The musical inspiration and drive behind The Piano Boat was the outstanding pianist, Masayuki Tayama. Born in Japan, he spent much of his childhood in London, and had made his radio debut by the age of 10, going on to win several prizes at national and international competitions. Highly experienced as both a performer and pedagogue, his playing style was one of stunning sensitivity and incredible power. Extremely versatile, he specialised in the piano works of Rachmaninov, though was equally adept at and comfortable with the music of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and their contemporaries.

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It was Masa's love of the canals that originally inspired this project, and the sense of peace he found on the waterways. It had long been his dream to live on the water and so The Piano Boat was important in a great many ways, both personally and professionally to him as a pianist.

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He took great pride in overseeing all the details of the boat as it was being built during 2019 and 2020, and many hours were spent after that on endless 'boat improvement' projects, as he referred to them. The Piano Boat is not just a space for events and for music, but it became a home.

 

Masa very sadly passed away in September 2023 and now The Piano Boat continues in his legacy, run by Rhiana.