A bunch of pianos are going to be scattered all over NYC in an art installation.
Am I cynical to wonder if this will lead fistfights or worse? “Dammit! I’m not gonna be your melancholy baby! Give someone else a turn!”
Art is stupid.
It’s worked very well on Denver’s 16th Street Mall, a pedestrian-friendly outdoor mall downtown. I happened to spend an hour or so walking up and down the mall a couple of weekends ago; it was mighty cool to see someone walk up to a piano, sit down, and pound out a pretty impressive song. It made me wonder what percentage of people can play at least one song competently on the piano.
It’s something I’ve wanted to do at the Hillside Festival for a couple of years - get a top-notch concert instrument like a 9 foot Steinway or Bösendorfer, bring it to the Festival, set it up in one of the tents in the public fair and just let whoever comes in play it for ten or fifteen minutes. The piano leads such a sheltered life, and I’m sure it gets terribly jealous of all the guitars and accordions that get to play wherever someone drags them.
I remember I first got the idea when Steinway was touring the pianos that had belonged to Horowitz, Van Cliburn and Gershwin back in 2007.
What a great idea! I’d love to be passing by as somebody plays. Let’s get a singalong going–I’d stop and join in.
I agree that this sounds awesome. So many people today seem to live in a world of entirely pre-manufactured (if not completely automated/electronic) music that I sometimes wonder how many of them have ever even seen somebody who wasn’t a paid entertainer actually physically generating music with their own hands or voices. I’d love to see not only what amateur players actually do with the pianos but how the passersby strolling along with their iPods will react.
I’m kind of relieved to learn that all the pianos in the NYC art installation will have attendants to cover them up when it rains, though.
Here’s my take on pianos, with the help of Dolly and her mum, from the Family Circus
Many years ago, my then-fiancee and I went to San Francisco. Like Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, I carried my instrument everywhere–only unlike Ritchie, I played flute, not guitar. When we went north of the Bay into Marin County and found a nice little pullout overlooking the Pacific Ocean, I told my fiancee, “I’m going to play for you, with the wind through the grass as accompaniment.”
I put together my flute, and played. My fiancee was smitten. But then a funny thing happened–another car saw me playing, and stopped. The driver asked if I could play a certain tune–I could and did. He and his passenger were pleased. Another car stopped and listened. They thanked me, then they left. I continued to play for my fiancee. I don’t know if these passerby had ever seen a flautist playing before, but I was happy to just play with the wind and the ocean. I received nothing from anyone, except the satisfaction that I had made a few people’s days just a little bit brighter.
And that was reward enough. I like the idea of public music, and I hope this effort in New York results in the kind of happy memories for the players and the listeners, as I have from that day at a pullout in Marin County.
I wonder how many renditions of Chopsticks will be heard? 
This sounds like a cool idea but…
When I was a kid, from 5th to 12th grade, I was in band. For those 8 years, I spent a lot of time in the band room, which had a piano. And most of the time you were in there, there’d be someone plunking on the piano. Now, we had some kids who were REALLY good at piano. But, there’s only so many songs you know off the top of your head. Plus, you think you know the song then you start and you get tripped up, so you start again…and again…and again.
So when I think of this art installation, I think of the people who are just going to annoy the fuck out of everyone with their incessant repeats. Either repeating the same song all the time or repeating passages.
And then the people who bang out “Heart and Soul” cuz that’s all they know. shudder
I think there are quite a few people who can play decently enough (maybe I’m biased though, almost every one of my relatives has a modicum of musical talent) that it’ll work out well. I don’t really think of it as an ‘art installation’ unless there’s something special about each location, or the pianos have something extra about them (maybe one note on each could be badly off).
ZipperJJ, you may appreciate (I won’t say like) this.
You made me laugh. 
Drat you twickster!
All of last night, I was here at work humming and singing this song. My guys think I’m a little strange (well, ok, they’ve always thought that). It’s been all I could do to keep from grabbing an imaginary cane and top hat for the …“high toned baby, high toned baby, high toned baby grand!” finale.
I’m so glad someone got it …
Did you think of the song because of a recent crossword puzzle in the New York Times?
So, was it good for you?
Nah, I don’t do crosswords for fun – I thought of the song because I’m a hopeless movie musicals geek.
OK, that’s a coincidence, because (spoiler-boxed for crossword-puzzle solvers)
that song was an answer in Thursday’s puzzle in the Times.
Exxxxactly!