Phyllis Chen’s Unusual Instruments Playlist

A few years ago, the pianist and toy piano virtuoso Phyllis Chen performed a piece of mine that included an invented instrument. We didn’t have time to meet before the concert. When she began to play, she twirled the instrument—which had once broken and flown into an audience—enthusiastically above her head. I like to think that it was due to her special abilities with unusual instruments that nothing went wrong that night. In this playlist, she presents some of her favorite music for ruined pianos, stone xylophones, and more.—Jeffrey Arlo Brown