Out of the thousands of contestants who enter reality and talent shows on television, there are very few who transcend the geographical boundaries to stun audiences and judges alike. The global talent completion, “The World’s Best”, was the stage for one such performer, Lydian Nadhaswaram.
The 12-year-old from Chennai displayed his piano skills by playing the classical piece The Flight of the Bumblebee in a manner that might have left composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wonderstruck. For Nadhaswaram played the piece not only at the normal speed but also in two other mindbogglingly faster variations.
The host of the show, James Corden, posted a video of the performance, saying it was “one of the best things I’ve ever seen live.”
The feat earned Nadhaswaram a standing ovation from the judges, among whom were Drew Barrymore, Faith Hill and RuPaul. His father Sathish Varshan, a music composer himself, looked on eary-eyed.
According to The Hindu, the self-taught virtuoso began playing the drums when he was all of two years old. By the time he was eight, he could play pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt on the piano. Oh, and you can also add the guitar, the tabla and the mridangam to the list of instruments he can play.
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