Photo by Janette Beckman

The pianist, toy pianist, composer, and performance artist takes you on an intriguing musical journey, performing piano works by Bach and others, as well as three pieces for toy piano.

Performance playlist:

J.S. Bach
(1685-1750)
Partita in D, BWV 828
Ouverture
Allemande
Courante
Aria
Sarabande
Menuet
Gigue

Andrián Pertout
(b. 1963)
Exposiciones (2005)
For toy piano and CD

Phyllis Chen
(b. 1978)
The Tale from The Memoirist (2007)
For toy piano, music box, and frying pan

Nathan Davis
(b. 1973)
The Mechanics of Escapement
For toy piano and clock chimes
World premiere of Concert Artists Guild commission

Leoš Janáček
(1854-1928)
On An Overgrown Path Series I
Our Evenings
A blown-away leaf
Come with us!
The Madonna of Frydek
They chattered like swallows
Words fail!
Good night!
Unutterable anguish
In Tears
The barn owl has not flown away!

Alvin Lucier
(b. 1931)
Nothing is Real (Strawberry Fields)
For piano, amplified teapot, tape recorder, and miniature sound system

Declared "a breathtaking delicacy" by The Herald Times, pianist Phyllis Chen is a Concert Artists Guild New Music/New Places fellow. Her artistic pursuits take her in numerous directions as a musician, composer, and performance artist. Since discovering the toy piano, Ms. Chen has become a trailblazer, performing original multi-media compositions using toy pianos, electronics, and video, as well as works by prominent 20th entury composers such as John Cage and Julia Wolfe.

Ms. Chen is the featured musician for the world premiere and ensuing six-week run of Steven Merritt's Off Broadway production Coraline, opening in May of 2009. Other performance highlights include recitals in California and Pennsylvania, the Christopher Henry Gallery and Le Poisson Rouge in New York City, and the Extensible Toy Piano Festival in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Lauded for playing a Beethoven concerto "with amazing grace, with enviable clarity, and with finger work of both strength and elasticity" (The Herald Times). Ms. Chen's traditional piano credits include honors at the International Bartok/Kabalevsky Piano and Coleman Chamber Music Competitions. Her victory at the Marjorie Barnett Competition of Chicago included a special Bach Prize for her performance of the Goldberg Variations, and as a result, Ms. Chen was invited to perform at Symphony Center's Buntrock Hall. She has also performed as part of the Dame Myra Hess Series at the Chicago Cultural Center, aired live on WFMT Public Radio.
Ms. Chen is a member of ICE (International Contemporary Ensemble). She earned her DMA in piano performance at Indiana University under the tutelage of André Watts, who describes her as "one of the most intelligent, musical, and interesting players (and people) I've ever met. She's quite fascinating and compelling." While at Indiana University, Ms. Chen hosted her own radio program, The Toad's Wart, on IU's radio station WIUX-LP. She earned her undergraduate degree at the Oberlin Conservatory and a Masters Degree from Northwestern University.