Margaret Leng Tan - Sorceress of the New Piano - Harmonia Mundi

"Sorceress of the new piano (2004)"
Strumming the strings of a grand piano like a harp and performing Beethoven on toy piano are among the scenes in Evans Chan's documentary, celebrating the career of pianist Margaret Leng Tan, hailed by 'The New Yorker' as Tthe diva of avant-garde pianism".
The film traves Tan's life and quest for a new pianistic language, with excerpts from ground-breaking works by Cowell, Crumb, and her longtime mentor Cage, as well as by composers of the next generation: Philip Glass, Tan Dun, Somei Satoh, Ge Gan-ru, Raphael Mostel, Toby Twining, Lois V Vierk, Guy Klucevsek, Stephen Montague, Jed Distler.
With: John Cage, George, Crumb, Ge Gan-ru, Joan La Barbara, Raphael Mostel, Somei Satoh, and Lois V Vierk; critics Joshua Kosman, Edward Rothstein, and Mark Swed plus performaces by Great Small Works.
Featuring: a performance of Cage's 'The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs' (with Joan La Barbara), 1944 footage of Merce Cunningham's dance, Jasper Johns' art, and a Marcel Duchamp film.
Sorceress also highlights Tan as the world's premiere toy piano virtuoso.
Laufzeit: 90 Minuten

"The Maverick Piano (2007)"
Filmed live performances of six complete works representing the grand piano in various transformations:
- John Cage: In a Landscape as a conventional keyboard instrument
- John Cage: In The Name of the Holocaust: prepared piano, also played with fists and forearms
- John Cage: Music for Piano No. 2: as a stringed instrument, both plucked and bowed
- Ge Gan-ru: Gu Yue (Pipa): strummed piano strings
- Erik Satie: Gymnopédie No. 3: arr. Leng Tan for piano & toy piano
- Toby Twining: Satie Blues: piano combined with the toy piano
Laufzeit: 50 Minuten