The Loneliest Pianos - #NYCPianoParty

Mosaic Piano - Bryant Park

In my hunt for the pianos that comprise the 2013 Sing for Hope piano exhibition (see I am Opus the Octopus, and i love Music for more on the exhibition), I've pretty much been able to catch people playing the piano.  Of the adults, some folks played well and one even played and sang his own compositions (I'll chronicle those on another day).  The kids have been the most fun -- particularly the little ones who just can't seem to get enough of the piano keys even when they probably haven't gotten past their first piano lesson.  Both of these pianos are worth a visit and I suspect that there are times of day where they are not the loneliest pianos in the five boroughs.

Shadow of a Building in the Mosaic

In my journey's, there have been two pianos with nary a pianist in sight for the time I was visiting with them.  I had trouble finding the first one.  Hot and tired after a trek down from Rockefeller Center (see For My Grandma), I had actually sat for a while near the permanent piano that graces Bryant Park thinking someone had forgotten to unveil it.  Mercifully, I finally asked a security guard for directions and he pointed me in the right direction and I found the Mosaic Piano by Kathleen Ruel.  It's on the south corner of the library-- right on 5th avenue -- my problem was that I was convinced it would be someplace in Bryant Park with a crowd gathered around it.  Perhaps it couldn't go in the park because of the aforementioned Bryant Park Piano?

Mosaics Mimic the Piano Keys

The second piano by Linda Tagliaferro was at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  This one was the end of the trail on a walk home from a meeting on the upper east side.  The walk had included another piano (well played by small children) and a stop to see a photo shoot at the top of Central Park (I learned that it takes a lot of people to make a fashion photo shoot).  It's a simply decorated piano that sits behind the Peace Fountain that graces the Cathedral grounds. 

Renaissance Angel

My favorite photo in this quiet spot was not the piano itself but rather the #selfie (that's the modern term for self-portrait) that I took of my shadow on the Aesop carving.