by Mike Telin
Although Conrad Tao first performed John Adams’ Century Rolls in 2015 when he was 21, the pianist said that his history with the concerto goes back to when he was 11 — when, on the advice of his composition teacher Christopher Theofanidis, he listened to the Nonesuch recording with Emanuel Ax and The Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Christoph von Dohnányi. “I was like, ‘Wow, Adams wrote a piano concerto.’ I was so excited to discover that as a child, so this piece is quite special to me.”
On Saturday, August 5 at 7:00 pm at Blossom Music Center, Tao will perform Century Rolls with David Robertson and The Cleveland Orchestra. The program also includes Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Something for the Dark, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1. At 6:00 pm, Daniel Reith will lead the Kent Blossom Chamber Orchestra in Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Gabriel Fauré’s Pavane, and Sergei Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 “Classical.” Tickets are available online.
