SORCERESS OF THE NEW PIANO

SORCERESS OF THE NEW PIANO

Le Hechicera Del Nuevo Piano

Director Evans Chan / 2004 / Hong Kong, Singapore, USA

"An introduction to an amazing contemporary artist and to the tradition of avant-garde music from Henry Cowell, through John Cage to Charles Crumb. The film shows Margaret Leng Tan in various pursuits to push the range and boundary of the piano's sound in a sincere and exuberant manner. The film and the vital and vivacious presence of Tan are the vehicle through which I rediscovered music I thought I could never enjoy. That's a gift!" - Vancouver Film Festival

"As agile a thinker as she is a player - found plucking the strings inside her Steinway, manipulating the bolts and pegs in a prepared piano, and banging up against a tiny toy instrument in the film and on concert stages around the globe - Tan flits between high and low, personal recollection and music history, with the fever of a feeding swallow or excited molecule, taking up points in contemporary music, references to sweatshop labour, allusions to Peanuts' comic character Schroeder, and moments in Dadaism with equally emphatic enthusiasm." - San Francisco Bay Guardian

Margaret Leng Tan will be attending the festival.


D Evans Chan WS Hong Kong Arts Centre L Cantonese w/English subtitles TD video/col/2004/92mins

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