Tonight: Pianist Frank Horvat keeps himself and his audience in the dark for Hart House concert

Torontonian Frank Horvat is one of the few working pianists whose living includes performing the music they themselves have created. It's interesting that, during these anniversary years for Chopin and Liszt, the two seminal composer-pianists, I haven't noticed many people stopping to appreciate those who carry on that tradition.

Horvat has been on the road since Earth Day last year, in an environmental concsiousness-raising effort he calls the Green Keys Tour. He stops tonight in the Music Room at Hart House, with a free recital at 8 p.m. of his own music in the dark, to minimize the number of atoms smashed and water droplets spun to generate electricity for this entertainment.

Rather than earn money from selling tickets, Horvat hopes to sell some sheet music and CDs. A portion of the proceeds go to the World Wildlife Fund.

The pianist's style is accessible and eclectic. He draws from pop, blues and minimalism, among other things. The recital's main piece is Earth Hour, which is an hour long.

Horvat has a lot of music sampls on his website. In  case you want to save yourself a click or two, here is "Poverty," a sample from his 2010 CD, A Little Night Music: