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On Heels of Carnegie Hall Triumph, Jeremy Denk Returns as Writer to Pages of New Yorker
“Besides being a brilliant musician, Denk is simply one of the most interesting writers I know.”
– New Yorker music critic Alex Ross
The April 8 issue of the New Yorker presents a personal history by Jeremy Denk – his second contribution to the magazine – titled Every Good Boy Does Fine: A life in piano lessons. This full-length article appears days after the pianist’s main-stage solo recital at Carnegie Hall, where his “colossal interpretations conveyed the sense of composers grappling with the ineffable, inventing new vocabulary to express the inexpressible” (New York Times).
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Jeremy Denk joins violinist Joshua Bell for a special appearance on Michael Feinstein's American Songbook. In an episode entitled "On the Air," Feinstein looks back on the Golden Age of Radio, and recalls showcasing the virtuoso talents of Bell, Denk, and other classical superstars on his own NPR program. The episode will air on PBS at 9pm EST on Friday, April 12. Please check local listings; meanwhile, more information is available here.
Jeremy Denk, Featured in April's Vanity Fair, Gives Main-Stage Carnegie Hall Recital on March 22
Jeremy Denk, who returns to Carnegie Hall’s main stage on Friday, March 22, is the subject of a photo feature in the April issue of Vanity Fair. Foregrounding the exploratory nature of Denk’s vision, the article describes him as “a frontiersman” who has a way with “music that catalogues the known world before striking out into the wilderness.” The pianist’s upcoming Carnegie appearance represents one of the high points of a 13-city solo recital tour that has already inspired rapturous reviews. “Denk gave a revelatory performance,” proclaimed the Boston Globe, praising the “masterful maze” of his program, which connected composers who, in their time, “both embodied their present and anticipated the future.”
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Jeremy Denk’s Extensive Recital Tour Kicks into High Gear in March, with Solo Debut at Boston’s Jordan Hall and Return to Carnegie Hall
“A pianist you want to hear no matter what he performs, in whatever combination – both for his penetrating intellectual engagement with the music and for the generosity of his playing.”
– New York Times
Jeremy Denk’s far-reaching season kicks into high gear in the coming weeks when he makes his solo debut at Boston’s Jordan Hall (March 2) and returns to the main stage of New York’s Carnegie Hall (March 22), as two stops on a 13-city recital tour with a program of works by Bartók, Liszt, Bach, and Beethoven. The final piece on the program, Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111, can be heard on Denk’s first release for the Nonesuch label, which was named one of the best discs of 2012 by the New Yorker, NPR, and the Washington Post. Described as “a quintessential 21st-century performer” (Washington Post), the pianist also has chamber and concerto dates on the horizon, as well as a number of master classes.
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Jeremy Denk Performs with Oberlin Orchestra, Jan 19 at Carnegie Hall
Jeremy joins other distinguished Oberlin Conservatory alumni to perform with Oberlin students as part of their four-concert 2013 Illumination Tour in New York City. The tour culminates in a performance at Carnegie Hall on the evening of January 19 when the Oberlin Orchestra, directed by Raphael Jiménez, shines light on the Conservatory's top-tier orchestral program. The concert includes the New York premiere of Christopher Rouse's Iscariot and features Jeremy as soloist in Mozart's Piano Concerto in C Major, K 467. Ravel's La valse and the Suite from The Firebird fill out the repertoire. Tickets and more information available here.
Jeremy Denk returns to Toronto January 9 & 10 to perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21
The celebrated pianist, Jeremy Denk, performs Concerto No. 21, whose dreamy slow movement shot to fame as the theme from the film Elvira Madigan. This concert features the Toronto Symphony led by the Canadian Opera Company's Johannes Debus. Jeremy Denk recently performed Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 with the San Diego Symphony under its music director, Jahja Ling. James Chute of the San Diego Union Tribune remarked that "Denk's playing has a rare presence to it, a sense of being in the moment"… He continued "Everything was tasteful and elegant. Yet, even within Mozart's relatively tight stylistic boundaries, he played with a spirit of exploration. He kept you guessing about what he was going to do next — how he might shape a phrase, change dynamics, or pick up on the articulation of the orchestra in their musical conversation."
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 21
Wed. Jan. 9, 2013 at 6:30 pm and Thursday, Jan 10 at 2pm
Roy Thomson Hall
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More Best of 2012 Notices for Denk's Ligeti/Beethoven
Jeremy Denk's Nonesuch debut album, Ligeti/Beethoven, released in May 2012, continues to make its way onto numerous "best of 2012" lists. Along with recent picks by critics from the New Yorker, Washington Post, and NPR Music, Ronni Reich includes the album among the year's "bold performances" in her recap for Newark's Star-Ledger. Reich observes, "Jeremy Denk conquers the wild, devilishly difficult and unexpected turns of György Ligeti's etudes with stunning energy and imagination….Denk makes challenging material accessible, whether rapt in a meandering reflection or deliriously careening across the full range of the instrument. The music finds a surprisingly natural relative in Beethoven's Sonata No. 32, which Denk begins forcefully before beginning a captivatingly spun 'Arietta,' by turns tender and animated." Joining the chorus of praise is the UK's Arts Desk, which selected Ligeti/Beethoven as one of their top 12 classical releases of the year, noting, "This coupling of Beethoven's final, forward-looking sonata with Ligeti's Etudes is fascinating."
