EPSG:4326

Certificate Recital: Tim Manley, Voice

Princeton University

Certificate Recital: Kimberly Shen, Piano

Certificate Recital: Aster Zhang, Cello

Certificate Recital: Albert Zhou, Viola

Considered to be “the most influential jazz pianist of the last 20 years” (The New York Times) with the touch of Bill Evans, range of Keith Jarrett, and innovation of Chick Corea, Brad Mehldau is one of the greatest musical giants of our time. The 2020 GRAMMY-winner is perhaps most well-known for his stunning improvisations that transcend genre through their combination of jazz exploration, classical romanticism, and pop allure. His latest suite, 14 Reveries for Piano, brings together the dichotomy of his musical personality as both improviser and structural genius – the work is a meditation on the space a composer leaves between specific directions that lets the beauty of the music reveal itself, while still allowing new discovery. As he most often performs with his celebrated trio, this solo recital is a rare opportunity to hear this legendary pure voice as both musician and composer uninterrupted.

Brad Mehldau, Piano

Alexander Hall

One of the most remarkable individuals of our time, pianist Hélène Grimaud is as renowned for her heartfelt, poetic interpretations and dazzling technical prowess as she is for her profound work as a conservationist and human rights activist—distinctions for which she received the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest order of merit. She is an artist who defies all categorization, and fittingly brings a program that celebrates the unexpected for her long-awaited PUC debut—Beethoven’s most intimate yet revolutionary Sonata Op. 109, and Busoni’s transformative transcription of Bach’s beloved Chaconne, intended to “remove the dust of tradition.” At the core of the program are two pillars of the piano repertoire by Brahms, a composer especially close to Grimaud’s heart for his ability to, in her words, “always create a moment when time stops.” We have no doubt that she will cast her own timeless spell through every note of this unmissable recital, sharing her trademark ability to make these familiar works sound new once more.

Hélène Grimaud, Piano

Whatever your preconceptions of the harpsichord may be, Jean Rondeau will undoubtedly shatter them all as he takes us to Parnassus, the mythological mountain home of the Muses. Leading the charge of a new generation of keyboardists (including as a founding member of the Jupiter Ensemble, which made a rousing debut in our 2022-23 season), he makes his inaugural PUC appearance with a program exploring the stunning range of the harpsichord. Through works spanning the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—much of it originally written for the piano—this “champion of his instrument” (Le Temps) asks us to consider what piano repertoire might illuminate about the harpsichord, and what the harpsichord might reveal about music composed for the piano. 

Jean Rondeau, Harpsichord

Breathe in sound and silence through guided meditation as you listen to music more viscerally than ever before, meditating to the playing of harpsichordist Jean Rondeau, guided by Matthew Weiner, Associate Dean in the Princeton University Office of Religious Life. This is a FREE, unticketed opportunity to indulge in attentive, focused, and mindful listening.

Live Music Meditation: Jean Rondeau, Harpsichord

Join the Princeton Flute Studio for an evening of flute music featuring Yevgeny Morozov, pianist! The recital is free and open to the public. The students will be performing works by Hindemith, Enesco, Burton, Telemann, and more.

Princeton Flute Studio Recital

Lewis Arts Complex

Jamie Feder ’23 (Voice, Mezzo-soprano) performs a senior recital.

Certificate Recital: Jamie Feder, Voice

Taplin Auditorium

The Slavic Department and the Program in Russian, Eastern European and Eurasian Studies present a one hour recital with pianist Francine Kay featuring works by Dvořák, Suk, Kaprálová, Silvestrov and Chopin. Admission is free, but the audience is requested to donate to humanitarian relief for Ukraine.

Music From Eastern Europe

Lawrence Brownlee has been a regular at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and the Royal Opera House—and now, back by popular demand, at Princeton University Concerts. His voice—“an instrument of great beauty and expression” (NPR Music)—has been as celebrated for its power on the world’s greatest opera stages as it has been for its leadership within conversations about activism and diversity within classical music. The captivating tenor combines both talents into a new song cycle championing black writers and composers, presenting texts drawn from the Harlem Renaissance set to music by today’s premiere composers including Carlos Simon, Shann Ohkpeblo, Damien Sneed, and Princeton University’s own Jessie Montgomery.

Lawrence Brownlee, Tenor & Kevin J. Miller, Piano

Richardson Auditorium

Lawrence Brownlee has been a regular at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and the Royal Opera House—and now, back by popular demand, at Princeton University Concerts. His voice—“an instrument of great beauty and expression” (NPR Music)—has been as celebrated for its power on the world’s greatest opera stages as it has been for its leadership within conversations about activism and diversity within classical music. The captivating tenor combines both talents into a new song cycle championing black writers and composers, presenting texts drawn from the Harlem Renaissance set to music by today’s premiere composers including Jasmine Barnes, Margaret Bonds, Shawn Ohkpeblo, and Damien Sneed.

