sarah_knipper's Full Review: The Art of the Toy Piano / Margaret Leng Tan
Did you ever have one of those Fisher-Price toy pianos when you were a kid? Perhaps it weathered your very first hammering out of chopsticks or, if you were really talented, Heart and Soul. Probably, it was one of those toys your parents would prefer banished to the other room - the sound is typically jarring to those over the age of 4.
Now...imagine the classics being lovingly played on such a toy piano. Not just Beethoven, but the Beatles, Philip Glass, and a variety of Broadway numbers. Juvenile, right? Well...sort of. But not in the way you'd expect.
Margaret Leng Tan is perhaps the only living connoisseur of playing the toy piano as more than a preschool stepping stone. Inspired by John Cage's 1948 Suite for Toy Piano, Ms. Tan searched far and wide for her own toy piano on which to perform other works. After playing on a variety of thrift store toy pianos (of a more professional caliber than Fisher-Price), she had her own toy grand piano made for her in 1995. And in 1997, she released The Art of the Toy Piano, a collection of twelve cover tracks redone on the toy piano.
Now, you might be thinking that this is not REALLY a toy piano - maybe just a smaller piano. For...smaller people. But no, this has all the tinniness and multi-tonality of your basic children's toy, although it does posess a full set of keys and a slightly more listenable sound. This is really like nothing you've heard.
Track List:
1. Mirabella (Stephen Montague)
2. Eleanor Rigby (John Lennon)
3. Satie Blues (Toby Twining)
4. Three Landscapes for Peter Wyer (Jed Distler)
5. Modern Love Waltz (Philip Glass)
6. Miracle Ear (David Lang)
7. Nightmare Rag (Toby Twining)
8. East Broadway (Julia Wolfe)
9. Moonlight Sonata (Beethoven)
10. Sweet Chinoiserie (Guy Kluvcevsek)
11. Star Spangled Etude #3 (Raphael Mostel)
12. Gymnopedie No. 3 (Erik Satie)
Wow...is that REALLY the Beatles?
Upon first listen, the overwhelming feeling is that of being totally impressed. This sounds very much the toy piano of yore, and yet, who knew it could make such a variety of sounds, and play real music? The first track, Mirabella, is a whir of technically challenging arpeggios and runs requiring extremely dextrous fingers. I am always astonished that such intricate rhythms and close chords can be played with such clarity on this instrument.
Moving on to Eleanor Rigby, an endlessly recognizable tune, the astonishment remains, and with it comes a sense of odd fondness. Having heard Beatles remixes in every other imaginable (and often regrettable) form - elevator music, slack guitar, marching band, and string quartet - I am still left wide-eyed at Tan's rendition here.
But a lasting CD requires much more than just that initial jolt of "Wow! That's cool!" Does Tan deliver? Well, ironically, she is at her best on the few tracks where she duets with a standard (non-toy) piano. Is this cheating? Perhaps. But after hearing both the soulful Satie Blues and the Joplinesque rag East Broadway done in duet style, I realized how much I prefer the toy as an accoutrement. A fruity drink, or an appetizer, rather than the main course. And as the super sugary margarita, Tan's instrument works well. Especially on Satie Blues, having this beautiful piece rooted in the deeper (and familiar) tones of the piano sets the stage perfectly for the toy to come over the top with several well-executed solos.
Even when another non-piano instrument is paired with the toy, the effect is interesting. On Sweet Chinoiserie, we get a bit of South American-like percussion as well as a toy accordion and whistles, which serve to highlight the toy piano's diva status. This instrument collaboration, however, occurs far too infrequently.
Stuck in Amusement Park Hell
In the movie Big, there are a few scenes where Tom Hanks goes to an old amusement park to get his fortune told from a "genie machine" - a raja who actually turns time back (or forwards). The creepy fadedness of this scene came back to me after listening to The Art several times through. That sort of carnival-esque quality of the toy piano is at first amusing, but soon becomes irritating and difficult to get a grasp on. I'm sure it's just a matter of taste, but on these songs with such intricate melodies, the piano notes start blending together so much that you can't quite grab onto the main line.
This is ok when the tune is already familiar, as with Eleanor Rigby, but in less well-known tracks, I am left feeling frustrated. This is especially the case on Three Landscapes for Peter Wyer. By this time in the CD, the gimmicky sheen has worn off, and I want melodies, music. But instead I'm given a jumble of tones that sort of fit together - that give me that amusement park, jack-in-the-box feeling.
I think this may have been Tan's intent. But I don't like it. It's clear that it doesn't have to be this way. On Sweet Chinoiserie, Tan uses some sort of hammering/mute device to produce a clearer sound - still full of the unique toy piano vibe - but one that carries musical lines much better. Sadly, she only uses this device once in the CD, and I am dumped back into a jumble of confusing tones.
Even more odd, on Star Spangled Etude (our Star-Spangled Banner), Tan bangs out the piece as if a prodigal 5 year-old...leaving us hanging before the final line is finished with nothing but a toy whistle. Stilted and uncertain, it's one I always skip.
On the whole, this is a CD that merits one or two listens, just for the novelty factor. But while I am impressed greatly with Tan's technical musicianship, the combination of some cold and distant choices for music plus the sheer avant-garde nature of the instrument make this a difficult listen. I am just not drawn enough to the music to pull this off the shelf more than once or twice a year. Were she to do more collaboration with other instruments, I would consider picking up another CD. But for now, it's a no go.
RIYL
Well, I don't really know what to put here. I guess, if you enjoy experimental and/or avant-garde music, you should give this a shot.
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