{"product_id":"piano","title":"Piano","description":"\u003cp\u003ePiano is the first acoustic album from Dutch trance DJ and producer Armin van Buuren, released on October 31, 2025 via Armada Music — initially as an Apple Music and Apple Music Classical exclusive before its wider release the following week. The 15-track collection, all composed, performed, and produced by van Buuren himself, grew out of an intense period of self-reflection that began during a gruelling US tour in early 2020, during which he considered abandoning music altogether. That crisis became a turning point, leading him back to the instrument he had played since childhood. Working with his piano teacher Geronimo Snijtsheuvel, van Buuren shaped his ideas into 14 original compositions plus one interpolation, with string arrangements conceived as MIDI files before being transcribed to manuscript. All 15 tracks were recorded in single takes at ConcertLab in Utrecht — a purpose-built fine arts recording facility — with performances captured in Dolby Atmos, both solo and with a chamber ensemble including cellist collaborators and a string orchestra led by violinist Lisa Jacobs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album represents a complete departure from the mainstage grandeur of van Buuren's trance work, swapping pounding beats for intimate melodic compositions that draw on his classical influences — Ludovico Einaudi, Hans Zimmer, and Jon Hopkins among them. Pieces like \"Fathers and Sons,\" \"Children,\" \"Longing,\" and \"Temporality\" carry an emotional directness and quiet vulnerability rarely heard in his electronic output, while \"Sonic Samba\" introduces a lighter, rhythmically playful character. As Apple Music Classical describes it, the album is a love letter to van Buuren's musical roots, proving that the classical influences that have quietly shaped his trance productions for over two decades were always there, waiting for a record that would bring them fully to the surface. To accompany the release, van Buuren also created an hour-long DJ mix pairing tracks from Piano with works by his classical inspirations, tracing the connective thread between both worlds.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Record Store","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl \/ 2LP - Black Vinyl","offer_id":53629954851130,"sku":"38552","price":69.99,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/2041\/0682\/files\/Screenshot_2026-06-19_at_2.47.24_PM.jpeg?v=1781894895","url":"https:\/\/recordstore.ca\/products\/piano","provider":"Record Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}