Sala: University of Maryland: Clarice Smith PAC: Gildenhorn Recital Hall, College Park

For pianist Jeremy Denk, Ligeti’s Études have been a kind of musical calling card. On tour, he has paired the Hungarian composer’s revolutionary studies in virtuosic pianism with Bach’s Goldberg Variations, while Denk’s latest recording presents Books I and II of the Études as bookends to Beethoven’s final piano sonata.

Gloria Cheng is an uncommon artist. A specialist in contemporary piano literature, she has made a career championing new music and performing programs of adventurous (which is to say, esoteric) works. She is a frequent collaborator with some of the leading lights of contemporary music, including Pierre Boulez and Esa-Pekka Salonen.