Why have public displays of piano playing become so compelling? At railway stations, shopping centres and airports, an instrument usually associated with concert halls bursts into everyday life. In the space of a few moments, shoppers and passengers become an audience – and once a recording of the performance is posted online, this encounter can reach thousands or even millions of people.

TikTok pianists such as @umutpiano (Umut Cetin) skilfully exploit the tension between high-art virtuosity and ordinary public spaces. This 21-year-old from Frankfurt offers a particularly striking example of the format’s viral appeal. As shoppers and commuters gather around him, their reactions become part of the performance and help give his videos their sense of immediacy. His account has attracted approximately 63,600 followers and 10.4 million likes across 246 videos.

This viral appeal mirrors the high-society “hype” of 19th composers and pianists; viewers are not simply watching a technical display, but witnessing a deliberate musical interruption of the mundane. In both the 19th-century salon and the 21st Instagram feed, the thrill lies in the proximity to talent when one least expects it.

Channel 4’s The Piano, currently in its fourth series, has successfully turned the same idea into a TV show. New and self-taught players perform in large train........

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