Inon Barnatan, piano

Inon Barnatan returns to the Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center on Friday, January 29, 2027, for a piano recital that centers on Chopin. It's part of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society's Elaine Kligerman Piano Recital Series, and it marks Barnatan's return to the society.

The program is built around Chopin's ballades, and he's playing four of them: the Ballade in G Minor, Op. 23; the Ballade in A-flat Major, Op. 47; the Ballade in F Major, Op. 38; and the Ballade in F Minor, Op. 52. Between those, he's weaving in other composers who worked in similar territory. There are three selected nocturnes by John Field and the Nocturne, Op. 33 by Samuel Barber, and three selected mazurkas by Karol Szymanowski alongside three selected mazurkas by Thomas Adès. It's a Chopin-heavy night, but the ballades are the spine.

Barnatan has a reputation for how he handles Chopin. The New York Times called him one of the most admired pianists of his generation, and his Chopin is noted for a delicate touch, structural clarity, and a light, bouncy feel. He describes Chopin's work as sentiment without sentimentality—very beautiful and touching. The New Yorker has praised his sensitivity, Le Figaro his musicality and phrasing, and The Evening Standard called him a true poet of the keyboard. He's as comfortable as a soloist as he is in chamber music, and he's known as a multifaceted musician.

If you want more than just the recital, there's a pre-concert talk with Jeffrey Kallberg at 6:30 PM in Comcast Circle, an hour before the music starts. The recital itself begins at 7:30 PM at the Perelman Theater, 300 South Broad Street.