As we conclude our 2025–26 season, we’re excited to welcome internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Makoto Ozone to the Hilbert Circle Theatre stage. Joining Music Director Jun Märkl for Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Ozone brings a perspective shaped by both classical and jazz traditions, one that embraces discovery, spontaneity, and a deep respect for the music on the page.
While many listeners know the work for its soaring 18th Variation, Ozone finds himself drawn to the moments leading up to it.
“The 18th Variation is probably the most well-known and loved movement,” he says. “But the part I really love is the 17th Variation. I’d say, if you can play the 17th Variation in the way it’s supposed to be played, you don’t have to do anything on that famous 18th Variation.”
For Ozone, the connection between those two variations reveals the brilliance of Rachmaninoff’s writing.
“How those two movements are connected is probably the part I love the most and where I really respect the genius of this magnificent composition.”
Though best known for his work in both the classical and jazz worlds, Ozone sees a strong connection between the two traditions, particularly through Rachmaninoff’s influence on generations of jazz musicians.
“I discovered how deeply and sincerely we ‘jazz guys’ have been influenced by Rachmaninoff’s harmonies,” he says. “When I played this piece for the first time, and even more so the Second Piano Concerto, I realized how much his harmonic language shaped jazz music.”
Ozone even points to a possible jazz connection within the Rhapsody itself, noting that he has heard the 15th Variation may have been inspired by legendary pianist Art Tatum. As he prepares for this week’s performances, he continues exploring how that connection might be reflected in his interpretation.
The season finale will also feature Ozone’s own composition, O’berek, inspired by the traditional Polish dance known as the Oberek.
“When I played a traditional Oberek for the first time in Poland with the genius composer and singer Anna Maria Jopek, I completely fell in love with its passion and energy,” Ozone says. “So I wanted to write and express my own passion my way.”
That spirit of passion and discovery is central to Ozone’s approach to performing. While he strives to remain faithful to the composer’s intentions, he also embraces the spontaneity that can emerge in live performance.
“Sometimes I start hearing what’s not written, and when that happens, I will let the music play me,” he says. “Such as life, we go on the unrevealed journey together once the music starts.”
For audiences attending our season finale, Ozone hopes to offer something more than a performance of familiar music. He aims to share his own unique perspective on the works, creating an experience that exists only in that moment.
“What the audience is going to hear is not what I am playing. It’s what I am hearing from the notes I am playing,” he says. “I always try to bring a brand-new energy into the piece.”
As we close another remarkable season, Ozone’s philosophy feels especially fitting. Each concert is a singular experience shared between musicians and audience, a reminder of what makes live performance so powerful.
“Whether you love it or hate it,” he says, “you can only listen to it once in a lifetime.”
Join us June 18–20 as Jun Märkl, Makoto Ozone, and the ISO bring the 2025–26 season to a close with Britten’s Soirées Musicales, Ozone’s O’berek, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, “Spring.”