In Conversation with Oceania Cruises Guest Entertainer & Classical Pianist Panos Karan

As long as Panos Karan can remember, he has been magnetized by the raw energy of the stage and was stunned by the sound of music at the very first orchestral concert he attended. Soon, the Crete-born pianist was exhilarated by performing for others and went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London and perform in esteemed venues around the world such as Queen Elizabeth Hall, Carnegie Hall, Boston Symphony Hall and the Sydney Opera House. Throughout his education and early in his career, Panos often mused over a fundamental “why” of music and what it was really capable of doing. It was this that spurred him to pack an electric keyboard and generator and sail down the Amazon River in Ecuador and Peru after performing three solo recitals at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 2009, Panos joined Oceania Cruises as a Guest Entertainer and has been sailing the world with us and enchanting guests with his virtuoso talents ever since. You can experience his passion for the piano live on the following voyages this year: Insignia: March 23 and November 15, 2022; Nautica: May 5, 2022; Riviera: June 15 and June 25, 2022
and Marina: November 1 and December 18, 2022.

We caught up with Panos to learn more about his work with his Keys of Change organization, some of the places in the world that have brought him the most happiness and more.

How did your childhood affect your path and career in music?
I was born in Crete and grew up in Athens in the ’80s and ’90s. There were few opportunities to attend live concerts, so I had to rely on recordings. Back then, trying to listen to a piece of music required time and effort and felt like searching for a treasure. There was a great satisfaction when I would be able to get ahold of a particular recording or have a chance to listen to a specific piece of music in a concert. This feeling of effort and reward became engraved in my mind from very early on. Without it, I wouldn’t have been able to be a pianist.

I try to share this message with my music students all over the world: the more effort they put, the better the results. This is something entirely within our control.

Tell us about what inspired you to establish your Keys of Change organization.
During my music education, while I learned so many things about the music I am playing, the most fundamental question of “Why do we play music?” was never answered. In 2011, in search of an answer to this important question, I started leaving behind the concert halls and traveling as far away as possible, trying to reach audiences living in extraordinary circumstances in life. I can say with certainty now that classical music belongs as much in a schoolyard in the Amazon or a slum community in India as it does on the stage of Carnegie Hall in New York or Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. This was the beginning of what would soon become Keys of Change, an organization that uses music to inspire young people around the world and give them tools to improve their lives.

What are some of the happiest and most inspiring moments you’ve experienced in your work with the organization?
I feel very proud of our young musicians all around the world when they achieve something that they didn’t think was possible before. Like the players of the Fukushima Youth Sinfonietta that performed a symphony of Tchaikovsky for a packed Queen Elizabeth Hall, or the young musicians in Mexico that performed the first movement of Beethoven Symphony No. 5 and for the first time were seen as musicians and not children from the slum.

What are some of your favorite experiences when you’re on board an Oceania Cruises ship?
They say that in music it is the rests, what is between the sounds, that give music its value. I could say the same is true for me when I am on board Oceania Cruises. It is the discussion over dinner between Barcelona and Monte Carlo, the afternoon teatime between Rio and Buenos Aires, the performance between Ho Chi Minh and Bangkok, that I remember the most. It is because of the guests, my audience, whom I had a chance to meet, befriend, learn from and share our passion for traveling together. Coming aboard an Oceania Cruises ship for me is like coming home. It means seeing old friends again and also making new ones. It means overnights in exciting ports. It means an audience keen to explore, enjoy, share. Music and travel are my biggest passions, and I can cultivate both on board Oceania Cruises. For a musician, the audience is the reason they breathe and live. I crave this magical connection that happens during a live performance, when the time stops, when the minds and hearts of the musician and the audience are synchronous. Indeed, it is very rare that musicians and audiences have a chance to meet. Performing on Oceania Cruises as a Guest Entertainer has given me this unique opportunity, not only to meet my audience but, in many cases, become lifelong friends.

As a traveler who has experienced more than 130 countries, what are the top three places you’ve found to be most inspiring?
Cape Town is at the top of the list, a city of unimaginable natural beauty, refined cuisine, delicious wines and exciting culture, and a place where, in the same day, one can go cage diving with sharks, climb an emblematic mountain and visit a vineyard. Santorini is next. This is an island that mesmerizes its visitors with the views from above. At the same time, it offers refinement and luxury in a unique, traditional Greek style, where one can spend a few quiet minutes of peace and calmness, perhaps next to a loved one with a glass of wine in hand, while the eternal natural elements take over the senses. And I cannot forget the city I have called home for more than twenty years, the entertainment capital of the world, a city with immense cultural diversity, and a place that, as the saying goes, when a man is tired of it, he is tired of life. This is London.

Visit PanosKaran.com to learn more about Keys of Change, upcoming public concert details and more. This article is featured in the winter edition of our OLife newsletter – discover travel inspiration, some of Jacques Pépin’s favorite dishes, top 2023 Europe voyages and more in the newsletter here.