Toy piano virtuoso to play Delaware Valley

WESTFALL — Pianist Phyllis Chen will perform at Delaware Valley High School at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6. Playing both Romantic classics by Chopin and Schumann and contemporary music by John Cage, Chen offers an opportunity to hear a real pianist tackle the sort of instrument Schroeder made famous in Peanuts cartoons. Chen has made recordings on the conventional piano, which she will also perform at this concert, and on toy pianos, for which she has commissioned new pieces. Her latest recording is “UnCaged Toy Piano” (CAG Records). Chen discovered toy pianos, which range from single-octave to 45-pound, three-octave instruments, about 10 years ago, and now collects them herself. The concert will be presented by Kindred Spirits Arts Programs, a non-profit that produces concerts and music education programs in northeastern Pennsylvania. Tickets are $10, but children under 12 are admitted free.