Striking a chord

AS THE PIANO RETURNS TO OUR SCREENS AND RAILWAY STATIONS, YOLANTHE FAWEHINMI CHATS TO HOST CLAUDIA WINKLEMAN AND MUSICAL MENTORS MIKA AND JON BATISTE

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This time around, The Piano welcomes amateur pianists from across the UK to railway stations in Brighton, Sheffield, Newcastle and Heathrow’s Terminal 5, with the first episode coming from London’s Liverpool Street.

Lebanon-born singer-songwriter Mika, 41, says of Jon: “He is an amazing, amazing musician, and I think we were so happy to have him join the adventure. He’s completely different to Lang Lang.”

“Totally different,” adds Claudia, 53. “But can you imagine Mika, Jon, Lang Lang? Unbelievable. He [Batiste] would have looked for different things. He got super excited about certain stuff like Lang Lang used to as well. He really is amazing.”

“We argued,” Mika admits. “There was quite a bit of that. And you know what, great. I really liked it when we argued, because, at that moment, it really mattered.

“You're dealing with real people's lives, you're not dealing with someone who just wants that record contract. They don’t. They don’t want to be there, and that’s why we want them. The ones that don’t want to be there are the ones that we want the most.

“At least, that’s how I see it.”