Pianist Plays John Lennon’s “Imagine” Outside Bataclan Theater in Paris

Moments of hope are sorely needed in Paris right now, no matter how small. One pianist set out to provide such a moment the best way he knew how: by playing a peace anthem at the site of one of the deadliest attacks.

As journalists from CNN and other news organizations reported live outside the Bataclan Theater where at least 89 people died, an unnamed man rolled up a grand piano with a peace sign on the lid played “Imagine” by John Lennon.

Quickly surrounded by journalists and bystanders with mobile phones, his performance was soon broadcast all over the world.

He was later identified as German pianist Davide Martello, who tweeted that he would be playing in Paris instead of appearing as planned in the German city of Konstanz.