PHOTOS AND B-ROLL

HOUSTON (April 9, 2026) –

Pianist Orli Shaham joins the Houston Symphony’s April 18 and 19 performances of John Adams’s Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? Shaham replaces the previously announced Víkingur Ólafsson, who has withdrawn from this and other upcoming engagements for health reasons. Ólaffson’s recital on April 17 is cancelled.

April 18 and 19, Shaham joins a program conducted by the dean of American composers, John Adams, leading an all-American program comprising Ives’s The Unanswered Question, Copland’s iconic Appalachian Spring, and Adams’s own Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?, and The Rock You Stand On.

Acclaimed world-wide for her appearances with major orchestras and her busy recital schedule, Orli Shaham’s 2025–26 season engagements include Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto at the Classical Tahoe Festival, performances of Light Forming by David Robertson with St. Louis and Nashville symphonies, and the premiere of a concerto for violin and piano by Reena Esmail Shaham commissioned with her brother, the violinist Gil Shaham, with the National and Virginia symphonies.

Tickets to Adams Conducts Adams & Appalachian Spring, featuring Orli Shaham, as well as the rest of the Houston Symphony’s 2025–26 Season, are available at houstonsymphony.org, by phone or text at 713-224-7575, or in person at the Houston Symphony’s Courtyard Level box office at Jones Hall.

To exchange April 17 recital tickets for a future performance, donate tickets, or obtain a refund, contact the Houston Symphony Patron Services Center at 713-224-7575, or PatronServices@houstonsymphony.org.

Adams Conducts Adams & Appalachian Spring

April 18 and 19, 2026

Jones Hall for the Performing Arts

John Adams, conductor

Orli Shaham, piano

Ives: The Unanswered Question

1. Adams: Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes?
2. Adams: The Rock You Stand On

Copland: Appalachian Spring

About Orli Shaham

A consummate musician recognized for her grace, subtlety, and brilliance, the pianist Orli Shaham is hailed by critics on four continents. The New York Times called her a “brilliant pianist,” The Chicago Tribune referred to her as “a first-rate Mozartean,” and London’s Guardian said Ms. Shaham’s playing at the Proms was “perfection.”

Orli Shaham has performed with many of the major orchestras around the world, and has appeared in recital internationally, from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney Opera House. She is Artistic Director of Pacific Symphony’s chamber series Café Ludwig in California since 2007 and was Artist in Residence at Vancouver Symphony (USA) in 2022-2024.

Highlights of Ms. Shaham’s 2025-2026 concert season include Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto at the Classical Tahoe Festival, performances of Light Forming by David Robertson with St. Louis and Nashville symphonies, and the premiere of a concerto for violin and piano by Reena Esmail she commissioned with her brother, the violinist Gil Shaham, with the National and Virginia symphonies.

In 2026, Orli Shaham releases an album of American chamber music with members of the Pacific Symphony, including works by Margaret Brouwer, Avner Dorman, Reena Esmail and Viet Cuong. Her 2024 box set of the complete sonatas by Mozart received accolades worldwide. Ms. Shaham’s discography also includes her acclaimed solo album, Brahms Inspired; John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music with the pianist Marc-André Hamelin and the San Francisco Symphony, with the composer conducting; and American Grace, featuring Steven Mackey’s Stumble to Grace, written for her, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Orli Shaham is on the piano and chamber music faculty at The Juilliard School and is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kaufman Music Center. She is a major presence on public radio as Co-Host and Creative for NPR’s From the Top and was host of Dial-a-Musician, a radio feature series she created. She is regularly featured on the popular music education platform Tonebase, including masterclasses on Mozart’s piano sonatas and a lecture-performance about Clara Schumann.

Orli Shaham is a Steinway Artist.

Orli Shaham appears by arrangement with Colbert Artists Management, Inc. www.colbertartists.com