Meeting with Margaret Leng Tan & screening of the film Margaret Leng Tan: Sorceress of the New Piano, dir. Evans Chan, USA/Hong Kong 2004, Mode Records DVD.
Margaret Leng Tan
A pianist born in Singapore and based in New York, Margaret Leng Tan has been called “the diva of avant-garde pianism” by The New Yorker. She has also been called “the queen of the toy piano” and “the toy piano’s Rubenstein.” After discovering Cage’s Suite for Toy Piano in 1993, Tan became fascinated by the artistic potential of toy instruments and her groundbreaking CD, The Art of the Toy Piano, made her the world’s first toy piano virtuoso.
In 1981 Tan meet John Cage and they collaborated during the last 11 years of his life. In 1984 she received The National Endowment for the Arts' Solo Recitalist Award. She is renowned for her interpretations of John Cage.
Margaret Leng Tan. Sorceress of the New Piano
Dir. Evans Chan
Mode Records USA 2004, 90min.
Strumming the strings of a grand piano like a harp and performing Beethoven on a toy piano are among the surprising scenes in Evans Chan's documentary, Sorceress of the New Piano. The film celebrates the trans-cultural career of Singapore-born, New York-based pianist Margaret Leng Tan.
Featured performers and critics include Joan La Barbara, Edward Rothstein (The New York Times), Mark Swed (Los Angeles Times), Joshua Kosman (San Francisco Chronicle) and John Cage sharing their thoughts on Tan's artistry and musical lineage. Incorporates vintage footage of Merce Cunningham's dance, Jasper Johns' art, and a Marcel Duchamp film. Sorceress also highlights Tan's latest transformation as the world's premiere toy piano virtuoso.
Admision free
John Cage Year – Lublin 2012 www.johncageyear.pl
Organizer: Centre for Intercultural Creative Initiatives "Crossroads" www.rozdroza.com
Co-organizer: Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin www.umcs.lublin.pl
Musical Theatre www.teatrmuzyczny.eu