By the Coral Gables Gazette staff
Romance in music does not depend on grand gestures. It lives in phrasing, in restraint, in the charged silence between notes. On Saturday, Dec. 20, audiences will encounter that kind of romance firsthand when American pianist Drew Petersen takes the stage at the University of Miami Knight Center for Music Innovation for The Keys to Romance: An Evening with Drew Petersen—a recital that traces a refined arc from Classical poise to Romantic abandon.
This program reads like a carefully composed narrative rather than a showcase of technical feats. Petersen opens with Mozart’s Sonata in C major, K. 330, a work prized for its clarity, grace, and deceptive simplicity. From there, he moves into Ravel’s Sonatine, a piece that bridges elegance and impressionistic color. The evening culminates in a Lisztian ascent: three Études de concert—Il Lamento, La Leggierezza, and Un Sospiro—followed by the volcanic Réminiscences de Don Juan, one of the most exhilarating paraphrases in the piano repertoire.
The progression mirrors Petersen’s own artistic identity. He is known less for bombast than for insight—for performances that balance intellect and lyricism, control and risk. In Coral Gables, that balance promises a recital that feels personal rather than performative.
A pianist who thinks in stories
Petersen has earned a reputation as one of the most compelling American pianists of his generation, praised for his poetic sensibility and wide-ranging repertoire. Based in the New York area, he is a sought-after soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, equally at home with Bach, Mozart, and the complexities of contemporary American composers.
His accolades mark him as an artist of national stature. He received the Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2018, one of classical music’s most significant endorsements of promise. The year before, he won the American Pianists Awards, along with the Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship, distinctions that recognize both technical mastery and artistic depth.
Yet what distinguishes Petersen most is not the résumé, but the coherence of his musical voice. Critics and audiences alike note his ability to make repertoire feel inevitable rather than impressive—to reveal why these works endure rather than merely how difficult they are.
From classical light to Romantic fire
The Mozart sonata that opens the evening exemplifies this approach. Sonata No. 10 in C major carries an almost conversational quality, requiring transparency of touch and an instinct for proportion. It rewards pianists who resist overstatement and instead allow the music’s inner logic to unfold naturally.
Ravel’s Sonatine shifts the emotional temperature. Its three compact movements demand tonal nuance, rhythmic elasticity, and a painter’s ear for color. In Petersen’s hands, the work becomes less an exercise in style and more a meditation on refinement—music that glows rather than dazzles.
Liszt’s presence in the second half redefines the terrain. The three Études de concert each explore a distinct expressive world, from lament to weightless agility to the suspended longing of Un Sospiro. They set the stage for Réminiscences de Don Juan, a piece that distills Mozart’s opera into a whirlwind of seduction, irony, and bravura. It is thrilling music, but it also requires narrative intelligence. Petersen’s interpretive discipline ensures that the fireworks serve the drama.
A career shaped by curiosity
Petersen’s artistic life reflects a broader curiosity about the world and music’s place within it. His debut solo recording—featuring works by Barber, Carter, and other American composers—was released on the Steinway & Sons label and drew international notice. BBC Music Magazine cited his emergence as that of a rising star, noting both his authority and individuality.
He has appeared frequently on national radio platforms, including From the Top, Performance Today, and McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase, and his work has been profiled by major publications such as The New York Times and New York Magazine. His story also appears in Andrew Solomon’s bestselling book Far From the Tree, where his inclusion sparked wider conversations about difference, talent, and the role of support in nurturing extraordinary children.
Education and advocacy form another pillar of his career. As a recipient of the Davidson Fellows Award, Petersen developed a project titled Keeping Classical Music Alive, aimed at expanding access to the arts. He has collaborated with Young Audiences New York to bring live classical performances into public schools, reinforcing his belief that music thrives when it is shared widely and generously.
A natural fit for City Beautiful
The UM Knight Center for Music Innovation provides an ideal setting for this recital. Intimate yet acoustically refined, the venue encourages attentive listening and connection between artist and audience. For Coral Gables—a city that values culture as part of daily life rather than a special occasion—the evening fits seamlessly into the broader arts calendar.
Petersen’s 2025–26 season includes recital appearances from San Diego to New Jersey, as well as concerto debuts with the Baltimore Symphony and Hartford Symphony. His Coral Gables appearance arrives at a moment when his career combines momentum with maturity—a point at which experience deepens expression rather than tempers it.
There is also something fitting about presenting a program centered on romance in a city shaped by Mediterranean ideals of beauty, proportion, and pleasure. This recital does not promise spectacle for its own sake. It promises immersion.
Event details
“The Keys to Romance: An Evening with Drew Petersen”
Performer: Drew Petersen, piano
Date: Saturday, December 20
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: UM Knight Center for Music Innovation
Address: 5513 San Amaro Drive, Coral Gables
Program:
– Mozart: Sonata in C major, K. 330
– Ravel: Sonatine
– Liszt: Trois Études de concert, S. 144
– Liszt: Réminiscences de Don Juan