Virtuoso pianist plays note-perfect Mozart ‘Rondo alla Turca’ on a toy piano

7 December 2020, 14:06 | Updated: 7 December 2020, 14:20

A virtuosic Mozart piano sonata, but in miniature form…

You’ve heard of ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ in 7 levels of virtuosity. Now get ready for a near-nauseatingly nimble rendition of Mozart’s ‘Rondo alla Turca’, from the same brilliant Japanese classical pianist Hayato Sumino.

Full speed ahead, Sumino, also known as Cateen, launches into the ‘Turkish March’ – the third movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K.331 – on his fun-size instrument.

Toying with us, his captive audience, he switches to Russian pianist Arcadi Volodos’ arrangement of the sonata’s first movement, before coming back in at the end with Turkish virtuoso Fazıl Say’s arrangement of the March.

“When I was a kid, I used to love playing games with a self-imposed or speed-run challenge,” Cateen says on his YouTube channel.

“I was fascinated by this sort of stuff.”

Watch more: Calculator virtuoso plays surprisingly melodic ‘Turkish March’ >

Mozart ‘Rondo alla Turca’ played on a tiny toy piano

“I had a similar feeling when I bought a toy piano. My curiosity that how I can express with this small, narrow piano keyboard made me push the Amazon purchase button.

“It’s just a small piano, but surprising [how much you can] control the volume.”

Hayato Sumino has won multiple awards, including a Gold Prize at the Chopin International Piano Competition in Asia in 2017.

We’ll look forward to a panel of stunned faces at the 2021 competition then, as he pushes aside the Steinway grand and pulls out his miniature Amazon replica...

See more of Cateen’s videos on Facebook and Instagram.