Skip to Content
Grace Huang (Faculty): John Cage Suite for Toy Piano, Mvt. 5
Piano Video Orchestra
5-18-2020 9:43 pm - 9:44 pm (America/New_York) (1 minute)

Dr. Grace Huang, Assistant Professor of Piano Pedagogy at the University of Georgia, performs the fifth movement of John Cage's 1948 "Suite for Toy Piano," taking inspiration from a previous "Hodgson at Home" installment provided by fellow HHSOM faculty Dr. James Naigus. From johncage.org: This work was originally used as music for the choreographed piece by Merce Cunningham, "A Diversion." This suite is in 5 short, numbered movements, and obviously employs a very limited gamut of tones: the nine white keys from E below middle C to the F above. Those for Movements I and V are limited to five tones: G to D. Only in movements III and IV do all nine tones appear. This suite is one of Cage's most charming and whimsical compositions. It is humorous and somewhat ironic, giving exaggerated dynamics that can't be fully realized on a toy piano, i.e. from sffz to ppp. The work can be performed on traditional piano, and an orchestral arrangement was made by Lou Harrison in 1963.

Loading Video...