Ligeti/Beethoven chosen as one of NPR's Top Classical Albums of 2012
NPR announced their Top 10 Classical Albums of 2012, and Jeremy Denk's Ligeti/Beethoven was included on the list; Tom Huizenga writes, "Jeremy Denk is smart. Really smart… His performances of terrifyingly difficult music – like Ligeti's finger-crushing Etudes – seem as natural as the weather, but with a decidedly personal stamp… This coupling of Beethoven's final, forward-looking sonata with Ligeti's Etudes is fascinating." To see the full list, click here.
Ligeti/Beethoven included in New Yorker's Top 10 Classical Albums of 2012
Jeremy Denk's most recent recording, "Ligeti/Beethoven," was named one of the 10 notable recordings of 2012 by Alex Ross in his annual "best of" list for the New Yorker. Denk's album is the only solo piano disc that was chosen, alongside recordings by artists such as Joyce DiDonato, Claudio Abbado, and the Berlin Philharmonic. To read the full article, click here; to purchase the disc, click here.
Jeremy Denk reviews Paul Elie's "Reinventing Bach" in the December 6 issue of THE NEW REPUBLIC. The feature, listed with the title "The Pure and the Impure" on the magazine's cover, is Denk's first for the magazine, and is available on line here: http://bit.ly/TWWX79
Jeremy Denk's Philadelphia October 30 Concert Rescheduled to December 18
Due to Superstorm Sandy, Jeremy's sold-out October 30 concert at the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia was rescheduled to December 18. He will be playing a juxtaposition of Brahms, Liszt and Schumann pieces; a pre-concert lecture with Jeffrey Kallberg will be held at 6:45 PM. Please click here for more details.
Pianist Jeremy Denk Follows Critically-Acclaimed Ligeti/Beethoven CD with August Dates at Aspen, La Jolla, and Santa Fe Music Festivals
As he heads for summer festivals in Aspen, La Jolla, and Santa Fe, pianist Jeremy Denk continues to rack up critical praise for Ligeti/Beethoven, his highly successful inaugural recording for the Nonesuch label, released May 21. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote of the album: “The formidable pianist Jeremy Denk offers a meaty combination of György Ligeti’s Etudes and Beethoven’s final sonata, Op. 111. The argument he’s making is a compelling one, linking the timeless expansiveness of Beethoven’s late style with Ligeti’s way of getting at similar horizons by eliding the beginnings and endings of his short piano studies. … What emerges is sharp-edged, fierce and electrifying.” The Observer called the disc “dazzling,” while NPR’s Anastasia Tsioulcas praised the album, writing: “Denk plays masterfully, opening up each puzzle box in turn with vitality, wit and absolute assurance. He cares deeply and passionately about these pieces, however impenetrable they may seem at first listen – and, through him, so do we.” BBC Music recently named the album its “Instrumental Choice” of the month, giving it its top rating – five stars out of five for recording and performance. More
DENK PLAYS LIGETI/BEETHOVEN AT LE POISSON ROUGE ON MAY 21
Less than a week after he makes his Nonesuch label debut with Ligeti/Beethoven, Jeremy Denk will play most of the music featured on the new album in his debut at Le Poisson Rouge, New York's popular downtown music club. For ticket information visit: http://lepoissonrouge.com/events/view/3314
NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
Jeremy Denk's review of Bernie Krause's "The Great Animal Orchestra" appeared on the front page of the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW on Sunday, April 15, 2012.
Ligeti/Beethoven
Nonesuch Releases Label Debut from Pianist Jeremy Denk, Ligeti/Beethoven, on May 15.
Album features Ligeti's Piano Études Books One and Two and
Beethoven's Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111
THE NEW YORKER
Jeremy Denk's insider account of the pleasures/miseries/neuroses of making a recording. In The New Yorker: Flight of the Concord.
FRENCH IMPRESSIONS CD Now Available
Violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk offer a passionately nuanced interpretation of works by Saint-Saens, Ravel and Franck. Produced by multiple Grammy Award®-winner Steven Epstein, French Impressions features Camille Saint-Saens: Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano in D minor Op 75 (1885); César Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major (1886), and Maurice Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Piano (1927). Pre-order the album now and get an autographed booklet and an instant MP3 download of "César Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major (1886) Allegretto poco mosso"!