Jeremy Denk: Carnegie Hall recital, NSO collaboration, & more
This season, Jeremy Denk – “one of the most interesting pianists around” (Washington Post) – launches a new solo recital program of Brahms and Liszt, at such venues as the main stage of Carnegie Hall, the Celebrity Series of Boston, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, and London’s Wigmore Hall. He undertakes Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 with the Toronto and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and at Carnegie Hall; and joins Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra for Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major under the direction of composer/conductor John Adams. After opening his 2012-13 season on tour with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Denk rejoins the company in December to perform Bach’s complete keyboard concertos at Alice Tully Hall, and looks forward to further chamber collaborations with Steven Isserlis, Stefan Jackiw, Edward Arron, and the Tokyo String Quartet. He is currently at work on the libretto for a semi-satirical opera by Steven Stucky, to premiere at the 2014 Ojai Music Festival, where Denk will serve as artistic director.
Denk has long drawn admiration for creative and ambitious recital programs that “scale the Everests of the solo literature” (Washington Post), and have notably included unexpectedly inspired pairings – such as Ligeti’s formidable Études with Beethoven’s final Piano Sonata – that offer a musical experience that is more than just the sum of its parts. In the coming season, the pianist introduces a new lineup of music by Brahms and Liszt, traditionally regarded as heading the warring conservative and radical factions of German Romanticism; Denk says he hopes to showcase the “musical enemies playing together nicely.” After inaugurating the program in Philadelphia on October 30, he reprises it for his UK recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall on November 7; his first appearance at Jordan Hall, in Boston’s Celebrity Series on March 2; as well as engagements in Harrisburg, PA, Fresno, CA, Los Alamos, NM, Stamford, CT, and Blacksburg, VA. He will also offer the program on Carnegie Hall’s main stage – the Stern Auditorium – on March 22, two years after making his solo recital debut there, in a performance the New York Times said “was something special.”
Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 figures prominently in Denk’s programming over the coming season, in concerts with the San Diego Symphony under its music director, Jahja Ling (Dec 14-16); with the Toronto Symphony led by the Canadian Opera Company’s Johannes Debus (Jan 9 & 10); with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, where he will conduct from the keyboard in the orchestra’s “Mozart the Transcendent” series (Feb 21-23); and with the ensemble from Denk’s alma mater – the Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra – for the first of his upcoming appearances at Carnegie Hall (Jan 19). He closes the season with another orchestral engagement, performing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC, under the direction of John Adams (May 30-June 1). After a previous collaboration, the eminent composer/conductor described working with Denk as “pure pleasure,” adding: “He seems to be able to play anything, making it feel effortless and finding the essence of what the composer imagines.”
As a New Yorker and an avid chamber musician, Denk is no stranger to the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. The pianist will play five concerts on tour with the company, offering chamber works by Bruch, Brahms, and Dohnányi (Oct 6-13), besides headlining a program of Bach’s complete keyboard concertos at Alice Tully Hall (Dec 2 & 4). Additional chamber collaborations include dates with the Tokyo String Quartet in Sarasota, FL (Jan 14), and with cellist Steven Isserlis in Oberlin (Feb 5 & 6) and at New York’s 92nd Street Y, where the two have frequently appeared together (Feb 3 & 11).
The 2011-12 season proved to be a banner year for Denk. He returned to Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s led by Roger Norrington, and made his Chicago Symphony debut playing Beethoven with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas; the Chicago Tribune praised his “formidable technique … intellectual rigor and emotional depth.” Another highlight was a return to the San Francisco Symphony for its “American Mavericks” festival, in San Francisco and on tour at Carnegie Hall and in Ann Arbor, where they recorded Cowell’s Piano Concerto for future release. Denk also plans to record Bach’s Goldberg Variations this winter for Nonesuch Records; his label debut, Ligeti/Beethoven, was featured on Fresh Air with Terry Gross and inspired a BBC Music review that concluded: “All in all, it’s a marvel.” Described by the New Yorker’s Alex Ross as “simply one of the most interesting writers I know,” the pianist has long received high praise for his self-written liner notes, as well as for his blog, Think Denk. The past year saw his writing horizons expand exponentially, with his work being published in Newsweek, the New Yorker, and the New York Times.
More information on Denk’s upcoming engagements can be found below, and further details are available on his web site, jeremydenk.net.
