Pianist Jon Kimura Parker, a professor of piano at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, stepped in at the last minute to perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall Feb. 1, delivering Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” under the baton of conductor Susanna Mälkki.
Parker, who was called upon to replace pianist Yuja Wang due to illness, navigated a whirlwind of logistics to make it to the stage in time.
“The LA Phil needs a last-minute Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue for Saturday night,” Parker wrote in a social media post about the request from his manager Wednesday night. “Am I available? Theoretically yes, but I need to finish Doctoral auditions at Rice all day Thursday.”
Despite a missed flight Thursday, Parker was able to make it to the rehearsal Friday thanks to an early morning trip to Los Angeles. Saturday evening’s concert celebrated the 80th birthday of Michael Tilson Thomas, who was originally scheduled to conduct the performance, and Parker prepared a special encore in his honor.
“Late Friday night I found a beautiful song of [Thomas’] named ‘Grace,’ itself written as a 70th birthday tribute to Lenny Bernstein,” Parker wrote. “I arranged it for solo piano and played it as an encore.”
Applauding Mälkki’s leadership and the LA Phil’s artistry, Parker described the performance as “a dream of an event.” Parker made his debut with the LA Phil in 1986 under the baton of André Previn, but this was his first time performing with them in Walt Disney Concert Hall.
Learn more about Parker here.