Written September, 24, 2025

We start with clarinetist Anthony McGill, who will be making his Festival debut, playing Esa-Pekka’s gorgeous clarinet concerto, titled kinema, in its West Coast premiere performance. I first encountered Anthony when he was Principal Clarinet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra – the mesmerizing clarinet solos from the pit sent me scrambling for my program book to see who was playing! And I have frequently basked in Anthony’s playing in his current position as Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic. He played kinema at the New York Philharmonic in 2023 with Esa-Pekka conducting, marking the U.S. premiere of the work – it made a deep impression on me and I have ever since wanted our Ojai audience to experience this beautiful work with these same artists. 

By way of introduction, here is a wonderful video portrait of Anthony McGill:

Anthony has long been in demand as a soloist with major orchestras and at festivals around the world. His recordings of the Mozart and Brahms clarinet quintets with the Pacifica Quartet have become the standard bearer for a new generation of listeners and musicians. He has championed the work of both historical and contemporary Black composers, helping to create a broader understanding of and appreciation for the instrument and its repertoire.

One of the works which has become something of a signature for Anthony is Jessie Montgomery’s Peace, a deeply affecting work created in response to the composer’s isolation during the pandemic. Here is an introduction to the work, joined by pianist Gloria Chien.

And at a memorable concert which I attended at Summerfest in La Jolla, Anthony unforgettably paired the Montgomery Peace with the Abyss of the Birds, the profound solo clarinet movement from Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. Here is a video of that performance, with Anthony joined by pianist Conrad Tao.

As a teaser for the programs to in June 2026, I can tell you that Anthony will be playing the complete Messiaen quartet at Ojai with a stellar group of colleagues: violinist Geneva Lewis, cellist Jay Campbell, and pianist Conor Hanick.

Written February 5, 2026.

Pianist Conor Hanick, who last appeared as a member of the 2022 Festival with Music Director AMOC, rejoins us at the 2026 Festival (June 11 to 14). Hanick will be playing the first complete performance of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Six Piano Preludes, Messiaen’s masterpiece Quartet for the End of Time as the culmination of the Thursday night opening programs, as well as works by John Adams, Oliver Knussen, and Niccolo Castiglioni (one of the teachers of 2026 Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen). 

Conor is regarded as one of his generation’s most inquisitive interpreters of music new and old whose “technical refinement, color, crispness and wondrous variety of articulation benefit works by any master,” (The New York Times). He is the director of Solo Piano at the Music Academy of the West and serves on the faculty of The Juilliard School, the CUNY Graduate Center, and Mannes College at The New School.  If you appreciated his captivating rendition of Hans Otte’s The Book of Sounds performed at the 2022 Ojai Festival, Conor is in the process of releasing the piece in a new record. You can get a sneak peek listen here:

You can also enjoy Conor’s performance of one of Messiaen’s masterpieces here: