George Gershwin
The Man I Love from Song Book

Arnold Schoenberg
Piano Piece, Op. 33a

George Gershwin
Clap Yo’ Hands from Song Book

Scott Joplin
Maple Leaf Rag

Arnold Schoenberg
Piano Piece, Op. 33b

Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Randy and Drake from Kings Row

Irving Berlin (arr. Conrad Tao)
All By Myself

Conrad Tao / Sergei Rachmaninov
Improvisation on the 15th Variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

Harold Arlen (arr. Art Tatum)
Over the Rainbow

Sergei Rachmaninov
18th Variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43

Billy Strayhorn (arr. Conrad Tao)
Lush Life

Robert Schumann
Auf einer Burg from Liederkreis, Op. 39

George Gershwin (arr. Conrad Tao)
I Loves You, Porgy

George Gershwin
I Got Rhythm from Song Book

Sergei Rachmaninov (arr. Inon Barnatan)
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45

Conrad Tao – piano

The recital programme of the American pianist Conrad Tao offers, in its first half, a rich sequence of piano works ranging from the lyrical compositions of Robert Schumann and Sergei Rachmaninov through ragtime, piano arrangements of popular songs and jazz standards, to the atonal music of the Second Viennese School.

At the heart of the programme is a selection from George Gershwin’s Song Book from the early 1930s, featuring piano transcriptions of his most famous songs, including The Man I Love, Clap Yo’ Hands, and I Got Rhythm. The programme also includes Scott Joplin’s celebrated Maple Leaf Rag, virtuosic arrangements of interwar American songs (All By Myself, Over the Rainbow, Lush Life), an arrangement of the aria I Loves You, Porgy from the opera Porgy and Bess, and music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold from the film Kings Row.

In contrast to these melodic works stand the Two Piano Pieces, Op. 33 by Arnold Schoenberg. The programme is further enriched by Tao’s improvisations on Schumann’s song Auf einer Burg and on variations from Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

The second half of the evening culminates in a piano transcription of Rachmaninov’s Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, arranged by Inon Barnatan. Two weeks later, at concerts B2 and H2, audiences will have the opportunity to hear the work in its original orchestral version.