Double Concerto for Toy Pianos and Chamber Orchestra is my dissertation piece for my DMA in composition at University of Miami.

This is a DEMO - sounds by Noteperformer, except all the toy instruments in Movement III., which I recorded live. 

Soloist 1 plays a Kawai Mini Baby Grand, and a Jaymar 30-key tabletop. Soloist 2 plays a 25-key Michelsonne PARIS, and a Schoenhut 30-key Classic Baby Grand. All four toy pianos are amplified.

For this demo recording, I simply used a "celeste" sound for the toy pianos, which of course bears no witness to the true timbral glory of the four real instruments, which each have their own unique and very different sound. 

Movements I and III are for full chamber orchestra, and Movement III additionally has amplified banjo, and toy instruments/noisemakers. Movement II is can be a standalone piece, and is only for 2 of the 4 toy pianos. It is just toy pianos with string orchestra accompaniment, and is meant to be played by a string orchestra of any skill level, and the toy piano parts can be played by percussionists. 

Chamber Orchestra (Sinfonietta-plus)
flute/piccolo
oboe
Bb clarinet
alto saxophone
bassoon
horn
Bb trumpet
trombone
tuba
banjo (Mvt. III only)
percussion 1
percussion 2
percussion 3
violin I
violin II
viola
cello 
double bass

In Movement III, in addition to their primary instruments, woodwinds play toy accordions, brass play slide whistles, banjo plays Acme siren whistle, upper strings play bird calls, and lower strings play deer grunters.

DEMO - Double Concerto for Toy Pianos and Chamber Orchestra

evheniia

Olivia Kieffer is a composer, percussionist, toy pianist, and educator from the United States. Her music has been described as “immediately attractive”, “like a knife of light”, and “honest, to the point, and joyful!”

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