The Toy Piano Takes The Stage: Music For Toy Piano – Antonietta Loffredo

“After having joined Cage’s new musical world of sounds, the toy piano started increasingly to acquire the status of an instrument in its own right. Nowadays networks of performers and composers across the Western and Asian worlds explore the sonorities and possibilities of toy piano, continuing the path started by Cage. It is a curious fact, and perhaps worthy of reflection, that, in an era devoted to the highest technologies, a number of musicians nowadays choose to devote themselves to an arguably imperfect instrument. The lack of intonation, unpredictable overtones, noisy mechanism and difficulties to master, are ‘deficiencies’ that don’t seem to hinder but instead inspire this curious play-community.” (A.L., 2018)
The pieces included in this CD highlight the ongoing and growing interest in this instrument. Most of them have been premiered at the Music as Play Festival – The toy piano takes the stage, held in Como (Italy) in 2019. Works by Diana Blom, Antonio Giacometti, and Paul Smith have been especially commissioned for this recording.
Japanese Knitting: Written for toy piano (C to C) and three knitting needles, Japanese Knitting knits together fragments of Sakura, a well-known Japanese traditional song, with the sounds, patterns, pleasures and frustrations of knitting. Like a Japanese knitting pattern, the piece uses a shortened form to convey a lot of information.
Diana Blom (Australia), was born in New Zealand and lives in Sydney. A composer and keyboard player – piano, harpsichord, toy piano – Diana has written several works for toy piano and piano/toy piano (one player) for Antonietta Loffredo. Her Composition studies were with Peter Sculthorpe. Scores and CDs are published by Wirripang Pty. Ltd., Orpheus Music and Wai-te-Ata Press. Diana is Associate Professor of Music at Western Sydney University.