one minute.

Yeah. One minute and a half.

Yes, babe. STATION ANNOUNCEMENT

Oh, sorry. Don't film this. This is a girls' chat.

We need to go and get our train now. Oh, go, go, go!

Darlings, lovely to have met you all.

They've got to catch their train.

I've formed a new girl group.

I'm their grandma.

The next train to depart

from platform three will be the ScotRail service to East Kilbride.

Next to arrive at our piano will be Sean.

Hi, Sean. Hello, there.

Lovely to meet you. Thank you so much for coming. Have a seat.

Tell me all about you and the piano.

Ah, well, I'm 26 now,

so I've been playing the piano for 20 years.

And I very quickly understood that music really connects people

and brings people together in a very positive manner.

How did you learn or are you self-taught?

Very self-taught.

I, unfortunately, wasn't able to cooperate too well

when it came down to the idea of grading and sheet music.

Does he have a teacher?

Where does all this come from?

Welcome to a piece of the town that I used to go to high school in.

This bit of forest was, urn, one of my favourites.

You see, I, for some reason, thought

it was a much better use of my time to, er, skive my classes.

Due to my inability to cooperate,

I had to do a lot of my studying on my own.

Sean was also alone when he began learning the piano.

No-one in my family had a musical bone in their body,

so what I would do is I would copy the television.

So, I'd run through and I'd sit and I'd listen

and I would...

PLAYS FALTERI NG NOTES

...and I'd remember it and, then, I'd run through to my bedroom

and I'd sit and I'd copy what I heard.

And music was an absolute bingo moment for me.

The piano is such a crystal clear way of expressing my internal world

and to understand the internal world of others.

It was quite clear that I was thinking differently

and they took me to be diagnosed.

What I have people call high-functioning autism.

They also call it Asperger's Syndrome.

Turns out that the way that my mind works is in absolutes,

especially at that age.

It was a bit like a logic gate in a computer.

Everything was an if-else statement,

which meant it was either a yes or a no, a one or a zero.

And it was music created on a computer that would come

to dominate Sean's piano journey.

I grew up enjoying the music that my mum played

in the car as we drove around.

My mum was always a great fan of club music.

Complicated rhythmic structures stuck out to me

as exactly the sound palette that I wanted to explore in my life.

And so, as time went on, it became more and more apparent to me,

"Why should we use a computer?"

Whoa!

Look at that left hand - it's crazy.

This is very complex, what he does. |t's...it's not simple at all.

It's a lot of skills.

Whoa!

WOW!

He's using the real acoustic playing,

like when you're using your computer

to program me in the music. Yeah.

Listen to that! He's holding it.

Ha!

Oh, wow! It's just everything - one moment it's a lullaby,

the other moment it's like a Faithless dance track.

Yeah, it does have everything, all the styles.

Then, all of a sudden, it's...

...it's brilliant anarchy. Yeah.

He's letting us into his head. Yeah.

You know, we're, literally, stepping into this guy's brain.

I think he's the disturbance...

He is the disturbance.

...come in to give us some kind of a lesson.

Hey, you cannot make music that's beautiful all the time.

Yeah. Let me show you what I think about piano.

See, now we're super, super-harmonious, melodic.

Dissonance!

Sean!

Thank you very much! My name is Sean Logan!

WOW!

Brilliant. Thank you very much. Thank you so much.

Well, thank you for having me. It was an absolute pleasure.

I think, this guy, for me,

is the first one that he and the piano is one. Yeah.

What do you think about putting him on the stage at Festival Hall?

I think, um, we finally have somebody who is

a provocateur... Yes. ..who is provoking at the piano.

He's certainly, you know, a candidate.

He's got a crowd.

I mean, he's playing the material to get a crowd, that's for sure.

HE PLAYS GOODBYE YELLOW BRICK ROAD

You know what? Normally, I don't like medleys, but... Yeah.

This works. This works. It works.

HE PLAYS CROCODILE ROCK

I know how difficult it is

when you are putting different melodies into one piece of work.

He has to have a great classical skill, which he does.

Ha-ha! Yeah! Standing up.

I think I should take him to the Festival Hall.

Cole's a candidate for the Royal Festival Hall? Yeah.

I think.

My worry is that it works here.

People are distracted and they're going about their business,

so you hear little bits of songs and it's super-pleasing.

CROWD WHOOPS AND APPLAUDS

You put that at the Royal Festival Hall,

it'll be less powerful than it is here.

