Breaking the Sound Barrier: The New Piano, performed by Margaret Leng Tan

This lecture recital will be dedicated to the exploration of extended piano techniques introduced through the pioneering work of "The 3 Cs: Cage, Cowell and Crumb."  Best known as the foremost interpreter of John Cage's music for toy piano, Margaret Leng Tan is a major figure in contemporary vanguard art music. Tan takes a lively interest in the musical potential of unconventional and unlikely instruments, and in 1997 her groundbreaking CD, The Art of the Toy Piano, elevated the lowly toy piano to the status of a "real" instrument. Tan is the world's first professional toy piano virtuoso.  Since then her curiosity has extended to other toy instruments as well, substantiating her credo "Poor tools require better skills" (Marcel Duchamp). She Herself Alone: The Art of the Toy Piano 2, Ms. Tan's latest toy instrumental album, has been called "one of this year's finest treasures of new music" by Downtown Music Gallery.   For more information, please call (914) 395-2412.