Lubomyr Melnyk has been making waves since his Japanese debut at the Tokyo Red Bull Music Academy on 12 November, where he played an ultra-fast three-hour composition from memory.
His speedy piano playing is nearly as unbelievable as some of the things he’s been saying and the claims being made on his behalf in an interview that has been posted to YouTube.
He plays faster than the human ear can hear
it’s physically impossible to hear all the notes Melnyk is packing into every second of his performance. The Ukrainian-born pianist claims that his fingers are hammering out a staggering 19.5 notes per second. Can we round that up to 20?
His ‘continuous music’ is the first innovation in piano performance for more than three centuries.
“Nothing has happened with the piano for 300 years – since 1650, nothing,” the 65-year old pianist says. Er, Liszt, what do you think?
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