Kevin Scott and Ben Laude on Piano, Programming, AI and Art

Published on 9 Sep 2024, 17:20

Ben Laude, a concert pianist and music educator, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a suburban childhood in Austin, Texas to becoming a world-renowned classical pianist and YouTube creator. Ben shares his early inspirations—including his father's dabbling in piano and his own private obsession with classical music that began in high school—and discusses the importance of having a good teacher and the role of the early Internet in fueling his passion for piano.

In this episode, Kevin and Ben explore the impact of AI on art and artists, the significance of classical piano in Ben's life and his efforts to popularize classical piano through educational content. They discuss the challenges and rewards of pursuing a career in music, the magic of bringing encoded scores (musical notations that serve as instructions for how to perform the music) to life, and the importance of community and feedback in achieving success.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 Introduction and call for AMAs with Kevin Scott and Christina Warren
4:30 Ben Laude intro and early interest in piano
6:18 Ben plays beginning of a Chopin Nocturne for Seymour Bernstein
11:25 On collecting VHS and DVD recordings of piano performances
13:19 Finding piano community online
22:06 Pianists and Programmers
29:25 AI as an instrument for artists
39:48 On Horowitz playing Scriabin
42:55 Yunchan Lim, the 20 year old transforming classical piano
55:43 On Bach, including a clip of Ben playing
58:22 Kevin Scott is obsessed with piano
1:00:37 Is the piano a perfect piece of technology?
1:12:53 Kevin & Christina debrief

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LINKS AND VIDEOS MENTIONED:
Check out these links to performances and videos mentioned in this episode:

Is Yunchan Lim’s Rachmaninoff 3rd Concerto the greatest ever?: youtube.com/watch?v=DhUFLepewg...
Yunchan Lim LAUGHS in the face of Liszt's hardest piece (Feux follets):
youtube.com/watch?v=ZFQlVVJTO_...
Josef Hofmann Rachmaninov Prelude in C: youtube.com/watch?v=Uj5cNBCNcP...
How Glenn Gould Broke Classical Music: youtube.com/watch?v=ei18TjGnOj...
Yunchan Lim plays Chopin Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 9: youtube.com/watch?v=uhZdfqDe0H...
Yunchan Lim – RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30 – 2022 Cliburn Competition: youtube.com/watch?v=DPJL488cfR...
Horowitz plays Rachmaninoff Concerto No 3 NYP Ormandy: youtube.com/watch?v=CHbf1CSUFv...
Vladimir Horowitz: Scriabin, Etude in D-sharp minor (1982): youtube.com/watch?v=YAu_yxR9C4...
Vladimir Horowitz Playing Scriabin 12 Etudes Op.8 No.12 (1968): youtube.com/watch?v=7ClDFmFmr0...
Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (Glenn Gould, 1981) - 2/7: youtube.com/watch?v=w72ZcLFDs6...
Glen Gould Italian Concerto: youtube.com/watch?v=wwW1mJnl3i...
Glen Gould Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971: III. Presto (Version of 1959) youtube.com/watch?v=TPJgudU9Gr...
Gyorgy Cziffra - Liszt "Grand Galop Chromatique": youtube.com/watch?v=tmq5JBpFf9...
Arthur Rubinstein - Chopin Prelude, No. 11, Op. 28 in B Major: youtube.com/watch?v=AEfnngr42x...
The Art Of Piano (1999 documentary): youtube.com/watch?v=pnSBQVRDbd...
The Chopin podcast: youtube.com/watch?v=2h0-Da6wU0...
16 ways Chopin transformed piano playing: youtu.be/1DUdMi27qWg