PIANIST PAUL LEWIS EXPLORES PIANO SONATAS AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS

PIANIST PAUL LEWIS

EXPLORES PIANO SONATAS

AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY CONCERTS

PRINCETON, NJ — On Thursday, November 6, 2025 at 7:30PM at Richardson Auditorium, Alexander Hall, acclaimed British pianist Paul Lewis will return to the Princeton University Concerts (PUC) series. In a solo program which Lewis is bringing only to PUC this touring season as he traces the evolution of the piano sonata from the 18^th century to the present day, Lewis places Austrian composer Thomas Larcher’s brand new Piano Sonata, commissioned in 2025 alongside Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 5 in C Minor, Op. 10, No. 1 and Schubert’s Piano Sonata No.21 in B-flat Major, D. 960.

“Paul Lewis has given some of the most unforgettable performances in our series’ recent history,” says PUC Director Marna Seltzer. “From his deeply moving solo and chamber recitals to his 2019 appearance with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), he’s built a meaningful connection with our audience. We’re thrilled to welcome him back this season, especially as ACO will also be returning in April—it feels like a beautiful full-circle moment. Paul’s recent focus on the late piano works of Schubert has been nothing short of revelatory, and we’re honored he’s chosen to bring this rare solo program to our stage.”

Tickets ($33-54 General/$11 Students) are almost sold out and expected to sell quickly; patrons are encouraged to buy them soon. Reduced cost tickets are available for those who qualify for PUC’s Admit All ticket access program for low-income patrons. Visit puc.princeton.edu or call 609.258.9220 for tickets.

In addition to exciting debuts, the 2025-26 PUC season includes the return of many fan-favorite musicians and ensembles from past seasons: mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato alongside Time for Three, appearing in a new program by Kevin Puts inspired by the poetry of Emily Dickinson (February 22, 2026), violist Tabea Zimmermann (March 19, 2026), violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja (March 26, 2026), the Ébène Quartet (April 8, 2026), the Australian Chamber Orchestra (April 23, 2026), and violinist Lisa Batiashvili (April 29 and 30, 2026).

ABOUT PAUL LEWIS

Paul Lewis is one of the foremost interpreters of the Central European piano repertoire, his performances and recordings of Beethoven and Schubert receiving universal critical acclaim. He was awarded CBE for his services to music, and the sincerity and depth of his musical approach have won him fans around the world. This global popularity is reflected in the world-class orchestras with whom he works, including Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, London Symphony, Philharmonia, Bavarian Radio Symphony, NHK Symphony, New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw and Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestras. His close relationship with Boston Symphony Orchestra led to his selection as the 2020 Koussevitzky Artist at Tanglewood.

Lewis often focuses on specific composers in projects that allow him to take audiences deep inside the works. In 2026 and 2027, he will tour his Mozart+ series around the world, juxtaposing Mozart’s lesser-known piano repertoire with works by composers such as Poulenc, Chopin and Weber, illuminating Mozart’s influences over subsequent generations, as well as shining a light on works that are often overshadowed by his concertos. Previously, between 2022 and 2025, Lewis embarked on a Schubert Piano Sonata Series, presenting four programs of the completed sonatas at over 40 venues around the world.

With a natural affinity for Beethoven, Lewis has performed the composer’s complete piano concerto cycle all over the world and was the first pianist to present it in a single BBC Proms season, in 2010. He has subsequently performed it in Tanglewood in 2022, Boston in 2023 with Andris Nelsons and Boston Symphony Orchestra, and in 2025 with Eivind Aadland and Oslo Philharmonic. He took part in the BBC’s three-part documentary “Being Beethoven.”

Beyond many award-winning Beethoven and Schubert recordings, his discography with Harmonia Mundi also demonstrates his characteristic depth of approach in Romantic repertoire such as Schumann, Mussorgsky, Brahms and Liszt. In March 2025 he gave the world premiere of Thomas Larcher’s Piano Sonata in Oviedo, Italy, and he continues to perform it around the world.

In chamber music, Lewis works closely with tenor Mark Padmore in lied recitals around the world – they have recorded three Schubert song cycles together – and he is co-Artistic Director of Midsummer Music, an annual chamber music festival held in Buckinghamshire, UK. In May 2025 he was the first non-American pianist to chair the jury of The Cliburn Piano Competition.

Awards

Royal Philharmonic Society Instrumentalist of the Year; two Edison awards; three Gramophone awards; Diapason d’Or de l’Annee; South Bank Show Classical Music Award; honorary degrees from Liverpool, Edge Hill and Southampton universities; appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours

Recital venues

Royal Festival Hall, Alice Tully, Carnegie Hall, Musikverein, Konzerthaus, Théâtre des Champs- Élysées, Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonie and Berlin Konzerthaus

Festivals

Tanglewood, Ravinia, Schubertiade, Edinburgh, Salzburg, Lucerne