Album information

Gordon Getty has characterised these piano pieces as spanning a lifetime. The five pieces comprising ‘Homework Suite’ date from his year at San Francisco Conservatory of Music (1962); ‘Andantino’ and ‘Scherzo pensieroso’ were written in 2012. In Getty’s own words: “It might as easily have been the other way around. Fifty years ago, I could steal unconsciously from others, and now more from myself, but the language and perspective are the same.“

Orchestral versions of most of these pieces have been both performed and recorded, but this marks the first time that the piano originals have been presented on disc. “Not to worry when Conrad Tao is the pianist,” says Getty.

The only classical musician on Forbes’ 2011 ‘30 Under 30’ list of people changing the world, Chinese-American pianist Conrad Tao was playing children’s songs on the piano at the age of 18 months. Today also an award-winning violinist, Conrad performs with orchestras across the United States, frequently performing violin and piano concertos on the same programme.