Viral virtuoso Hayato Sumino plays Boléro on two pianos

19 November 2024, 13:14

Man shows off dexterity by playing two pianos at once

Hayato Sumino, also known online as ‘Cateen’, plays two pianos simultaneously in a virtuosic performance of Ravel’s Bolero.

For Hayato Sumino, playing one piano alone is just not enough of a challenge. The superstar Japanese pianist has gone above and beyond, with a performance on two pianos at once.

Sat between the two keyboards – the high range of one prepared especially to produce xylophone-like tones – Sumino expertly commands both instruments in his arrangement of Ravel’s enduringly popular Boléro.

Read more: Four cellists play Ravel’s Bolero on one cello, in acrobatic classical masterpiece

The pianist – who is better known to his YouTube fans as ‘Cateen’ – plays the repetitive snare drum rhythm on the grand piano with his left hand, simultaneously pedalling with his feet, whilst he plays the melody on the upright piano with his right hand. Talk about multi-tasking!

This is not the first time that Sumino has produced daringly virtuosic performances. His Youtube channel currently has 1.41 million subscribers, with a sensational recording of him playing ‘7 levels of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, amassing a total of almost 12 million views.

Read more: Viral piano star interrupts ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ with a mind-blowing melodica duet surprise

7 levels of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"（きらきら星変奏曲）

Born in Tokyo, Sumino rose to international prominence in 2018 when he won the Grand Prix at the 42nd PTNA Piano competition, before winning third prize in the Lyon international competition in July 2019.

He went on to advance to the semi-final of the prestigious International Chopin Piano Competition online, with his second-round performance attracting a record-breaking 45,000 online viewers.

Somewhat incredibly, music and piano-playing has not been Sumino’s full-time pursuit until relatively recently.

He studied science and engineering at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, obtaining a master’s degree in 2020, just one year before his Chopin Piano Competition appearance.

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Sumino began playing the piano at age three, pursuing a solo career on his instrument alongside his academic studies and research. He has since forged his path as a leading figure in classical music’s digital age, garnering millions of video views for his musical fusions, improvisations and reinventions under his YouTube alias, ‘Cateen’.

In recent years, Sumino has signed a record deal with Sony Classical and become a Steinway Artist. His debut album on Sony Classical, Human Universe, on which his Boléro recording features, was released in November 2024.