These classically-trained musicians create sophisticated new arrangements of everything from Beethoven's 5th Symphony to One Direction's That's What Makes You Beautiful, often weaving seemingly disparate pieces together to create something totally new. Add to that their gorgeous panoramic videos shot everywhere from the top of a mountain in Utah to the beaches of Hawaii, and it makes sense that over 200 million people have viewed their work, 1.5 million on the YouTube Channel.
Hailing from Utah, The Piano Guys became an Internet sensation by way of their immensely successful series of strikingly original self-made music videos. They've made 35 since joining forces but it's the Guys' highly original blend of classical music with pop that has really been the cause of an Internet phenomenon that has now brought them to their major label debut album, The Piano Guys released on Sony Masterworks in 2012.
But just who are The Piano Guys? Actually, there's only one piano player, Jon Schmidt, and one other instrumentalist, Steven Sharp Nelson, on cello. Yet the other three Paul Anderson, Tel Stewart and Al van der Beek are equally significant members of the group. The Piano Guys' name comes from Anderson's piano store in St. George, Utah, which was called The Piano Guys.
The Piano Guys are on tour in the USA in 2013 but travel worldwide and appeared on the BBC's One Show in 2013.