PORTLAND – Ingrid Fliter, a fiery young Argentine pianist, will perform works by Franz Schubert, Ludwig von Beethoven and Frédéric Chopin Wednesday, Feb. 6, at Merrill Auditorium.

The solo recital at 7:30 p.m. will kick off the 2008 series of classical music performances presented by PCA Great Performances.

Fliter, a 35-year-old native of Argentina now living in Milan, is the most recent winner of the $300,000 Gilmore Artist Award, known as the “stealth” award because the artists do not know they have been nominated or are being judged. Fliter is the first woman to receive this highly prized honor.

Her piano playing is passionate and evocative, flecked with imagination. The London Daily Telegraph described her talent as “a fusion of poetry and dynamism.”

Fliter’s Feb. 6 program includes Schubert’s Impromptu Op 90 (Nos 1 and 2), Beethoven’s Sonata No. 31 in A-flat Major (Op 110), and Chopin’s Nocturne Op 27 No 2 and Sonata No 3 in B minor (Op 58).

A free, precurtain lecture by Dr. David Ober, titled “Passionate about the Piano,” will be held at 6 p.m. in the Green Room. It will offer insights into Fliter’s program.

Concert tickets are $38, $10 for students. Tickets are available through PortTix, the box office at Merrill Auditorium; by calling 842-0800; and at pcagreatperformances.org.