Zac Bentz
September 21, 2010 
You may not know it, but there is a hidden world hiding just underneath the crust of planet Video Game Music. This underworld is inhabited solely by people playing their own interpretations of the music that lives on the overworld, but using only a single instrument: the piano. While this world may be hidden, it is nevertheless well populated and full of life.
Benyamin Nuss is one citizen of this music-filled underworld. The German pianist has played as part of the SquareEnix themed Symphonic Fantasies concert and has recorded his own album of piano renditions of music by well-known and much loved video game music composer Nobuo Uematsu. Touching on the Lost Odyssey, Final Fantasy and Blue Dragon franchises, Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu is an impressive collection.
It is a daunting task to take on the legendary and revered music of a legendary and revered composer, but Nuss manages it with both style and bravado. From the extremely energetic to the soft and sublime, Nuss puts the fifteen songs through their paces. The production is crystal clear and very present yet robust enough to convey the more powerful passages. Fully supported by Uematsu himself, Nuss manages to breath new life into the more (arguably) overplayed songs, like Final Fantasy’s “Liberi Fatali” and “Terra’s Theme.” He also constructs his own new song, “Nobuo’s Theme,” a song dedicated to the man that is worthy of his name.
Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu is an album that will please both fans and classical piano enthusiasts alike. It is available September 17, 2010.
Artist: Benyamin Nuss
Album: Benyamin Nuss Plays Uematsu
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
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