“The piano is my instrument, and I decided that by reversing it, you can see things differently”: Alain Roche on the real star of the Olympics closing ceremony - his ‘vertical floating piano’

One of the most startling moments at the sometimes baffling Paris Olympics closing ceremony came when a ‘floating’ grand piano appeared above the Stade de France stage. And, just to add to the drama, it was being played vertically.

It was quite something, but it turns out that the piano’s creator and player, Alain Roche, has done this before. It previously formed the centrepiece of ‘Chantier’, a performance that took place on a construction site, with the piano hanging from a crane.

Speaking to Classic FM, Roche explained: “I launched the ‘vertical piano’ project 11 years ago, because I was trying to challenge expectations, to reverse the way things are seen. The piano is my instrument, and I decided that by reversing it, you can see things differently.”

That’s certainly true, but playing at an Olympic closing ceremony comes with an altogether different level of pressure. So, did Roche enjoy it?

“It’s so special to be in the middle of all this energy, all this adrenaline ... in a stadium with 70,000 people with a moment of suspense for such a poetic piece as the ‘Hymn to Apollo,’” Roche told Classic FM. He also called the experience “incredible”.

Roche performed a new arrangement of Hymn To Apollo, which was composed by Gabriel Fauré based on Ancient Greek texts that were discovered in Athens in the late 19th century, and debuted at the first Olympic Congress in Paris in 1894. He was joined by French tenor Benjamin Bernheim.

Other performers at the ceremony included H.E.R. - who sang the Star Spangled Banner while playing a one-off custom Strat - Phoenix, Kavinsky, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg.