It is the brainchild of Paweł Romańczuk, who started collecting toy pianos over a decade ago.
In addition to Polish-made instruments, the exhibits come from countries such as the U.K., the United States, Brazil, France, Israel, Spain, Japan, Germany and Italy. The oldest of them is almost 150 years old.
The toy pianos are of various sizes and design. They have different sound sources, including metal rods and aluminium pipes. The number of keys varies from four to forty nine.
Visitors to the gallery can test their musical skills on some of the toy pianos on display.
Romańczuk, 48, is a musician and composer. He has written music for more than 20 films and theatre productions, published his own music on various labels in Poland, Japan and France, and played around 300 concerts in Europe and Asia. In 2010, he founded the ensemble Small Instruments (Małe Instrumenty), a five-piece band that explores new sounds using a wide array of small instruments, from toy pianos to homemade child-sized cellos.
(mk)