Conrad Tao's piece "iridescence" for piano and iPad was influenced by Brian Eno for its ambient mood and by Olivier Messiaen for its striking harmonies.
Performer Biography
Conrad Tao has won eight consecutive ASCAP Morton Gould Composer Awards between 2004 and 2011 and studies composition with Christopher Theofanidis of Yale University.
Performer Biography
Conrad Tao, the pianist on this album, is among a handful of musicians energetically reviving the tradition of the composer-pianist, which was almost extinct by the mid-20th century.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Conrad Tao's own compositions, titled 'vestiges', were inspired by dreams and 'surreal images that were undergoing metamorphosis, literally and musically'.
Composition History
Maurice Ravel's "Gaspard de la nuit" was inspired by a book of the same name by Aloysius Bertrand, featuring poems and drawings of devils, nymphs, and nightmares.
Recording & Production
This album opens with the first recording of Meredith Monk's "Railroad (Travel Song)", a minimalist piece from 1981, which Conrad Tao chose as an ideal introduction to the album's themes.
Interpretation
Conrad Tao chose not to play the Rachmaninov preludes in chronological order, believing that programming should recontextualize pieces in interesting ways to inspire musical journeys.
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