You have doubts?

I felt so sure!

You're a knockout.

It took three cities but, finally, we got Elton john.

I'm very grateful to you, personally. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Passenger announcement -

please note alcohol is banned on all ScotRail services. You may not...

Are you...?

Are you drinking Baileys?

No, a coffee latte.

What is Baileys?

Baileys? Uh-huh.

It's a slippery slope.

Oh, OK. OK.

# Money, you've got lots of friends

# Crowding round the door... #

Oh, yeah, yeah. Billie Holiday.

# But when you're gone and spending ends

# They don't come no more... #

Billie Holiday lived in poverty and she wrote that song

because, although she was talented

and earning her own money,

she had to give her money to her mum.

God Bless The Child resonates with me

because when I was young I didn't have family,

but I did, eventually, go to a family who fostered me.

And, then, the music teacher at my secondary school encouraged me to go

to music college and she arranged an interview.

And I went along, and I couldn't tell you how excited I was.

Got home and, urn, no -

I had to do what you call a proper job.

I wasn't allowed to go.

# ...that's got his own. #

CROWD CHEERS

Brilliant!

SHE MOUTHS

The piano part was kind of OK, you know, but...

When she sings, she's so much more touching.

Well, I'm a bit emotional.

Can I have a little weep?

Just didn't expect to have that applause. I didn't even see them -

and lovely people like that.

I didn't realise how much it meant to me, that song, to be honest.

And, every time I play it...

...it resonates for, um...

...about so many things.

It's about belonging, as well, somewhere, isn't it?

And you can do that with music, you can belong.

It's such an interesting thing - street piano -

because it transcends races,

cultures. Everybody loves it,

it's as simple as that,

and I think, hopefully, everyone will love it when I play it, too.

Hi, nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you. Hello.

Benedict - best name on Earth. Thank you so much.

I feel like I should bow for that. Stop it. Have a seat.

Do you mind if we have a chat before you play? Yeah, let's go.

When you're not playing the piano, what's your job?

So I work for a multi-national, er, government organisation and...

Are you a spy? Who do you know? Who have you been talking to?

I like it.

A spy!

Security, predominantly. OK. So, it's completely different.

Playing classical music and how I am at work are,

in effect, two different people.

When you're working in this high-level security situation...

Yeah? ..your mates from work, do they know you do this?

Well...well, I guess they do now.

But, er, not really. Not really.

Yes. I guess it's always been something

that's just been quite special to me. Yeah.

It's like no-one knows what I know about you -

that, actually, your favourite thing to listen to is death metal.

Nice touch he have.

Ancl quite nice pace, as well. Yeah. Yeah.

Suddenly phhoooo... Yeah.

Oh. He's pressed on the brakes

and we're just like...

Good. Breathe.

So, I've been playing the piano since I was seven.

When you're first learning how to play,

you sort of get forced into it

and then, after a while, you realise you don't really pick the piano,

piano kind of chooses you,

and you have a responsibility to share that for everyone else.

And that's what I think it's all about -

just adding that very small bit of value to the world.

You know, literally, just that -

adding that very small bit of value to the world

and just hoping that people feel better after it.

Very spiritual playing.

Somehow, he's, er, not afraid

to take you somewhere that gives you a personal space.

CROWD CHEERS

Amazing! Thank you.

Wow! Listen to that crowd.

Yeah. It works very well.

Thank you. Thank you so much. You're very welcome.

See you later. See you soon. Thank you. All right.

He's a bit special.

To me, he's kind of showcasing

a certain side of himself - it's very controlled. Mm.

Ancl it...it just didn't give me goose bumps.

He did bring some colours into the piece.

I think he's a good enough player to take more risk.

I think, for me, if he can play this piece in this way, it's pretty good!

It's... It's so funny. I think this is one of the first times

we really disagree. Yeah?

Always a good feeling. Always a good feeling.

People appreciate it, you feel good and you get on with your day.

It's beautiful while it's there -

because all we have is now, right?

And then...and then you go forth

and carry on this thing we call existence...

...you know?

That sounded very cheesy, I'm aware of it.

The final street pianist to play for us at Glasgow...

...will be George.

Another piano.

If it works.

Oh, my gosh! What happened?

He's grooming himself.

What's that? I said you look stunning, don't worry.

I can tell you already, Lang Lang, I like this guy. Yeah?

