Music for clarinet and toy piano
Longtime readers of Jenny Clarinet know that I have a fascination with lesser-known instruments (this blog post I wrote a few years ago even led to me learning how to play the theremin!).
Even though I had heard of the toy piano, it wasn’t until I attended a Yann Tiersen concert in Paris a few years ago and heard Tiersen perform on the toy piano that I began to wonder if any music had ever been written for clarinet and toy piano.
Spoiler alert: yes it has! (but as you might imagine, it’s not a long list)
Here are some pieces I’ve stumbled upon which feature clarinet and toy piano:
(pieces listed alphabetically by composer’s last name; links included for pieces as available. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list, and I will update this list as I discover other works featuring clarinet and toy piano.)
- Richard Belcastro’s Inner Strife for clarinet, electric guitar, piano, toy piano, and percussion
- Dietmar Bonnen Drei Bilder for voice, piano, and ad libitum bass clarinet
- Phyllis Chen Everything Turns, Everything Revolves for toy piano, violin, clarinet and toys
- Phyllis Chen Chimers for toy piano, toy glockenspiel, clarinet, violin and tuning forks
- Phyllis Chen Glass Clouds We Have Known for toy piano, bowls, bass clarinet, flute, electronics and video
- Renald Deppe feed music for toy piano, sax/clarinet, and cello
- John Glover Lucy for small ensemble (featuring clarinet and toy piano)
- Jacob Gregg Etude for clarinet and toy piano
- Erik Griswold Gossamer wings for flute, clarinet, toy piano, percussion, violin & cello
- Wang Jie Wait for the Beginning for flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, violin, cello, piano, toy piano
- J. M. Maury La Boîte à Musique for clarinet, bass clarinet, and toy piano
- Monica Pearce connotations for flute, clarinet, toy piano, violin and cello
- Monica Pearce Girl before a Mirror for clarinet, trumpet, piano/toy piano, percussion, violin and double bass
Bonus:
- HK Gruber – Frankenstein!! Not only does this piece feature toy clarinets, but it also calls for car horns (authentic vintage ones and toy versions). However, it does not include toy piano.
- A Facebook event page for a concert featuring toy pianos (and a bit of clarinet)
- Learn more about toy piano works and players here.
- If your inner child is curious about other toy instruments, here are five pieces written for toys.
Know of any other pieces featuring clarinet and toy piano? Leave a comment below so I can add them to the list!