Grammy nomination + US premieres: A transformative start to 2026
A Grammy-Nominated Year of Transformation
As we head into 2026, the San Francisco Symphony's recording of Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements—on which I performed as pianist with conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen—is nominated for Best Orchestral Performance at the 68th Grammy Awards on February 1. The rhythmic precision, the electric energy Salonen brought to the podium, the way the piano locked in with the orchestra in those performances—it's the kind of moment that reminds you why you do this work. When all the elements align—the conductor, the orchestra, the piano—something transformative happens.
That same intensity defined my performances throughout 2025. This past November, audience members kept saying the same thing as they left the hall after my performances with Marin Symphony: "It felt like a rock concert."
That's the energy I'm always chasing—performances where the music feels so alive, so visceral, that the line between classical and rock, between precision and abandon, just disappears. Performing Liszt's Hungarian Fantasy and Totentanz back-to-back, I found that edge. Four concertos in one weekend, including a day with both a 3:00pm and 8:00pm performance, pushed me to the most virtuosic playing I've ever done. And the audience felt it.
As we move into 2026, I'm carrying that momentum forward.
Performing at Michael Tilson Thomas' 80th birthday celebration at Davies Symphony Hall with the San Francisco Symphony. Credit: Christopher M. Howard
Collaboration as Transformation
This year taught me something fundamental: collaboration doesn't just enhance performances—it transforms them entirely.
When I worked with BalletX at the Laguna Dance Festival, I performed Gershwin and Rachmaninoff preludes—pieces I'd played hundreds of times in different contexts, but never with ballet dancers. Watching their physical interpretation of the music immediately unlocked new ideas that fit the score in ways I'd never considered. That experience didn't just change how I played those specific pieces. It changed how I approach interpretation across my entire repertoire.
The same thing happened at Michael Tilson Thomas's 80th birthday celebration with the San Francisco Symphony. Playing MTT's songs alongside Sasha Cooke and Frederica von Stade—these were master classes in musical conversation. When you collaborate with artists at that level, you don't just play together. You discover new possibilities in music you thought you already understood.
That collaborative spirit is continuing right now. This month, I'm performing with principal percussionist Jake Nessley and principal bassist Scott Pingel for the San Francisco Symphony's A Charlie Brown Christmas concerts—the symphony's premiere of this beloved work. It's the perfect example of how classical musicians can authentically cross genres while bringing the same depth and artistry to every note.
That's what 2025 was about: transformation through partnership, taking risks that push beyond the familiar, and finding that electric connection with audiences who leave saying it felt like a rock concert.
Looking Ahead: 2026 and America's 250th Anniversary
As we enter 2026, we're also approaching America's 250th anniversary—a milestone that makes me think about what American music has become. From the quartal harmonies of Aaron Copland and the jazzy sounds of Gershwin, through the minimalism of Philip Glass and John Adams, to the contemporary voices of Gabriela Lena Frank and Missy Mazzoli, we now have a portfolio that stands alongside any tradition in the world.
And we're still discovering. This January, I'll be performing with the San Francisco Symphony for the US premiere of Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen's The Rapids of Life (January 22-24). The piece explores the moment of childbirth with an intensity that feels both primal and transcendent. It's dedicated to the memory of Kaija Saariaho, and it's exactly the kind of new work that keeps the symphonic tradition alive and urgent.
Later in the season, I'll perform a duo recital with Amos Yang, Assistant Principal Cello of the San Francisco Symphony, at the San Francisco Conservatory (March 2). The program includes Brahms's Cello Sonata No. 2, Paganini, Bach, and a few surprises. Chamber music is where collaboration becomes most intimate—no conductor, no safety net, just two musicians listening to each other moment by moment.
Watch an excerpt of me performing Liszt's Totentanz with the Marin Symphony.
What I'm Exploring
I've been thinking a lot about how to keep performances feeling new, even when I'm playing pieces I've performed dozens of times.
The answer I keep coming back to is this: I don't actually perform the same piece twice. Even when I played those two Liszt concertos three times in one weekend, every night was different. In a cadenza, I might hold a note longer, or suddenly get so quiet that the audience can hear themselves breathe—and then play something loud immediately after to wake them up. Sometimes I ask myself: what if we played this section faster than anyone else has ever played it? And then I just go for it.
That's what happened in one of those Marin Symphony performances. I pushed the tempo so fast that I wasn't entirely sure the orchestra could come in at the right moment. But they had a full minute to prepare, and when they entered, the energy in the room completely shifted. It was a risk, but it was also alive. And that's how I think performances should feel—not safe, not predictable, but fully present and responding to what the music wants in that specific moment.
Every time I collaborate with someone new, every time I perform a premiere, every time I step onto a stage with an audience that doesn't know what to expect, I try to find that edge where preparation meets spontaneity. That's where the magic happens. That's where it feels like a rock concert.
Upcoming Performances
San Francisco Symphony: A Charlie Brown Christmas—LIVE!
Saturday & Sunday, December 21–22, 2025
Davies Symphony Hall, San FranciscoSan Francisco Symphony: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Live to Picture
January 9-10, 2026
Davies Symphony Hall, San FranciscoSan Francisco Symphony: Gardner Conducts The Planets
January 15–17, 2026
Davies Symphony Hall, San FranciscoSan Francisco Symphony: US Premiere of Outi Tarkiainen's The Rapids of Life
January 22–24, 2026
Davies Symphony Hall, San FranciscoDuo Recital with Amos Yang, Cello
March 2, 2026
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Barbro Osher Recital Hall
