Kansas City Symphony / Conrad Tao / Matthias Pintscher

• Classical Music

A gentle trill from the clarinet, a lascivious glissando, and one of the most famous pieces for piano and orchestra picks up speed: George Gershwin’s »Rhapsody in Blue«. Presented to the public slightly awkwardly in 1924 as an »experiment in modern music«, it has since become something of a signature tune for the Broadway composer. Catchy jazz and blues melodies together with a casual orchestral sound and a highly virtuoso piano part bring the Roaring Twenties vividly to life.

The Kansas City Symphony is celebrating its 100th anniversary under the direction of its new chief conductor Matthias Pintscher together with 30-year-old pianist Conrad Tao, whom the New York Times sees as the »future of classical music«. This highlight of the piano repertoire is framed by two further classics by famous American composers: Charles Ives’s »Three Places in New England« with a marvellously whimsical march in the middle section, and Aaron Copland’s powerful Third Symphony. Welcome to the United States of America!

PERFORMERS

Kansas City Symphony orchestra

Conrad Tao piano

Matthias Pintscher conductor

PROGRAM

Charles Ives
Three Places in New England

George Gershwin
Rhapsody in Blue (version for piano and orchestra)

- Interval -

Aaron Copland
Symphony No. 3