As a science and engineering graduate, and an internationally renowned pianist, Hayato Sumino belongs to that relatively rare group of people who feel at home in both arts and sciences. His debut album amounts to something rarer still. There is music by Debussy, Fauré, Purcell, Bach, and more (many in beautiful reimaginings), alongside new works inspired by music from the past, and original pieces that speak to the heart. Each track is infused with genuine beauty and a profound sense of wonder—Sumino’s playing owns a special quality, hard to define yet ever present in its tenderness, its reverence for sound, and, above all, its emotional honesty. No wonder, when you consider the multiple strands of influence that belong to Hayato Sumino’s compelling backstory. “When I was young, I was scared to mix classical music with other genres,” he tells Apple Music. “That’s why I used a different name, Cateen, for my YouTube videos. I didn’t even show my face at first! But now I think it’s one of my strengths, and people find it interesting. Because nobody does that thing of playing classical music, and of improvising and composing music in all these different styles. I always wanted to do something different.” Although Sumino began playing piano at the age of three, making music took second place to his studies in computer science. He gained a master’s degree from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, before relocating to Paris to pursue pos