Peter Hill in New York

In the next couple of weeks there will be a crazed logjam of concerts in New York: the fourteen events of the SONiC Festival (starting tonight), the London Symphony's Missa Solemnis and War Requiem (kicking off White Light), Fabio Luisi's Met Orchestra concert, a Yuja Wang recital (you might have first read about her in the New Yorker), a free concert by Jordi Savall with Juilliard415, Paul Lewis's Schubert, the annual Vänskä visitation, an Ekmeles exploration of microtonal Gesualdo, a Parthenia program of modern pieces for viols, and so forth. On Sunday, there's a painful conflict between the JACK Quartet's SONiC marathon and a rare appearance by the severely undersung British pianist Peter Hill at Poisson Rouge. Hill's major achievement to date is his epic survey of the complete piano music of Messiaen, for the late, great Unicorn-Kanchana label (the discs were later reissued by Regis); no pianist in my experience has gone deeper into Messiaen's world. Hill is also the co-author, with Nigel Simeone, of the definitive Messiaen biography. At Poisson Rouge he'll offer a program of Messiaen, Takemitsu, and Bach. Tickets are $20.