Kevin Scott and Ben Laude on Piano, Programming, AI and Art

Ben Laude, a concert pianist and music educator, joins Behind the Tech to discuss his journey from a suburban childhood in Austin, Texas to becoming a world-renowned classical pianist and YouTube creator. Ben shares his early inspirations—including his father's dabbling in piano and his own private obsession with classical music that began in high school—and discusses the importance of having a good teacher and the role of the early Internet in fueling his passion for piano.

In this episode, Kevin and Ben explore the impact of AI on art and artists, the significance of classical piano in Ben's life and his efforts to popularize classical piano through educational content. They discuss the challenges and rewards of pursuing a career in music, the magic of bringing encoded scores (musical notations that serve as instructions for how to perform the music) to life, and the importance of community and feedback in achieving success.

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Links and videos mentioned:
Check out these links to performances and videos mentioned in this episode:

Is Yunchan Lim’s Rachmaninoff 3rd Concerto the greatest ever?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhUFLepewgA
Yunchan Lim LAUGHS in the face of Liszt's hardest piece (Feux follets):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFQlVVJTO_U&t=170s
Josef Hofmann Rachmaninov Prelude in C: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj5cNBCNcPQ
How Glenn Gould Broke Classical Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei18TjGnOjA&t=900s
Yunchan Lim plays Chopin Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhZdfqDe0Hk
Yunchan Lim – RACHMANINOV Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, op. 30 – 2022 Cliburn Competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPJL488cfRw
Horowitz plays Rachmaninoff Concerto No 3 NYP Ormandy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHbf1CSUFvI&t=2562s
Vladimir Horowitz: Scriabin, Etude in D-sharp minor (1982): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAu_yxR9C4k
Vladimir Horowitz Playing Scriabin 12 Etudes Op.8 No.12 (1968): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ClDFmFmr0k
Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (Glenn Gould, 1981) - 2/7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w72ZcLFDs6M
Glen Gould Italian Concerto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwW1mJnl3ic&list=PLkuTPel0v6qwyg7vw7pIi96AiKzMG4Btt
Glen Gould Italian Concerto in F Major, BWV 971: III. Presto (Version of 1959) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPJgudU9GrA
Gyorgy Cziffra - Liszt "Grand Galop Chromatique": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmq5JBpFf9w
Arthur Rubinstein - Chopin Prelude, No. 11, Op. 28 in B Major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEfnngr42xQ
The Art Of Piano (1999 documentary): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnSBQVRDbdw
The Chopin podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h0-Da6wU0s
16 ways Chopin transformed piano playing: https://youtu.be/1DUdMi27qWg