PLAYING RACHMANINOFF: Pianist Dmitry Shiskin is the soloist in programs of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra at Richardson Auditorium on October 17 and 18. (Photo courtesy of Columbia Artists)

Award-winning pianist Dmitry Shishkin opens the Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s (PSO’s) 2026-27 Season at concerts the weekend of October 17-18. He will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 on a program showcasing members of the orchestra with Joan Tower’s Suite from Concerto for Orchestra and Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, BB 123.

The Saturday performance begins at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday’s 4 p.m. performance includes a 3 p.m. pre-concert talk. Music Director Rossen Milanov conducts both performances and hosts Sunday’s talk at Richardson Auditorium, on the campus of Princeton University.

“I look forward to welcoming Dmitry to Princeton. He is an artist with unique elegance, virtuosity, and musical conviction,” said Milanov.

Silver medalist at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition and winner of the 73rd Geneva International Music Competition, Shishkin has performed internationally at festivals such as Verbier; in recitals on the West Coast, East Asia, and Europe; and with orchestras including the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Santa Barbara Symphony, Bilkent Symphony, and the Real Orquesta Sinfonica de Sevilla. A native of Russia, the 34-year-old pianist began his studies at the Gnessin Moscow School of Music with Mikhail Khokhlov, continued at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Eliso Virsaladze, and later studied at the “Vincenzo Bellini” State Conservatory in Catania with Epifanio Comis, and at the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover with Arie Vardi. He is now based in Switzerland.

Visit princetonsymphony.org or call (609) 497-0020 for tickets.