American Rage

Pianist/composer Conrad Tao's third Warner Classics album, entitled American Rage, traces the roots of rebellion from the 1930s Harlan County labor disputes, through the trauma of 9/11, to the deep divisions of the present day.

Bookended by two expansive works by Frederic Rzewski - Which Side Are You On?, based on Florence Reece’s 1931 protest song, and Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues, an industrial folk song that reflects the unjust factory working conditions - the album centres on Julia Wolfe's Compassion, written in the wake of 9/11, and Aaron Copland's elegiac Piano Sonata.

Conrad will make his Carnegie Hall recital debut November 20, 2019 and will then perform the album program for his LA Phil recital debut March 10, 2020. A performance of the American Rage program in a Harlem Crypt was among the New York Times' "Best Performances of 2017."