Talk:Conrad Tao

Sounds like a press release....
This whole thing sounds like a massive press release. Written by a relative? 108.244.74.98 (talk) 03:08, 17 August 2015 (UTC)


 * Nope, not written by a relative. Got any specific suggestions for improvement? -- Ssilvers (talk) 03:17, 17 August 2015 (UTC)

Yes, edit article down to a length appropriate to the stature of its subject. While the subject may warrant a Wikipedia article, this is an inflated and calculated effort at self-promotion. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.108.154.180 (talk) 19:21, 5 September 2015 (UTC)

Added "Like resume" template as article is not neutral and too verbose. Weighedlocust (talk) 05:47, 22 February 2021 (UTC)


 * It probably is verbose, but what do you see in the article that is not neutral? -- Ssilvers (talk) 03:03, 23 February 2021 (UTC)


 * Entire "reputation as a pianist" section contains not a single negative review, sometimes cherry-picking from the reviews. Not the main issue of course. I think the article on Benjamin Grosvenor, could be a good mold for this one as a structure. The year by year chronological summary is overly detailed and contains much information that is arguably not noteworthy (compare with Vladimir Horowitz). There are too many direct quotes from Tao incorporated in the article as well, adding to the bulk. Weighedlocust (talk) 13:33, 23 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Would suggest splitting up sections between his work as composer versus performer. Take out the album reviews, reviews of individual performances, and reduce the exhaustive listing of performances in general. Weighedlocust (talk) 13:47, 23 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Did some initial edits trimming the amount of direct quotes from reviewers and Tao himself. On a personal note, I hope it makes Tao look more legit, because even Gustav Mahler only gets a section by decade, instead of this year-by-year performance-by-performance overview that just smells of an over-eager promotor having written it. Not that there is evidence of the latter. I welcome changes to my edits. Weighedlocust (talk) 14:09, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

The examples you give are poor quality articles. For good examples of composer-pianists, see Charles-Valentin Alkan, Walter Bache, Alan Bush, Claude Debussy, Hector Berlioz, Felix Mendelssohn, Leo Ornstein, Francis Poulenc, and Maurice Ravel. I took a quick look at some of the changes you made, and I strongly disagree with them, including the addition of a WP:DISINFOBOX. Let's discuss below particular changes you think would be helpful, and lets see if we and other editors can come to a WP:CONSENSUS. But I can't imagine why you would want to remove a review of the U.S. premiere of Tao's composition "Fantasy-Sonata". -- Ssilvers (talk) 00:59, 24 February 2021 (UTC)


 * It is necessary that a consensus should be reached before major deletions are made - especially for such sweeping changes. Jack1956 (talk) 01:12, 24 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I agree, however I don't want to spend any more time on this. It requires a competent and experienced editor who knows how to argue for the changes and see them through. I am sadly not that. This article makes Conrad look like a hack and he's a serious and important new voice. It's far too long, and all the quotes by Tao himself as well as the fact that everything is intermingled makes it a mess. I would suggest to anyone taking it up to put things in clear sections: discography and critical reception in one, career as a pianist, career as a composer. Perhaps a section on reception in those fields. And then a section on style.


 * This article is almost exhaustive in the way it treats his oeuvre as a composer, as if every single composition is noteworthy (as far as I understand it, "Fantasy-Sonata" isn't a major work of his, but I am not a musicologist). The exhaustive listing of all of his public performances is just a mess as well, they're not all newsworthy, nor do they all need to be accompanied by a full quote of praise (ignoring any qualifiers or negative reviews). It is properly sourced, but needs an editor to cut through what is really relevant. The article should reflect that he is at this point becoming an established pianist and composer, and not a promotional billboard that happens to properly referenced.


 * An simple thing to start with: that quote box with something he said in 2010 ("It isn't always easy to be an active performer as well as a student" etc.), why is that encyclopedic or relevant? Weighedlocust (talk) 05:13, 24 February 2021 (UTC)


 * User:Weighedlocust, I agree that the quotebox is no longer important, and I have deleted it. What next?   -- Ssilvers (talk) 04:26, 25 February 2021 (UTC)
 * @Ssilvers you can't seriously believe this page looks good. You refuse to use an infobox (a pretty standard inclusion in established articles), either take the time to clean the article up to a standard level or let others takeover, instead of just coming to revert everyone's edits... Nswix (talk) 02:52, 2 December 2022 (UTC)

I have hardly touched this article in years. No one who commented above did any research and useful writing. If anyone did so, it would stick. Infoboxes are not helpful in most arts article. See Signpost report: "Infoboxes may be particularly unsuited to liberal arts fields when they repeat information already available in the lead section of the article, are misleading or oversimplify the topic for the reader". -- Ssilvers (talk) 04:38, 2 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I'm going thorough the article to streamline the earlier sections and add updates. -- Ssilvers (talk) 06:14, 3 December 2022 (UTC)

External links modified
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I have just modified 10 external links on Conrad Tao. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120517012553/http://www.presidentialscholars.org/scholars_state2.asp?school_state=NY&offset=75 to http://www.presidentialscholars.org/scholars_state2.asp?school_state=NY&offset=75
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 * Added tag to http://www.azmusicfest.org/AZMfst11-Conrad_Tao.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120419212819/http://oregonmusicnews.com/2011/06/27/gilmore-young-artists-awards-announced/ to http://oregonmusicnews.com/2011/06/27/gilmore-young-artists-awards-announced/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130508155858/http://conradtao.com/calendar/history to http://conradtao.com/calendar/history
 * Added archive https://archive.is/20130415071552/http://www.jaxsymphony.org/news/Shostakovich-Triumphant.html to http://www.jaxsymphony.org/news/Shostakovich-Triumphant.html
 * Added tag to http://conradtao.com/archives/771
 * Added tag to http://palmbeachartspaper.com/2044-conrad-tao-bringing-back-the-composer-performer.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131109162202/http://www.nordkurier.de/cmlink/nordkurier/lokales/waren/musik-mit-puppenspieler-1.596464?localLinksEnabled=false to http://www.nordkurier.de/cmlink/nordkurier/lokales/waren/musik-mit-puppenspieler-1.596464?localLinksEnabled=false
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120617043805/http://audaud.com/2012/04/emi-classics-digital-debut-series-downloads-only-paul-appleby-tenor-sean-lee-violin-conrad-tao-piano-itunes/ to http://audaud.com/2012/04/emi-classics-digital-debut-series-downloads-only-paul-appleby-tenor-sean-lee-violin-conrad-tao-piano-itunes/
 * Added archive https://archive.is/20130629030911/http://www.emiclassicsus.com/releases/conrad-tao-voyages/ to http://www.emiclassicsus.com/releases/conrad-tao-voyages/

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More recent features about Tao

 * May, Thomas. "Conrad Tao Is Reshaping the Image of the Piano Virtuoso for the 21st Century", Playbill, March 6, 2018
 * "Conrad Tao Was Never Just Another Prodigy", The New York Times, November 19, 2019
 * Grella, George. "Conrad Tao — the classical pianist making it up as he goes along", Financial Times, November 4, 2022 -- Ssilvers (talk) 15:55, 21 March 2024 (UTC)