Video: Burning piano performance
19 Mar 2008
On March 8, pianist Yosuke Yamashita donned a fireproof suit and played a burning piano on a beach in Ishikawa prefecture. The improvised jazz performance went for about 10 minutes until the flames rendered the piano silent. This video shows a few excerpts.
Yamashita’s performance was a reenactment of a similar one he gave in 1973, which was made into a short film by Japanese director Kiyoshi Awazu. You can see the complete 1973 performance on Awazu’s website.
[Source: Sankei]
the picture is quite amazing but the video lacks of an “final explosion” ;-)
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the only thing that comes to mind is…why would he do that XD
kinda funny stuff :)
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Does he realize that if he’d turned the little grand upwind, he could have played longer….
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Great Balls of Fire! Where is Jerry Lee Lewis when we need him?!? (Jerry Lee woulda skipped the suit, natch).
Robert in Virginia
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Like the song from the Blood Brothers – “Burn Piano Island”!!
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That is … weird ;)
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What a complete waste of good wood and materials…:( I think its a load of crap doing such a stupid meaningless thing. He could have made someone very happy with that piano. Like me for instance.
I do not like this man at all.
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Ahhh, what an artist.
See, if people like that suddenly disappeared, the world would miss nothing.
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I’m not sure what the point of having him to play a burning piano ? just material wasting….
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I hate seeing instruments being destroyed. The chances are this guy is just a not very good pianist and he wishes he could be as good as the top pianists so to try and get more publicity he does shit stunts like this. Wanker. He should just give up. Only the best can make it as a professional pianist and he isn’t one of them.
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WOW But what comes to my mind is what a waste I do not have a piano and I am raising 4 of my grandchildren a or that piano would have brought great joy to them 2 boys 8 & 9 2 girls 5 & 6 they are wonderful and love instrumentals I was searching for one when I happened on this sight.Expression is great for everyone if you can afford it .If you ever want to do it again I’ll be glad to build you a nice little fire with some logs and we will sit ad listen to your great god giviven talent.If you prefer a big bonfire we can do that too.
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This IS art. Even if it is a $100,000 piano, there are many others in existence, and he obviously had enough money to afford the piano, and to buy another one. If it is his own piano, he can do what ever he damn well pleases with it. The music was very interesting, hearing near perfect tonal quality from the piano in the beginning, to the rancid out of tune notes at the end. It was a very nice musical experiment for him to provide us all with, and any true musician with a creative mind should at the least be content with him playing a burning piano. After all, not everybody burns their pianos, and this piano is ultimately unimportant in the grand scheme of things. And don’t be jealous if he can afford a grand piano and you can’t; we can’t all have the best, or else there wouldn’t be a best, would there?
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that was stupid. any one could play the piano while it is on fire. i give it a :(
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very intresting
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wow, they could have given me that piano !
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i want piano….oh my… F A C K
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I know it’s supposed to be progressive and arty and so on, but I just hate to see that happen to such a beautiful instrument. I love playing the piano, I live with my parents now but planning on moving out and I wont be able afford my own piano for a long time. What a waste…
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I think it’s kinda idiotic. If I had a piano I would use it, not burn it. But if you are crazy, that probably is fun. I don’t know, but to me, that’s idiotic.
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