Move over Mozart, here comes Stelios Kerasidis. A seven-year-old Greek prodigy has penned an “isolation waltz” inspired by the pandemic.
The hypnotic, fugue-like melody has picked up more than 43,000 hits on YouTube since its launch last week.
“Hi guys! I’m Stelios. Let’s be just a teeny bit more patient and we will soon be out swimming in the sea,” he beams, perched on his piano stool, feet barely touching the floor. “I’m dedicating to you a piece of my own.”
The work, his third composition, was written especially “for people who suffer and those who isolate because of Covid-19,” he adds.
Born in Athens in 2012 to Fotis and Agathe Kerasidis, both pianists who now teach him, Stelios first performed in public at the age of three.
In 2018 he played Chopin’s Waltz in A Minor at New York’s Carnegie Hall, and last year he appeared at London’s Royal Albert Hall performing on Elton John’s famous red piano.
Stelios says his favourite pianist is the late Canadian Glenn Gould, best known for his technically demanding renditions of Bach variations.
The Greek has shown a flare for composing. His two earlier works were written for his sisters, Veronica and Anastasia, and like Isolation Waltz were met with critical acclaim.
Greece has been under lockdown for longer than most other European nations, the government having closed schools almost a month ago. Last week the government announced that swimming was also forbidden as the measures were ramped up.
The precautionary steps appear to be working: Greece has reported 79 deaths and fewer than 1,800 confirmed coronavirus cases, far fewer than some other countries.
Stelios, who is likely to be homebound for some time yet, has not hinted whether he has another composition up his sleeve.