Will you be coming on to present me with the bouquet when I'm finished?

Ah - I'd like to.

He's charming the girls in the flower stand.

So, he's a flirt.

He knows how to please his public.

Hi, George. Hello.

My name's Claudia. Lovely to meet you. And you.

George, come and have a seat.

Tell me about you and the piano. How long have you been playing?

Off and on, now, for about...

...85 years.

Am I allowed to ask...? No, I won't ask how old you are.

Yeah, you can if you wish.

I don't mind. It's your personal information.

94. 94.

90...?! I thought he was 82.

My goodness! Are you joking me?

He's doing so well.

And you play here, don't you, at the public piano? Yes.

And what do you love about the fact

that these pianos are just open for everyone?

You meet people. Yeah. You meet people. Yeah.

My first memory of the piano is

when I was sent to music, when I was roughly nine, ten year old.

That's my music teacher - untill was about 14.

And, then, she went into the army

and I didn't see her again after that.

And I stopped.

No more music lessons.

But, then, there's always been a piano in the house -

both at home and when I got married.

That's my wife and I, we're going to a wedding,

going to my nephew's wedding.

And my wife's name was Mary.

And my oldest daughter, her name is Janice.

And that was my youngest daughter - Alison...

...who passed away in 1999.

She had diabetes and, then, she developed epilepsy.

And that's...

That was the four of us.

My wife died in 2010

and that was the last photograph ever took of the two of us.

So, I've lived on my own here.

Somebody happened to mention

that there was a piano up at Central Station.

I went up and I heard somebody playing.

I thought, "This fella can play."

So I went over, made a friend.

And, then, somebody else.

So, if I felt down, I just got on a bus, went up to Glasgow

and there were friends up there

I could spend a couple of hours with.

I mean, I didn't think I was all that good, to be quite truthful,

but other people seemed to like it, so I just went with the flow.

What are you going to play for us?

Show tunes.

Nice. Easy-listening show tunes... Yeah.

...| hope! OK.

He has to be good. He's our last one in Glasgow.

Powerful guy, huh?

He's got energy. Yeah. You know, that's... Powerful.

His condition's, like, 60.

Yeah.

Look at that! Look at that! Look at that! That!

W000! Very good! Very romantic!

There's this kind of extreme silent movie romance... Yeah.

...about the way he plays. Yes. Yes.

Transposition.

He plays this with an open heart, you know? Yeah.

He plays with an open heart. # Dah dah clee... #

Ancl melodramatic. # Dee dah... # Exactly.

But it's him.

It's him and it's completely credible,

and it's completely sincere. Yeah.

# Der dahhhhh... #

So powerful! Look at that!

Brilliant!

Bravo, George!

Thank you. You absolute hero! Look - everybody's stopped.

Whoa! Bravo! Amazing!

Thank you. Thank you.

I'll be off, then. Bye, darling.

Piano's make people... Young. ..happy.

Yeah. And young.

Piano's make people happy and young. Yeah. You're right.

Do you want my autograph?

I'm saying, "Do you want my autograph?"

He's a candidate for me.

I love him and I find him charming,

and he's made my clay better,

but I'm not sure that he should go to the Royal Festival Hall.

This is gonna be quite a difficult... Yeah. ..situation.

It's a little tricky today. Yeah. But we can handle it. Yeah.

We've asked everyone who played the street piano

at Glasgow Central Station

to come together

so they can meet each other

and so that we can thank our performers.

Glasgow.

Yeah. You've seen the best that Glasgow has to offer.

We've seen Glasgow. Glasgow... Have not seen you.

...have not seen us yet. Not yet.

So, is this going to be a difficult decision?

The average is pretty high, actually. Yeah.

The...the skill average. OK. Yeah.

But, er, only a few people had this very special character. Yeah. Yeah.

The magic. Let's talk about Dana.

She was so talented!

Today is a real breakthrough.

I think, from today on, she will get more relaxed.

Then you have, Sean who has overcome

all of the things he's had to face in his life

by diving into the piano.

Sean's a special one, that's for sure.

He's putting so much things into it.

I just don't know whether people are

ready for this kind of too much information, you know? It's like...

But, with Sean, the audience would live a much more intense experience

where they would be provoked.

Some people might not like it. Yeah. Some people would really be into it.

I'm going to bring up

the love of my life... I think we all know. ..Sue! Yeah.

She's amazing!

