The better your technique, the freer you are. Well, Conrad Tao seems can do just about anything he wants.

Just look at the program — the gilded 1920s reimagined.

Program

Gershwin The Man I Love
Schoenberg Klavierstück, Op. 33a
Gershwin Clap Yo’ Hands
Berlin [arr. Tao] All By Myself
Tao Improvisation on Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, Var. 15
Arlen [arr. Tatum] Over the Rainbow
Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, Var. 18
Strayhorn [arr. Tao] Lush Life
Joplin Maple Leaf Rag
Schoenberg Klavierstück, Op. 33b
Korngold Randy and Drake from Kings Row
Gershwin I Loves You, Porgy
Gershwin I Got Rhythm

Debussy Pour les arpèges composés from Etudes
Ravel Sonatine: Modéré
Strayhorn Chelsea Bridge (arr. Tao)
Ravel Sonatine: Mouvement de menuet
Ravel Sonatine: Animé
Gershwin [arr. Tao] Rhapsody in Blue

The evening opened with Gershwin’s pop rhythms phrased with classical-level nuance and delicate pedal work. The spell was briefly broken by an ill-timed phone drop, and I caught a flash of an “oh my god” look cross Tao’s face before it vanished just as quickly (hey, second-row seats).

The sweetness of Gershwin didn’t last long, and soon gave way to the world of Schoenberg. “I always want to hear Schoenberg in between Gershwins,” Tao confessed. He went on to explain the logic of the night: a program pieced together from exiled European composers, local tunes, Hollywood pop, and jazz — “and you can clap whenever you want.” With that, the ease of the evening settled in.

The pop tunes dissolved into a stream of almost violent stream of consciousness in the 15th variation of Rachmaninov’s Paganini Rhapsody, which melted into Over the Rainbow. Then came the famous 18th, where Tao reached for the grandeur of a full orchestra — and almost got there.

After more pop, pop, pop, just before the sweetness began to cloy, came another perfectly placed Schoenberg, like sniffing coffee beans between perfumes. The first half closed on an almost cadenza-like Gershwin, so assured it felt as if the composer himself had returned to the stage — in Balenciaga.

The second half opened with a classy Debussy that reminded me I was hearing a fully classically trained pianist, the kind of playing you’d expect from a CSO recital. Ravel’s formidable technical demands were made to look effortless, with Tao’s expressiveness layered on top. The set built to an extraordinary Rhapsody in Blue — rearranged and reimagined to match the scale, abandon, and full-bodied force he clearly heard in it. At one point he brought his forearm down across the keys.

The concert ended with a standing ovation and rounds of applause that coaxed Tao back for an encore: Le Jardin Féerique from Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite — again, a top notch pianistic take on an orchestral work.

What a feast. He gave more than he promised on the program. I hope hear him play the full Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on Paganini at some point.