5. Johann Lourde

I first met Johann Lourde when I saw him perform his own arrangement of Ace of Spades at the Aviva Studios in Manchester. He leapt on top of the piano stool and gave the best display of showmanship I’ve ever seen from an amateur pianist, so I couldn’t wait to interview him. 

Johann is a pianist and composer based in London. He plays classical and rock/metal music, and in this interview we discuss how he overcame stage fright via street pianos; what it’s like to meet lovely Claudia Winkelman; the support Johann gets from his fiercely proud mum; and Johann’s many performances - including at open mic nights and the North London Music Festival.

Note: Johann is actively looking for open mic opportunities with decent pianos, and other live performance opportunities.

This episode includes a clip of Johann playing Chopin’s Minute Waltz on the Elton John piano at St Pancras.

The “embodiment” book mentioned during the episode is "What Every Pianist Needs to Know About The Body", by Dr. Thomas Mark

Johann’s Insta (@johann.lourde)
Johann’s tiktok (@johannlourde)
Johann’s Spotify

This episode is also available on YouTube, with subtitles on screen: https://youtu.be/5r-SiO-bMkk 

The theme music is a live street piano recording of a duet between Anthony Thomas and Kai Henry (@KaiStreetPiano).

A full transcript for this episode is available on Buzzsprout and most other podcast platforms.

#TheStreetPianist #pianists #streetpiano #streetpianist #thepiano #thepianouk #claudiawinkleman