Overview
A part of Symphony Center’s monthlong America 250 musical journey, Illinois native and pianist Conrad Tao returns with a genre-blurring recital. Praised by the Chicago Tribune for his virtuosity, profundity and invention, Tao moves effortlessly between concert music, jazz, Broadway and the Great American Songbook.
Gershwin sits at the heart of the program, from intimate songs to a thrilling arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue. Along the way, Tao draws unexpected connections between Gershwin, Debussy, Ravel, Rachmaninov and Schoenberg while weaving in music by Billy Strayhorn, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and Scott Joplin.
Playful, spontaneous and deeply personal, the recital showcases Tao’s singular ability to move between styles and traditions with imagination and unmistakable joy — creating an afternoon that feels as vibrant and dynamic as American music itself.