Poster Conrad Tao
Conrad Tao
Courtesy the Artist
Performance Today®

Performance Today for Friday, June 14, 2013

Pianist and composer Conrad Tao has a deep appreciation for a huge range of music. "You talk about Rachmaninoff's lyricism," he says, "but you can also talk about Brian Wilson's (of The Beach Boys) lyricism." On Friday's Performance Today we'll hear brand new music by Conrad Tao that draws on that huge range of music. Tao is an accomplished classical pianist who plays concerts around the world. He writes and produces his own indie rock and dance music. He just oversaw a three-day music festival in Brooklyn. We'll hear a new piece he wrote for solo piano called vestiges.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Maurice Ravel: Valses nobles et sentimentales, No. 7
Vladimir Spivakov, violin and Sergei Bezrodny, piano
Album: RCA 60861

Leonard Bernstein: Mambo from Symphonic Dances from West Side Story (encore)
Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra; Gustavo Dudamel, conductor
Carnegie Hall Live!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major, K. 467
Vadym Kholodenko, piano
Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra; Leonard Slatkin, conductor Bass Performance Hall, Fort Worth, Texas Van Cliburn International Piano Competition

Maurice Ravel: Tzigane, Concert Rhapsody, for Violin and Piano
Augustin Hadelich, violin; Jeewon Park, piano
Nordstrom Recital Hall at Benaroya Hall, Seattle, WA

Hour 2

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: 'A Musical Joke' in F Major
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra
Album: DG 445772

Conrad Tao: vestiges (2011-2012) - upon walking alongside green glass bottles, upon ripping perforated pages, upon being
Conrad Tao, piano
Album: Conrad Tao: Voyages, EMI 344762

Mauro Giuliani: Grand Duo Concertante in A Major, Op. 85
Jordan Dodson, guitar; Nadir Khashimov, violin
Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, St. Paul, MN

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Andante for Oboe and Orchestra in B-flat major
Albrecht Mayer, oboe
Carnegie Hall, New York City, New York

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Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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