Last night marked another exceptional performance by Conrad Tao, a dear friend to Tanenbaum and an awe-inspiring artist. One attendee went so far as to say, “What inner voice; what passion; what power; what joy; what contrasts… what a great concert… and all after a lovely reception with the beauty of songs of peace!” If you’d like a taste of Conrad’s work, take a look at this video.
As he did last year, Conrad brought the audience of the 2nd annual A Piece for Peace concert to their feet in a program that included Bach, Chopin, Liszt, and Prokofiev – and a Conrad Tao original!
Almost more impressive, though, was the way Conrad broke the invisible, yet tangible screen between himself and the audience, when he shared his thoughts on Prokofiev’s Sonata Number 7. Before playing the piece, he explained how Prokofiev wrote the work under extreme duress imposed by Joseph Stalin, and how, in Conrad’s opinion, that the work reflects Prokofiev’s intense desire for peace worldwide, both within us all and between us all. We couldn’t agree more with Conrad’s statement that, “difference is not something we should fear, but something we should celebrate.”
The connection between the piece, the performer, and the audience was remarkable.
If you would like to hear more of Conrad’s work, his Julliard Sessions are now available on itunes.
Thank you to all who joined us last night. And to those who could not come, we look forward to seeing you next year.
Mike Ward
Communications Associate