Age, Biography and Wiki

Margaret Leng Tan (Margaret Tan Hee Leng) was born on 1945 in Singapore, is a Margaret Leng Tan is classical music artist. Discover Margaret Leng Tan's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is she in this year and how she spends money? Also learn how she earned most of networth at the age of 79 years old?

Popular As Margaret Tan Hee Leng
Occupation Pianist, Toy pianist
Age 79 years old
Zodiac Sign
Born 1945
Birthday 1945
Birthplace Singapore
Nationality Singapore

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 1945. She is a member of famous artist with the age 79 years old group.

Margaret Leng Tan Height, Weight & Measurements

At 79 years old, Margaret Leng Tan height not available right now. We will update Margaret Leng Tan's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Dating & Relationship status

She is currently single. She is not dating anyone. We don't have much information about She's past relationship and any previous engaged. According to our Database, She has no children.

Family
Parents Not Available
Husband Not Available
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Margaret Leng Tan Net Worth

Her net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Margaret Leng Tan worth at the age of 79 years old? Margaret Leng Tan’s income source is mostly from being a successful artist. She is from Singapore. We have estimated Margaret Leng Tan's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income artist

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Timeline

Margaret Leng Tan is a classical music artist known for her work as a professional toy pianist, performing in major cities around the world on her 51 cm-high toy pianos.

She is also known to be a classical music performer using unconventional instruments like toy drums, soy sauce dishes, and cat-food cans.

1945

Tan was born in Singapore on 12 December 1945, the daughter of former Straits Times Press chairman Tan Chye Cheng, and started taking music lessons at the age of six.

1948

The 45-cm-high, two-octave little toy thus became her instrument to deliver the 1948 Toy Piano Suite, and her first love to toy pianos.

1961

In 1961 the young Tan took first place in the Singapore-Malaysia annual piano competition, and won a scholarship to study at The Juilliard School at age 16 in the following year.

1971

In 1971 she became the first woman to earn a Doctorate in Musical Arts at Juilliard, and became the diva of the prepared piano, inserting nuts and bolts into the instrument and playing it inside out to rave reviews.

1981

In 1981 Tan met John Cage, and since then they continued to work together for the last 11 years of his life.

1984

In 1984 she was awarded a US National Endowment for the Arts grant.

1990

Between 1990 and 1991 she gave retrospective concerts of Cage's music in collaboration with artist Jasper Johns.

Since then she has since been hailed as "the leading exponent of Cage's music today" (The New Republic) and "the most convincing interpreter of John Cage’s keyboard music" (The New York Times).

She performed Cage’s music throughout North America, Europe and Asia and in the PBS "American Masters" films on John Cage and Jasper Johns.

The association with Cage also led to her enchantment with the toy piano.

1993

She made her debut on the instrument in 1993 at New York’s Lincoln Center, playing Cage's 1948 Suite for Toy Piano.

Since finding this first toy piano, she continued to acquire many others, including a 37-key Schoenhut toy grand piano.

She continues to, in her own words, "remain wholeheartedly intrigued by the toy piano's magical overtones, hypnotic charm, and not least, its off-key poignancy."

It was in 1993 at a thrift store in the East Village in New York Tan bought her first toy piano which cost a mere US$45.

1997

She recorded her groundbreaking album, The Art of the Toy Piano, on Point/Polygram in 1997.

2001

Tan was also featured playing Cage's 4'33" on her toy piano in the Singapore documentary Singapore GaGa by Singaporean film-maker Tan Pin Pin. She is also never far from her toy pianos, and with a fair share of tickling stories on her travels with them. In 2001, when she was invited to perform in an abbey in Provence, France the technical staff advised her to store her toy piano away to prevent bat droppings from landing on her precious piano. In the end her piano was placed under the grand piano; this arrangement of a little piano underneath a big one reminded Tan of Matroska dolls. In another occasion, she remembered a funny sight when she carried her piano on board the plane, and had it strapped to a seat next to her.

2002

In 2002 the pianist performed in Berlin on 9 March, and in New York for a separate celebration of both John Cage and composer Morton Feldman on 13 April.

In that same year Tan made history as the first Singapore-born musician to play in the Isaac Stern Auditorium of the Carnegie Hall on 14 April 2002, and performed Cage's Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra with the American Composers Orchestra.

2004

Evans Chan's 2004 documentary, Sorceress of the New Piano: The Artistry of Margaret Leng Tan, has been invited to numerous international film festivals including Vancouver, Melbourne and AFI/Discovery Channel's SILVERDOCS, where it was nominated for Best Music Documentary.

Sorceress and Chan's The Maverick Piano, which features live performances by Tan, are available as a Mode Records DVD.

Tan is the featured performer for "Inside the Piano" on the Treasures of The New York Public Library Video Series.

2014

In 2014, Tan was inducted in the Singapore Women's Hall of Fame.

2015

In 2015, Tan was awarded the Cultural Medallion of Singapore by Tony Tan, President of Singapore.

Tan resides in Brooklyn, New York and had collected 18 toy pianos.