site.btaPianist Peter Bence to Perform in Sofia in March

Pianist Peter Bence will return to Sofia for a concert on March 12, 2024, the organizers said to BTA. The event will take place in the National Palace of Culture.

"Peter Bence is undoubtedly the new world piano phenomenon. His crossover journeys, from classical to pop music, got him over one billion views online and sold-out concerts all over the world," commented Evgenia Staylovska, at whose invitation the musician is coming.

In 2018, Bence performed a concert in a packed Bulgaria Hall.

The very next year, he returned for a concert in Hall 1 of the National Palace of Culture. His repertoire included songs by Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Luis Fonsi (Despacito), John Williams (Harry Potter and Star Wars soundtracks), Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran and Queen.

The pianist played his own compositions for the first time in Bulgaria, which were later included in a new album. Between pieces he told stories about them, and bowed in appreciation after each round of applause.

Born in 1991 in Hungary, Peter Bence started playing the piano at the age of 2, wrote his first composition at 7, and created his first album at 11, influenced by Mozart and Chopin. After a classical education at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary, Bence moved to the United States, where he studied piano and film score composition at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

From a young age, he was fascinated by rock and pop music, and Michael Jackson's work was a particular inspiration for him. He also likes movie music. While studying in Boston, he met John Williams, one of his idols in the world of music and author of the Star Wars soundtrack. This prompted him to start improvising on famous pieces. In 2015, he released his first video on the Internet, which turned him into a sensation.

He is also known as the fastest pianist in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records.