Dani Meier on Conrad Tao's companion concerto

Dear friends,

If you’ve taken a look at our Masterworks lineup this week, you probably thought holy 20th century Americana awesomeness, Batman.

And you’d be right.

Except – add the 21st century in there, too, because we have Conrad Tao joining us on stage.

Bernstein, William Grant Still, Gershwin, and Tao – every single one of them, multi-faceted performer-composers. Literally multi: multiple instruments, multiple ensembles, multiple genres, multiple disciplines… acclaimed across the board. Still played at least a half-dozen instruments just because he could. Bernstein taught piano to the man who would become one of his orchestrators. Gershwin helpfully hogged his brother Ira’s piano, and Conrad Tao?

He sat and listened to his older sister’s piano lessons and decided, at a year and a half, that he’d try this piano thing, too.

So he did.

On his own. Like you do.

Then he added violin. Then composition. By age 13, he was on NPR’s “From the Top” for all three.

Don’t think about what you were doing at age 13. Don’t do it. It’s a trap.

You know what’s not a trap, though? Seeing what Tao has in mind when he joins us on the Holland stage this weekend. His companion piece to Rhapsody in Blue – a piano concerto titled Flung Out – is quintessential Conrad, written in the spirit of Gershwin’s inarguable masterpiece. It’s mercurial. It turns on a dime. It takes the music of everyday life and the literal music of 2024 and weaves them together with Tao’s 21st century classical training.

It’s 17 minutes long – and I think by the time you realize it’s nearly over, you won’t know where the time went, because you’ll be gripping your armrests and holding on tight.

Companion pieces are a choose-your-own-adventure for the composer. They can honor the spirit of a work, a melody, the historical significance – all of the above, and more. If you look at Tao’s discography (and his Wikipedia page), his own compositions sit beside legendary masters like Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Copland – as well as contemporary heroes like Meredith Monk, David Lang, and Toru Takemitsu.

Gershwin took inspiration for his Rhapsody from the internal mash-up of long-held melodies against the mechanical rhythms of a train to Boston.

Tao’s companion piece takes that spirit of discovery, along with the decades of performing Rachmaninoff, Ravel, Copland, Monk, Lang, Takemitsu…

And yes, Gershwin, too.

What I’m trying to say is – Conrad’s going to make his Holland debut by blowing the roof off the place.

What I’m trying to say is – buckle up.

Bernstein, Still, and Gershwin – these are familiar friends. Tao? He’s going to fit in splendidly. Don’t be afraid to get to know him a bit before he joins us, though. He’s got a discography for ages. Consider his Voyages album from 2013 – Meredith Monk’s Railroad is gloriously zen, and Tao’s own Vestiges is surprising and poignant. Maybe try his collaboration with the band The Westerlies – Bricolage. “Supergiant” is heartbreakingly beautiful.

And then deep-dive Tao’s Tiny-Desk Concert with tapper Caleb Teicher to really amp yourself up:

We’ll see you this weekend.

(PS – you can hear Conrad tear up some solo piano in the Orchestra level lobby after Friday’s performance at Symphony After Hours!)