Christian Reif, conductor
Conor Hanick, piano

Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as well as other works that premiered in 1924. German conductor Christian Reif leads the orchestra in Sibelius’ beguiling Symphony No. 7, and Respighi’s evocative tone poem The Pines of Rome. American pianist Conor Hanick is featured in the perennially popular Rhapsody in Blue, George Gershwin’s thrilling showpiece for piano and orchestra that is one of the greatest treasures in the American symphonic repertoire. 

Concert Repertoire
Honegger: Pacific 231
Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue
Respighi: Pines of Rome
To be announced: Mystery Piece

About Conor Hanick, piano

Pianist Conor Hanick is regarded as one of his generation’s most inquisitive interpreters of music new and old whose “technical refinement, color, crispness and wondrous variety of articulation benefit works by any master.” (New York Times) Hanick’s playing, “a revelation of clarity and bite,” reminds the Times’ Anthony Tommasini of a “young Peter Serkin.” His performance of John Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes was, according to the Times’ critic David Allan, “the best instrumental concert I have seen all year”; praise echoed by the Boston Globe, which named the performance “Best Solo Recital” of 2019.

Hanick has recently performed with the San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Orchestra Iowa, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, been presented by the Gilmore Festival, New York Philharmonic, Elbphilharmonie, De Singel, Caramoor, Cal Performances, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Park Avenue Armory, and worked with conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen, Ludovic Morlot, Alan Gilbert, and David Robertson. A fierce advocate for the music of today, and “the soloist of choice for such thorny works” (NYT), Hanick has premiered over 200 pieces and collaborated with composers both emerging and iconic; among them, Hanick has worked with Pierre Boulez, Kaija Saariaho, Steve Reich, and Charles Wuorinen, in addition to the leading composers of his generation, including Nico Muhly, Caroline Shaw, Tyshawn Sorey, Samuel Carl Adams, and Anthony Cheung.

This season Hanick presents solo and chamber recitals in the US and Europe, including performances with Julia Bullock, Jay Campbell, Joshua Roman, Seth Parker Woods, AMOC (American Modern Opera Company), and the Takt Trio, with whom he will present two concerts at the Library of Congress centered on Ligeti and Brahms’ Horn Trios with new works by Hilda Paredes and Marcos Balter. Hanick also makes his San Francisco Performances debut at Herbst Theater, joins Sandbox Percussion at 92NY for works by Christopher Cerrone and Tyshawn Sorey, returns to the Aix-en-Provence Festival for works by Julius Eastman and Du Yun, and, as part of the California Festival, performs a new set of piano etudes by Samuel Carl Adams at the Ojai Festival.

Last year Hanick premiered a new piano concerto by Adams, No Such Spring, with the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, in which Hanick was praised as a “superb, buoyantly expressive soloist,” (Musical America) with an “impressive technique, obvious intelligence, a yen for adventure, and an abundant love for the piano’s tonal variety.” (Wall Street Journal) He was also recently presented by the Centre Pompidou in Paris, Carolina Performing Arts, LaMama Theater, and with AMOC, served as the artistic director of the 2022 Ojai Festival.

Since 2014 Hanick has been a faculty artist at the Music Academy of the West and in 2018 became the director of its Solo Piano Program. He has given lectures and masterclasses in Asia, Europe, and throughout the US, including Northwestern University, the New England Conservatory, UCLA, The University of Washington, University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University of Iowa. He is a member of the piano and chamber music faculty of The Juilliard School, Mannes College, and the CUNY Graduate Center. A Yamaha Artist, Hanick a graduate of Northwestern University and the Juilliard School, and lives in the Hudson Valley with his wife, son, and Westies.

The Phoenix Symphony’s SRP Preludes series returns for the 2024/25 season! Preludes will take place one hour prior to select performances with activities that will be sure to delight the whole family! Prepare to hear live musical performances, discover new artworks, explore the dances and traditions of new cultures, and much, much more!

Friday, November 22, 6:30 PM

Saturday, November 23, 6:30 PM

Sunday, November 24, 1:00 PM

Celebrate the Golden Age of the 1920’s with traditional nine-piece jazz band Yourchestra, vintage Photo Ops created by the Phoenix Art Deco Society and traditional dance including the Peabody and Charleston by local performance group Savage Rhythms.