The one that looked the sweetest, the softest, rocked out the most.

Yeah. B-b-b-b-b-b-b!

She hammered it! Yeah, yeah.

OK. Who do you think will stay with you?

Sue. Sean.

He's very sure. I'm not so sure.

Sue. Yes, thank you. OK.

And Sean. Yes.

George. I love George.

Gave me this warm, beautiful, romantic feeling.

I am touched by George. I adore the idea

that the piano in a public place can be an antidote to loneliness.

In your gut, do you know?

I'm not 100% sure yet.

You know, if we can say it's between Sue, Sean, George. George. Yeah.

Can we meditate on it for a second? Mm-hm. OK.

We still have a little time before we...

We have about 30 minutes. Yeah, but that should work, yeah?

It's like a school photograph, isn't it? Yeah.

And I haven't had one of those for a few years!

Hello. Hello! Hi, everybody. Hello.

We just wanted to say a massive thank you.

You have all been absolutely outstanding,

so thank you so much.

Um, I'm going say something now,

which is we haven't told you everything.

Sorry.

So, you were playing for those lovely people at the station.

You were also playing for the most successful pianist working today

and one of the world's best performers,

so please welcome Lang Lang and Mika.

Oh!

Oh, God!

Hey, everybody-.

First and foremost, sorry for not telling you.

We've been watching every single thing you said,

everything you've played and it's been a real pleasure.

Ancl congratulations - you play so beautifully.

Just in a few minutes, we managed to walk into your lives

and understand why you play the piano,

why the piano's important

and that is the one thing that brings all of us together.

Ancl you didn't know you were part of a competition,

so you really brought...you brought your true selves -

from Stanley right through to Cole, George to Benedict.

Dana, that was incredible and I know you were nervous,

but you play so beautifully. Yeah, bravo!

We loved Sue. There you are.

We love you. We...we...we loved the bloody hands. Oh, yes!

I found it kind of terrifying. Did you? Yeah.

But then you started to play with so much joy... Yeah.

...and that was what was so good.

In fact, to thank you, we are organising

a very special concert at one of the most prestigious...

Yes. ..music venues. The Royal Festival Hall in London.

Ancl we want to invite all of you as our VIP guests.

WOW!

But there's another part of it, too,

because it's not even our concert. Yeah.

In fact, we'd like to invite one person...

...to perform on the stage.

And, um, it wasn't easy because you're all so different

and so talented,

and that's why we made you wait a little... Longer.

Yeah. Yeah.

So, the person that we've chosen

for this performance

on one of the world's most prestigious stages...

...is, in fact, Sean.

Bravo!

Thank you so much.

An absolute pleasure to meet you. Bravo. Thank you. Absolute pleasure.

Oh, why not?

Well, hold on. I mean, this is just the beginning.

Oh, I've been waiting my whole life, let me tell you.

He's getting ready! Great!

It was absolutely amazing.

I really love to feel... It really fills my heart with joy

to meet people who have the same appreciation for music

in all of its different sort of avenues.

I am very happy to, er, be able to be carrying this forward

and it's a really beautiful thing for me, you know?

Today is a big decision, it's not an easy one.

Because it felt like we didn't see everything

and when we actually announced what we were doing

and when we chose him and he sat down at the piano

and started to play again, and he was a little bit more relaxed -

he played even better.

He has brilliant...millions of ideas.

He just does something so unusual

that I think people in the Festival Hall will have a great time.

He will make a huge impact.

Sean is a perfect example of why we're putting on this concert.

When you walk onto that stage,

you can just really make some magic. Yeah. Exactly.

We're not looking for the best Rachmaninoff or Chopin,

the Royal Festival Hall do that very well on their own.

You played really beautifully. Thank you so much.

Ancl I think it can only get better.

We are trying to build a magical night celebrating

the community around the piano.

You are so inspiring.

Thank you very much. It's an absolute pleasure meeting you.

That's what we're trying to do, and we're taking a risk

and who knows what will happen.

Next time...

...with jay, Lucy and Sean

on their way to the Royal Festival Hall,

Mika and Lang Lang head to Birmingham.

You're creating the final piece now.

There's some incredible moments.

# Whole lot of shakin' goin' on... #

But who will they choose to be their last pianist?

# Maybe I could learn to live... #

Very special, beautiful, natural voice.

# I just want to taste it, I just want to taste it... #

This is such good raw material. Can we get it ready? I don't know.

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