Piano fever sweeps UK as online lessons and street instruments fuel take-up

Chinese pianist Lang Lang plays in St Pancras station in London earlier this year. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Observer

For years, it seemed like the piano was disappearing from British public life. The bulky instruments were cast out of homes and schools and offered for free online.

But now – despite all the digital entertainment alternatives and conductor Simon Rattle’s stark warning last week that UK classical music was fighting for its life amid funding cuts – the piano seems to be making a 21st-century comeback in homes, on streets and online.