The Player Piano YouTube channel has a mission statement: to “put a classical twist on your favorite songs and soundtrack themes.” Pianist Sonya Belousova and producer/director Tom Grey tackle some well-known geeky tunes while presenting them in interesting ways. The most recent video has Belousova playing “Korobeiniki,” better known as the theme from classic video game Tetris. To make the video visually interesting, the piano is surrounded by classic arcade cabinets while Belousova wears a Tetris-themed bracelet and leggings. But what truly sets the video apart aesthetically, beyond Belousova’s excellent musical talent, is that the filmmakers built a custom piano that evokes arcade games and involves various pinball mechanisms within it.
Starting shortly, as part of their crowdfunding campaign to support making more videos, the duo will offer a chance for someone to win the bespoke piano which will either impress or repulse the friends of whomever wins it.
Previous Player Piano entries have included a spooktacular interpretation of David Arnold’s untitled waltz, as well as a particularly impressive video based on Shoji Yamashiro’s “Kaneda’s Theme” from Akira.