Conrad Tao
Encyclopedia
Conrad Tao is an American composer, pianist and violinist. Tao's piano performances since childhood brought him early recognition at music festivals, competitions and with symphony orchestras. He has been featured on the PBS TV series From the Top
– Live from Carnegie Hall as violinist, pianist and composer. Critics have found promise in his early compositions, and he is an eight-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould
Young Composer Award. He is a US Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Tao travels around the U.S. and abroad performing and attends the Columbia University
–Juilliard School joint degree program.
to Sam Tao, an engineer, and Mingfang Ting, a research scientist. Both parents were born in China and earned doctorates from Princeton University
. Tao gave his first piano recital at age 4 and gave his first concerto at age 8. At the age of 9, Tao moved with his family (he has an older sister, Connie) to New York City, and he began studying in the Juilliard School
's Pre-College Division. He attends the Columbia University
–Juilliard School joint degree program and studies piano with Yoheved Kaplinsky
at Juilliard. He also studies composition with Christopher Theofanidis of Yale University
. Tao is a 2011 Gilmore Foundation Young Artist.
Tao is an eight-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould
Young Composer Award, since 2004. The first piano concerto
that he composed, The Four Elements, was first performed in 2007 by the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio
. In 2004 and 2007 (live at Carnegie Hall
) and 2011, Tao was featured on the PBS and NPR
series From the Top
as violinist, pianist and composer. Tao was composer-in-residence for the 2009–10 season with Chicago’s Music in the Loft concert series. In reviewing a 2008 piano recital in Berkeley
, presented by Cal Performances
, where Tao gave the U.S. premiere of his "Fantasy-Sonata", the San Francisco Chronicle
wrote: "The four movements of the piece tumble forth in a way that supports its hybrid title, suggesting both a free flow of ideas and an overarching structural framework. There are melodies for the ear to grab onto – especially in the slow movement, set against rippling left-hand accompaniment – and Tao varies and subverts them with glee; the intermezzo, with its spidery octave figures, is a little gem of sardonic wit." After hearing Tao play the premiere of his "Three Songs", the reviewer of The Washington Post
called them "well-constructed miniatures exploiting different moods and textures on the piano. The juxtaposition was admirable; Tao made no bones about concealing his influences, with Debussy
first and foremost. ... But influences aside, his compositional voice is not "derivative" at all; you can discern a clear, fresh imagination".
Tao won the 2003 Walgreens National Concerto Competition
(as a violinist) and has appeared as a piano soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra
, Russian National Orchestra
, Baltimore Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Utah Symphony, San Francisco Symphony
and Pacific Symphony
, among others. He performed at the Ravinia Festival in 2009. The Wall Street Journal wrote of a 2008 concert: "In Mozart's dark-hued Concerto No. 20 in D Minor
, Mr. Tao showed appealing freshness in his use of telling, expressive details that distinguish one interpretation from the next – a slight decrescendo here, a change of tonal color there, a heartfelt response to the piece. The crossed-hand passages and rapid scale runs were performed with consummate ease." Of a 2009 performance of Ravel's
Concerto in G Major, The San Francisco Classical Voice commented: "The first movement was full of thrills: laser-sharp articulation and accuracy, powerful glissandos ... and, what’s more, heartfelt expression. ... Expressiveness came even more to the fore in the second movement. Never have I heard a left hand with such hypnotic affect, with right-hand legato melodies as smooth as a trip down the Seine." The Los Angeles Times
wrote of his 2011 performance with the Pacific: "In a dashing account of Rachmaninoff’s
Rhapsody
, his attacks were crisp, with rhythmically tricky high-velocity passages cleanly articulated. ... Tao avoided sentimentality, his concentration drawing us into the composer’s spare and witty work as few virtuosos of any age can do."
In 2011, Tao was named a US Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts
YoungArts program awarded him a gold medal in music. Also in 2011, Tao was featured in the album and PBS Great Performances
special Dream with Me
with Jackie Evancho
, as both a piano and violin soloist. The New York Times
praised Tao's performance of Chopin
piano pieces while accompanying American Ballet Theatre
dancers at a March 2011 gala at New York City Center
. In his Cliburn Concerts
debut in Dallas, Texas, in September 2011, Tao was a last-minute replacement for ailing pianist Louis Lortie
. Tao "continually uncovered the energy and emotional underpinnings inherent in [the] music".
