What could be more soothing than to hear Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” being played live amid the bustle and stress of a train station or airport? Once, I even came upon a highly professional troupe of musicians and singers performing an act from a Mozart opera in the Gare Montparnasse.
Who had the brilliant idea of putting pianos in public spaces to be freely played by anyone passing by? The French claim it started here, but the British artist Luke Jerram’s 2008 project “Play Me, I’m Yours,” helped spread the idea around the world.
The SNCF, the French national train network, adopted the idea in 2012 and now has 70 Yamaha B3 upright acoustic pianos in stations around the country and plans to have 30 more in place by the end of 2025. Says Marlène Dolvek, general manager of SNCF Gares et Connexions and assistant general manager of Groupe SNCF, “At first, we were afraid that the pianos would be damaged, but we took the risk, and that hasn’t happened.”
Now, the SNCF, impressed by the quality of many of the musicians who use the pianos – some for daily practice because they can’t afford their own piano and others to show off their talent in public and still others for the sheer joy of playing – holds an annual competition called “À Vous de Jouer” (Your Turn to Play”), open to everyone, with no entry fee or age limits.
Participants have already posted videos on Instagram (with the hashtags #AVousDeJouer2025 and #PianoEnGare) showing them playing a piece of their choice on a train-station piano for a maximum of four minutes. A pre-selection of eight candidates (an equal number of men and women) by region will be made by Yamaha by April 15. Between April 23 and June 4, the chosen eight in each of the 12 regions will perform on the same day in a regional train station before a jury, with the winner announced at the end of the day.
This year, the public will be able to participate in the selection of the regional finalists, whose videos will be posted on Instagram (@art.en.gare and @gares_connexions). The one with the most likes wins the public prize.
In June, the 12 finalists will also compete in a Paris train station before a jury headed by the actor Julie Gayet, who hopes to make a documentary on the subject, and the composer and musician André Manoukian. Prizes include three Yamaha compact acoustic digital pianos and a studio recording session.
I had the pleasure of hearing Manoukian play a piece on the piano in the Gare de Lyon, preceded by one of last year’s finalists in the competition, 15-year-old Titouan Hervo (known simply as Titouan), who came in fourth in the 2024 Junior Eurovision contest.
A little boy with messy dark-blond hair and a blue jacket then stepped up to the piano, showing not the slightest sign of nervousness, and played a somber, pensive piece that made me think of Satie. When asked afterward what he had played, he said, “It was something I created in the moment, based on an idea I had at home.” The nine-year-old Skander went on to explain further, as his smiling mother beamed with pride and laughed with amazement: “It’s like a language,” he said, “with its high and low notes. The high notes try to speak, but the low notes say no.” The speaking notes win the duel.
Thanks to street pianos, we are all winners, both the public, which is treated to free concerts, and the talents who have made names for themselves or simply had the pleasure of performing in public. As for me, watching Skander tickle the ivories and explain his music made my day.
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