“Every day of my life that I am allowed to play Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and the music of our own time,” says piano legend Mitsuko Uchida, “is a gift from somewhere. If heaven existed, it’s heaven.” To have this extraordinary musician back to perform Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas is, indeed, a musical heaven—an exquisite combination of monumental music performed by one of the most revered artists of our time. Of all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, the final three are especially hallowed for the astonishing emotional ground that they cover, from utter anguish to complete exhilaration, communicated through breathtaking virtuosity. To hear Beethoven’s final thoughts on the piano sonata as a genre in Uchida’s venerated hands is a defining moment in Princeton University Concerts’ 129-year history.

Princeton University Concerts: Mitsuko Uchida, Piano

“Every day of my life that I am allowed to play Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and the music of our own time,” says piano legend Mitsuko Uchida, “is a gift from somewhere. If heaven existed, it’s heaven.” For us, to have this extraordinary musician back to perform Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas is, indeed, a musical heaven—an exquisite combination of monumental music performed by one of the most revered artists of our time. Of all of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, the final three are especially hallowed for the astonishing emotional ground that they cover, from utter anguish to complete exhilaration, communicated through breathtaking virtuosity. To hear Beethoven’s final thoughts on the piano sonata as a genre in Uchida’s venerated hands is a defining moment in PUC’s 129-year history.

Mitsuko Uchida, Piano

19th-century composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov once said that “all modern music owes everything to J. S. Bach.” In the hands of 28-year-old trailblazing violinist Alexi Kenney, the recipient of a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant and 2020 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, this concept takes on an extended timelessness within the framework of 21st-century music. The spiritual overtones of Bach’s music transform within the echoes of chanting monks incorporated into Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun’s recent work for violin and tape; Bach’s ability to speak to the universality of grief deepens the poignancy of Matthew Burtner’s musical meditation on climate change and the future of life on our planet. As Mr. Kenney thoughtfully shares: “my hope is that through the course of the program, each piece enlivens those around it, framing Bach in a new light and placing contemporary violin works in context—and showing that art need not be defined by era to express our shared humanity.”

Alexi Kenney, Violin

19th-century composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov once said that “all modern music owes everything to J. S. Bach.” In the hands of 29-year-old trailblazing violinist Alexi Kenney, the recipient of a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant and 2020 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award, this concept takes on an extended timelessness within the framework of 21st-century music. The spiritual overtones of Bach’s music transform within the echoes of chanting monks incorporated into Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Du Yun’s recent work for violin and tape; Bach’s ability to speak to the universality of grief deepens the poignancy of Matthew Burtner’s musical meditation on climate change and the future of life on our planet. As Mr. Kenney thoughtfully shares: “my hope is that through the course of the program, each piece enlivens those around it, framing Bach in a new light and placing contemporary violin works in context—and showing that art need not be defined by era to express our shared humanity.”

Superstar Joyce DiDonato invites us back to the Garden of Eden through this groundbreaking, through-performed, theatrical program that spans four centuries of music exploring our relationship with the natural world. Joined by the award-winning Il Pomo d’Oro orchestra conducted by Zefira Valova, she lends her celebrated voice to questions at the very core of our existence as channeled through composers including Handel, Gluck, Wagner, Mahler, Ives, Copland, and Oscar-winner Rachel Portman (Emma). “With each passing day,” DiDonato shares, “I trust more and more in the perfect balance, astonishing mystery and guiding force of the natural world around us, how much Mother Nature has to teach us. EDEN is an invitation to return to our roots and to explore whether or not we are connecting as profoundly as we can to the pure essence of our being, to create a new EDEN from within and plant seeds of hope for the future.” The evening will also feature a guest appearance by the Princeton Girlchoir.

Recital events in Princeton, NJ

Certificate Recital: Tim ...

Princeton University Music Department

Certificate Recital: Kimb...

Princeton University Music Department

Certificate Recital: Aste...

Princeton University Music Department

Certificate Recital: Albe...

Princeton University Music Department

Brad Mehldau, Piano

Princeton University Concerts

Hélène Grimaud, Piano

Princeton University Concerts

Jean Rondeau, Harpsichord...

Princeton University Concerts

Live Music Meditation: Je...

Princeton University Concerts

Princeton Flute Studio Re...

Princeton University Music Department

Certificate Recital: Jami...

Princeton University Music Department

Music From Eastern Europe...

Princeton University Music Department

Lawrence Brownlee, Tenor ...

Princeton University Music Department

Lawrence Brownlee, Tenor ...

Princeton University Concerts

Princeton University Conc...

Princeton University Music Department

Mitsuko Uchida, Piano

Princeton University Concerts

Alexi Kenney, Violin

Princeton University Music Department

Alexi Kenney, Violin

Princeton University Concerts

Joyce DiDonato: EDEN

Princeton University Concerts