Young pianist and YouTube sensation Lionel Yu is known for his EDM, or Electronic Dance Music, remixes of Beethoven’s music. And in March 2022, he broke new ground at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. when he performed a dubstep remix of Beethoven’s 1801 piano masterpiece, the Moonlight Sonata, in front of a live concert audience.

On the Steinway concert grand piano in the auditorium, Yu begins with the first movement of the sonata, as written by Beethoven. But as the piece progresses, the harmony fills in, a treble line is added, and Yu moves on to Beethoven’s electric third movement.

Eventually, just before the three-minute mark, a small amount of dubstep gradually emerges. The track was created by artist Lone-R, who commented on Yoo’s video, “I’m honored that my backing track even made it into your track.” concert!” It was part of Yoo’s two-hour “A Transcendental Experience” concert, which he also streamed live to his fans online. Yu, the author of the MusicalBasics YouTube channel, has over a million subscribers on the platform.