Jeremy Denk: upcoming engagements, 2012-13
Oct 6; Lewiston, ME
Olin Arts Center
Bruch: Selections from 8 Pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83
Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat, Op. 40
Dohnányi: Sextet for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, and cello in C, Op. 37
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Touring Group
Oct 8; Clemson, SC
Clemson University (Brooks Center Theatre)
Bruch: Selections from 8 Pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83
Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat, Op. 40
Dohnányi: Sextet for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, and cello in C, Op. 37
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Touring Group
Oct 11; Charlotte, NC
Halton Theater
Bruch: Selections from 8 Pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83
Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat, Op. 40
Dohnányi: Sextet for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, and cello in C, Op. 37
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Touring Group
Oct 12; Vienna, VA
The Barns at Wolf Trap
Bruch: Selections from 8 Pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83
Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat, Op. 40
Dohnányi: Sextet for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, and cello in C, Op. 37
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Touring Group
Oct 13; Kansas City, MO
Folly Theater
Bruch: Selections from 8 Pieces for clarinet, viola, and piano, Op. 83
Brahms: Horn Trio in E-flat, Op. 40
Dohnányi: Sextet for piano, clarinet, horn, violin, viola, and cello in C, Op. 37
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center Touring Group
Oct 21; West Orange, NJ
Sunday Musical
Oct 30; Philadelphia, PA
Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
Nov 7; London, UK
Wigmore Hall
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
Nov 10-11; Purchase, NY
The Performing Arts Center at Purchase College
Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
Westchester Philharmonic / Tito Munoz
Dec 2 & 4; New York, NY
Alice Tully Hall
Bach: Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052
Concerto in E, BWV 1053
Concerto in D, BWV 1054
Concerto in A, BWV 1055
Concerto in F minor BWV 1056
Concerto in G minor BWV 1058
Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
Dec 14-16; San Diego, CA
Copley Symphony Hall
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21
San Diego Symphony / Jahja Ling
Jan 9-10: Toronto, Ontario
Roy Thomson Hall
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21
Toronto Symphony Orchestra / Johannes Debus
Jan 12; Los Alamos, NM
Duane Smith Auditorium
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
Jan 14: Sarasota, FL
Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall
With Tokyo String Quartet
Jan 19; New York, NY
Carnegie Hall
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21
Oberlin Conservatory Orchestra
Jan 26; Stamford, CT
Palace Theatre
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
Jan 27; Schenectady, NY
Memorial Chapel
Feb 3; New York, NY
92nd Street Y (Kaufmann Concert Hall)
With Steven Isserlis, cello
Feb 5-6; Oberlin, OH
Finney Chapel, Oberlin College and Conservatory
With Steven Isserlis, cello
Feb 9-10; Princeton, NJ
Westminster Choir College
Feb 11; New York, NY
92nd Street Y (Kaufmann Concert Hall)
With Steven Isserlis, cello
Feb 21-23; St. Paul, MN
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21
Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Feb 27; Austin, TX
University of Texas at Austin (Bass Concert Hall)
March 2; Boston, MA
Jordan Hall
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
Celebrity Series of Boston
March 9; Santa Barbara, CA
University of California at Santa Barbara Arts and Lectures (Campbell Hall)
March 12; La Jolla, CA
The Auditorium of TSRI (formerly The Neurosciences Institute)
Beethoven: Piano Trio in B-flat, “Archduke”
March 13; Fresno, CA
Fresno Concert Hall (East Music Building)
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
March 16; Morrow, GA
Spivey Hall at Clayton University
March 19; Rochester, NY
Kilbourn Hall at Eastman School of Music
March 20; Harrisburg, PA
Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
March 22; New York, NY
Carnegie Hall (Isaac Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage)
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
March 23; Richmond, VA
Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall at VCU’s W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts
March 24; Blacksburg, VA
The Lyric Theatre
Liszt: Tres Sonetti del Petrarca, S. 161
Fantasy and Fugue on the name BACH, S. 529
Après une lecture de Dante, Fantasia quasi Sonata
Liszt/Wagner: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde
Brahms: Sechs Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35
April 6-7; Las Cruces, NM
NMSU Atkinson Music Recital Hall
Beethoven: “Triple” Concerto
With Steven Jackiw (violin) and Edward Arron (cello)
April 11; Madison, WI
Wisconsin Union Theater, Mills Hall
May 30-June 1: Washington, DC
The Kennedy Center, Concert Hall
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
National Symphony Orchestra / John Adams
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