Non-profit organization in Milford, PA
BIG AND SMALL: FROM SERIOUS TO PECULIAR
The Queen of Toy Pianos Plays Pike
MILFORD, PA -- Virtuoso Phyllis Chen will perform at Delaware Valley High School at 4 p.m., February 6th. Playing both Romantic classics by Chopin and Schumann and contemporary music by John Cage, Chen offers a rare opportunity to hear a real pianist tackle the sort of instrument Schroeder made famous in Peanuts cartoons.
Chen has made recordings on the conventional piano--which she will also perform at this concert--and on toy pianos, for which she has commissioned new pieces. Her latest recording is UnCaged Toy Piano (CAG Records).
Piano superstar Andre Watts, Chen's mentor, has called Chen "one of the most intelligent, musical and interesting players (and people) I've ever met." Reviewing a concert Chen gave in New York City, The New York Times' critic Allan Kozinn wrote, "Phyllis Chen's piano recital...raised the bar for delightful quirkiness matched with sensitivity."
About Toy Pianos
"Toy pianos have been around since the mid-19th century, but only recently have they begun to be seen as serious musical instruments," explains Rick Schultz of the Los Angeles Times. The first adult work for the toy piano was written by John Cage in 1947. Now, he says, "there are toy piano factories, festivals and competitions the world. There's a toy piano website; there are blogs."
Chen discovered toy pianos, which range from single-octave to 45-pound, three-octave instuments, about ten years ago, and now collects them herself. "I have been told that the toy piano sounds like bells, wind chimes, a harpsichord, koto, kalimba, xylophone, harp, gamelan, grandfather clock, a cell phone, music box, and many other things--but never a piano," says Chen.
"The chameleon-like nature of the instrument is what constantly keeps me interested and curious to know what will come next."
More Concert Details
Presented by Kindred Spirits Arts Programs, a nonprofit organization that produces concerts and music education programs in northeastern Pennsylvania, the performance begins at 4 p.m., February 6th, at Delaware Valley High School Auditorium, 252 Route 6 and 209, Milford, PA. Tickets at the door cost $10, but children under 12 are admitted free.
For further information on Kindred Spirits Arts Programs visit www.kindredspiritsprograms.org/. For more on Phyllis Chen, including audio samples and videos of her performances, see http://www.phyllischen.net/