Among other activities in late 2011, Tao led a Young Artists' program at The Kentucky Center
.
From the Top
From the Top is a national program and initiative to develop and showcase young classical musicians. It is best known for its NPR radio and PBS television programs hosted by pianist Christopher O'Riley, which celebrate the passion, dedication and personal stories of America's best young classical...
– Live from Carnegie Hall as violinist, pianist and composer. Critics have found promise in his early compositions, and he is an eight-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould
Morton Gould
Morton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.Born in Richmond Hill, New York, Gould was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities in improvisation and composition. His first composition was published at age six...
Young Composer Award. He is a US Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Tao travels around the U.S. and abroad performing and attends the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
–Juilliard School joint degree program.
Life and career
Tao was born in Urbana, IllinoisUrbana, Illinois
Urbana is the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 41,250. Urbana is the tenth-most populous city in Illinois outside of the Chicago metropolitan area....
to Sam Tao, an engineer, and Mingfang Ting, a research scientist. Both parents were born in China and earned doctorates from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. Tao gave his first piano recital at age 4 and gave his first concerto at age 8. At the age of 9, Tao moved with his family (he has an older sister, Connie) to New York City, and he began studying in the Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
's Pre-College Division. He attends the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
–Juilliard School joint degree program and studies piano with Yoheved Kaplinsky
Yoheved Kaplinsky
Yoheved "Veda" Kaplinsky is an award-winning classical pianist, lecturer and professor of music at the Juilliard School...
at Juilliard. He also studies composition with Christopher Theofanidis of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. Tao is a 2011 Gilmore Foundation Young Artist.
Tao is an eight-time consecutive winner of the ASCAP Morton Gould
Morton Gould
Morton Gould was an American composer, conductor, arranger, and pianist.Born in Richmond Hill, New York, Gould was recognized early as a child prodigy with abilities in improvisation and composition. His first composition was published at age six...
Young Composer Award, since 2004. The first piano concerto
Piano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
that he composed, The Four Elements, was first performed in 2007 by the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
. In 2004 and 2007 (live at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
) and 2011, Tao was featured on the PBS and NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
series From the Top
From the Top
From the Top is a national program and initiative to develop and showcase young classical musicians. It is best known for its NPR radio and PBS television programs hosted by pianist Christopher O'Riley, which celebrate the passion, dedication and personal stories of America's best young classical...
as violinist, pianist and composer. Tao was composer-in-residence for the 2009–10 season with Chicago’s Music in the Loft concert series. In reviewing a 2008 piano recital in Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, presented by Cal Performances
Cal Performances
Cal Performances is the performing arts presenting, commissioning and producing organization based at the University of California, Berkeley.-Founding and Early Expansion:...
, where Tao gave the U.S. premiere of his "Fantasy-Sonata", the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
wrote: "The four movements of the piece tumble forth in a way that supports its hybrid title, suggesting both a free flow of ideas and an overarching structural framework. There are melodies for the ear to grab onto – especially in the slow movement, set against rippling left-hand accompaniment – and Tao varies and subverts them with glee; the intermezzo, with its spidery octave figures, is a little gem of sardonic wit." After hearing Tao play the premiere of his "Three Songs", the reviewer of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
called them "well-constructed miniatures exploiting different moods and textures on the piano. The juxtaposition was admirable; Tao made no bones about concealing his influences, with Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
first and foremost. ... But influences aside, his compositional voice is not "derivative" at all; you can discern a clear, fresh imagination".
Tao won the 2003 Walgreens National Concerto Competition
Midwest Young Artists
Midwest Young Artists , the largest youth ensemble music program in the Midwest, was founded in 1993 in Evanston, Illinois by Dr. Allan Dennis and consisted of a single orchestra...
(as a violinist) and has appeared as a piano soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
, Russian National Orchestra
Russian National Orchestra
The Russian National Orchestra premiered in Moscow in 1990.It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican and in Israel....
