Béla Bartók never heard his final piano concerto. He died in New York in September 1945, 17 bars short of finishing the orchestration, and the work premiered without him the following February. Rice University senior Max Milian will play it with the Shepherd School of Music’s Symphony Orchestra Nov. 7. Milian, a 2026 Shepherd School Concerto Competition winner, is the featured soloist for “Shepherd Spotlight: Bartók 3,” which begins at 7:30 p.m. in Stude Concert Hall.
“It’s an incredibly joyful, beautiful and unique piece,” Milian said. “Many of its sounds can’t be found anywhere else, yet it’s accessible even on a first listen. I think Bartók was searching for happiness at the end of his life, and the piece is full of it.”
Spotlight concerts put students from across the Shepherd School onstage together. Miguel Harth-Bedoya, distinguished resident director of orchestras, leads the program with assistant conductors Kyle Haake, Clayton Hinton and Ana Spasovska, all master’s students in orchestral conducting. The evening opens with the world premiere of “OVERDRIVE,” a piece by recent alumnus Ethan Resnik ’26 inspired by a motorcycle ride through Bangkok, followed by a selection of Mahler’s orchestral songs featuring vocal students Natalie Creel (mezzo-soprano), Nicholas Gryniewski (baritone) and Lewei Wang (baritone).
Milian closes the night. He said he chose the Shepherd School after a lesson with Brian Connelly, artist teacher of piano, while applying to colleges.
“Max entered Rice as an uncommonly gifted and exceptionally well-trained freshman, and now as a senior he continues to astonish us and outdo himself,” Connelly said. “He is amazingly accomplished, voraciously curious about everything and apparently unencumbered with the usual music-student neuroses! He’s also blessed with a really genuine and likable personality.”
Milian said he was also drawn to the culture at the Shepherd School, which he found uniquely friendly and supportive.
Milian said he first encountered the concerto as a freshman, when he came across a recording he loved. Nearly a year ago, he set aside plans to learn Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G for the competition and ultimately chose the Bartók so he could prepare it with Connelly. At the University of Michigan, Connelly had studied with György Sándor, Bartók’s pupil and friend, who gave that 1946 premiere with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra.
“I’m sure Mr. Sándor would be delighted to hear how Max captures the many vivid characters of the piece: boisterous and rowdy, meditative and lyrical, wildly virtuosic,” Connelly said. “I feel honored and rewarded to have served as a small connective thread between Bartók’s original vision and Max’s tremendous interpretation.”
For most of the past year, Milian has lived with the concerto’s piano part. Rehearsals with the full orchestra are now underway.
“The orchestration is incredibly exciting,” Milian said. “There are so many colors, and every instrument has something fun to do. I’m really looking forward to hearing it all come together in person.”
Tickets start at $5 and are available at music.rice.edu/events. The concert runs without intermission and will also be livestreamed.
Learn more on the Shepherd School of Music events page.