A resounding success: The Peter Bence Symphonic Show at the Audi Arena
Piano virtuoso, music producer, composer, Peter Bence, has just turned 32 the other day. Perhaps it was his special way of celebrating that he totally mesmerized his many-thousand-strong Audi Aréna audience in Győr. As he had promised earlier, his impressive technique and creativity indeed dismantled the borders between various musical genres, accompanied skillfully by the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra. There was a steady alternation of earlier and new numbers, one or two of them having been debut performances. Amongst them were the always bombastic Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody", and "The Michael Jackson Medley".
Hajdúböszörmény-born Peter Bence by now became a world-renowned, accomplished, traveling artist who has already entertained large audiences in 42 countries in five continents. His introductory Hungarian performance took place relatively late in his career but all the more successfully. In May, 2023, he played for 15 thousand people at he MVM Dome in Budapest. Prior to that in 2022 his special partnership with GYPO had begun which was now certainly kicked up a notch at the Aréna.
"Concert number zero of our cooperation with Bence was last year in Fertőrákos. I was also at his MVM Dome show back in May and I knew there and then we had to repeat that success in Győr too" - said general director Géza Fűke before the Aréna concert.
Peter Bence first touched the piano at the age of 5 only to compose his first little song two years later. In 2012 he set up a new world record by playing 765 notes in one minute which put his name indelibly in the Guinness Book of Records. He practically exploded into the world wide web via the Internet as up to date his videos were watched by over a billion viewers. His piano album "Awesome Piano" is very popular everywhere including Hungary. His trademark invention is to use the piano as also a percussion instrument utilizing the entire body of it in order to create his special effects. He calls this "the loop technique". His creativity and curiosity are basically limitless as he tries to incorporate as many idiosyncrasies of different genres as possible primerily in symphonic context. Some of his compositions go through revisions every now and then to add or take away certain instruments as he sees fit.
"My belief is that the pinnacle of classical music is the symphonic genre and it is our mission to bring it closer to listeners. The Peter Bence Symphonic does that job with a hit as we work with well-known movie soundtracks by great masters like John Williams, or Hans Zimmer. One novelty is a 9 minute long Walt Disney Medley including "Magic of Ice", and "Lion King". I prepared some of my own numbers as well like "March 88", "Illuminated", and "Midnight Masquerade", but it goes without saying that the program has to also include the most beloved Queen, and Michael Jackson tunes" - said the talented young artist after the Tuesday rehearsal.
Rehearsals and the show were incidentally conducted by Márton Rácz in a rather laid-back atmosphere.
"The orchestra displays a great number of musicians, full brass and percussion sections, harp, harpsichord, even a celest. Bence arrived here with brand new visions and allied himself this time with an Italian orchestrator. His new compositions pose new challenges for us all and we are keenly working on solutions for everything" - said Mr. Rácz.
This hard-to-outdo musical experience was coupled with today's top-notch lighting and other special effects resulting in a truly unforgettable evening. To refer to another famous Queen song "It's a kind of Magic"!