Lydian Nadhaswaram is only 13 years of age, but his piano skills are akin to those of hardened veterans. He has been on the world stage since the age of 7, and is adept at playing not just one but two pianos at once. This week saw Lydian appearing on popular US TV show, The Ellen Show, where he played Mozart’s Turkish March with blindfolds on.
Lydian Nadhaswaram hails from Chennai, and practices to play the piano 5 to 6 hours a day. He plays everything from western classical and jazz to Indian music. He has performed on the TV show The World’s Best, which calls upon performers and artists from around the world. According to TEDx, Lydian became a musician when he was just 2 years old. He started by playing the drums, and today, along with the piano, he can also play the mrudangam, guitar and tabla.
His talent has also been recognized by none other than A R Rahman. His father Varshan Satish, is a music director in the Tamil film Industry, and he has a sister who is also adept at playing the piano.
One of his most appreciated performances was when he played The Flight of the Bumblebee on the stage of World’s Best. He first played the song at an average speed, and then called upon the show’s judge Drew Barrymore to set the metronome’s speed to a whopping 208bpm. As stunned as the judges were at the request, they were doubly shocked to see Lydian play the song again at that speed. And the buck didn’t stop there, even as he played the song again at 325bpm, much to the astonishment to everyone in the room.
To achieve all this at just 13 years of age is no mean feat. Lydian Nadhaswaram is certainly one name to watch out for in the future.
