When Ethan Ulsan entered the 2012 World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest, he had one mission in mind: to reclaim the winner’s title he’d lost four years before, after first winning the show back in 2007.
Returning to the stage of the finals, Ethan knew he had to pull something fantastic out of the hat to achieve that memorable, show-stealing performance that would make him a two-time Championship winner. But no one expected him to shred one of Beethoven’s most famous works to pieces and reinvent it as a ragtime wonder.
Since being reposted to YouTube in 2021, Ethan’s finale performance has topped 376,000 views, and it’s still leaving internet scrollers stunned to this day. Music Man readers can watch the magic unfold in the viral clip above…
Dressed like an old-school gangster in a pinstriped suit and white-ribboned hat, Ethan sits before an antique piano and lets his rendition of Für Elise sweep over the live audience.
At first, it’s spot on to the standard version we’re all far too accustomed to hearing. A solid performance, but not the trophy-winning rendition the judges were expecting to hear. But then, Ethan makes his mark on the classic.
Ethan latches Beethoven’s age-old melodies onto a brand new rhythm, introducing a jazzy sense of swing which instantly enlivens the piece. Ethan’s unique ragtime style breaks the monotony like a tsunami as he explores unheard motifs within Beethoven’s work and accentuates the unlikeliest moments, even melting original riffs into Beethoven’s own.
By the time Ethan picks up the pace, his audience is applauding, his take evolving into an anthem that could easily soundtrack a vintage dance hall extravaganza or a cartoon cat-and-mouse chase, as one top commenter noticed.
Needless to say, this performance made Ethan Ulsan a two-time Champion. Only two years later, in 2014, Ethan would return to the World Championship Old-Time Piano Playing Contest to claim its crown for the third and final time.
One viewer pinned down exactly what made Ethan’s performance a winner when they commented, “This guy surely must have deserved to win that competition, not only because it’s a ragtime edition, but because he was taking something that was old but good and putting his own talent into it, and not many people can do that.”