, Baltimore Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Utah Symphony, San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
and Pacific Symphony
Pacific Symphony
The Pacific Symphony is a symphony orchestra located in Orange County, California. The orchestra performs at the Renée and Henry Segerstom Concert Hall, part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, California...
, among others. He performed at the Ravinia Festival in 2009. The Wall Street Journal wrote of a 2008 concert: "In Mozart's dark-hued Concerto No. 20 in D Minor
Piano Concerto No. 20 (Mozart)
The Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466, was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1785. The first performance took place at the Mehlgrube Casino in Vienna on February 11, 1785, with the composer as the soloist.-Background:...
, Mr. Tao showed appealing freshness in his use of telling, expressive details that distinguish one interpretation from the next – a slight decrescendo here, a change of tonal color there, a heartfelt response to the piece. The crossed-hand passages and rapid scale runs were performed with consummate ease." Of a 2009 performance of Ravel's
Maurice Ravel
Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
Concerto in G Major, The San Francisco Classical Voice commented: "The first movement was full of thrills: laser-sharp articulation and accuracy, powerful glissandos ... and, what’s more, heartfelt expression. ... Expressiveness came even more to the fore in the second movement. Never have I heard a left hand with such hypnotic affect, with right-hand legato melodies as smooth as a trip down the Seine." The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
wrote of his 2011 performance with the Pacific: "In a dashing account of Rachmaninoff’s
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
Rhapsody
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A minor, Op. 43 is a concertante work written by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It is written for solo piano and symphony orchestra, closely resembling a piano concerto. The work was written at Villa Senar, according to the score, from July 3 to August 18, 1934...
, his attacks were crisp, with rhythmically tricky high-velocity passages cleanly articulated. ... Tao avoided sentimentality, his concentration drawing us into the composer’s spare and witty work as few virtuosos of any age can do."
In 2011, Tao was named a US Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts
National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts
The National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts honors the most talented high school seniors, or, more specifically, American students in the 17-18 year-old age bracket, in the performing, visual and literary arts through the YoungArts program...
YoungArts program awarded him a gold medal in music. Also in 2011, Tao was featured in the album and PBS Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
special Dream with Me
Dream With Me
Dream with Me, Jackie Evancho's second full-length album , was released on June 3, 2011 on digital download format and on June 14, 2011 in the standard CD format...
with Jackie Evancho
Jackie Evancho
Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho is an American child singer described as a classical crossover artist. After entering some talent competitions, issuing an independent album, Prelude to a Dream, and attracting interest on YouTube, she gained wider popularity in 2010 with her performances in the...
, as both a piano and violin soloist. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
praised Tao's performance of Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
piano pieces while accompanying American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
dancers at a March 2011 gala at New York City Center
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
. In his Cliburn Concerts
Van Cliburn Foundation
The Van Cliburn Foundation is host to the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs™, Musical Awakenings® education programs, and Cliburn Concerts.-Mission:...
debut in Dallas, Texas, in September 2011, Tao was a last-minute replacement for ailing pianist Louis Lortie
Louis Lortie
Louis Lortie, OC, CQ is a French-Canadian pianist. He currently lives in Berlin.He is known for his interpretation of Ravel, Chopin and Beethoven...
. Tao "continually uncovered the energy and emotional underpinnings inherent in [the] music".
Among other activities in late 2011, Tao led a Young Artists' program at The Kentucky Center
The Kentucky Center
The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, located in Louisville, is a major performing arts center in Kentucky.The Kentucky Center also hosts artworks by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, John Chamberlain, Jean Dubuffet and others....
.
External links
- Official website
- Video interview of Tao
- Video of Tao playing the piano (from IMGArtists) with the Russian National OrchestraRussian National OrchestraThe Russian National Orchestra premiered in Moscow in 1990.It was the first Russian orchestra to perform at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican and in Israel....
- Videos of Tao playing the violin and piano (in his own chamber music composition) on From the Top at Carnegie HallFrom the TopFrom the Top is a national program and initiative to develop and showcase young classical musicians. It is best known for its NPR radio and PBS television programs hosted by pianist Christopher O'Riley, which celebrate the passion, dedication and personal stories of America's best young classical...