Erik Wittner first gained attention when a video surfaced online, showing him performing at Chata pod Rysmi, the highest mountain hut in the High Tatras. Located at an altitude of 2,250 meters, the hut houses Slovakia’s highest piano. Wittner has turned this into an annual tradition, playing at the hut on the last day of October before the winter hiking trails close, a practice he began in 2021.
One of Wittner’s videos, featuring his performance, has garnered nearly 700,000 views. “It’s an experience for people,” he says with a laugh, adding that hikers have started recognizing him on their way to the hut, asking if he’s the pianist from the viral videos.
The idea of playing at Chata pod Rysmi came after Wittner hiked to the Zbojnícka Chata hut, where he learned about the piano at Rysmi. Playing on Slovakia’s highest piano had always been a dream of his.
On the morning of the last day of October three years ago, Wittner spontaneously decided to hike to Chata pod Rysmi, just before the trails closed. “These spontaneous ideas often turn out better than long-planned ones,” he says. That day, he climbed Rysy Peak and later played the piano at the hut, receiving an enthusiastic response from fellow hikers.
The hut’s manager, Viktor Beránek, was so impressed by Wittner’s impromptu performance that he asked for another concert. “He tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Boy, we’ll take the piano outside, and you’ll give us another concert,’” Wittner recalls. With the help of six men, the piano was moved outdoors, and Wittner played a one-hour concert under the peak. Among the pieces he performed was the theme from The Copper Tower, a 1970 Czechoslovak film set in the High Tatras that has become iconic among mountain climbers.
A year after his first concert, Wittner returned to Chata pod Rysmi, this time better prepared with a camera and plans to spend the night at the hut. As he considered what to play, he thought of snow and mountains, which led him to the music from Perinbaba (The Feather Fairy), a beloved Slovak Christmas fairy-tale. The connection felt natural, and he performed the theme during his stay.
Wittner’s performances have made him a recognizable figure among hikers, with many asking when he plans to return to the mountain hut for another concert. “The piano has a unique ability to bring people together,” he explains, noting how the usual formality associated with concerts disappears in the mountain setting.
Wittner intends to continue the tradition, planning another performance at Chata pod Rysmi at the end of October this year.
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