Jeremy Denk on “All Things Considered” today; at American Mavericks: NYC, March 26 & 30
As part of the final leg of the San Francisco Symphony’s American Mavericks U.S. tour, pianist Jeremy Denk returns to his home turf as part of this innovative festival celebrating our nation’s musical pioneers. Denk’s first New York performance takes place live and online, as part of An Evening of Music and Conversation with Michael Tilson Thomas on March 26, Q2 Music’s live video webcast exploring some of the groundbreaking American composers that have inspired American Mavericks. At the end of the week, on March 30, Denk will join members of the symphony during the tour’s final concert at Zankel Hall, performing Lukas Foss’s Echoi as part of an extraordinary evening of revolutionary chamber music. Additionally, Denk will fill out the week at WQXR’s Q2 Music, where he’ll offer his unique take on cutting-edge piano repertoire on the piano-centric show Hammered! (March 26–30). This afternoon Denk talks to NPR’s All Things Considered about the Goldberg Variations in this, Bach’s birthday week. The conversation will be available online later this evening at http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/.
Part of the San Francisco Symphony’s centennial celebration, American Mavericks kicked off on March 8 in San Francisco, where Denk performed works by Henry Cowell, including the composer’s Piano Concerto, which was recorded for release by the orchestra’s SFS Media label. Denk will also participate in a performance of Foss’s Echoi during the Ann Arbor stop on March 22.
Of his rendition of Cowell’s Piano Concerto on March 10 – the first time Denk ever performed the work – Richard Scheinin of the San José Mercury News wrote, “Denk joined the San Francisco Symphony and conductor Michael Tilson Thomas in a performance of Cowell’s Piano Concerto that sizzled. It ought to put the piece on the map. At last… The pianist’s climactic windmill passages—blurred, two-handed palmings, resounding once more like bells—capped a blockbuster performance.”
Denk’s first American Mavericks event in New York, on Monday, March 26 at 7pm, is the live video webcast on WQXR’s Q2 Music: An Evening of Music and Conversation with Michael Tilson Thomas. Hosted by Nadia Sirota and David Garland, the program of performances and conversation with Thomas and an array of musical guests will delve into the works of the revolutionary American composers that have inspired American Mavericks, including Charles Ives and the Pulitzer Prize–winning John Adams, who will also be participating in the video webcast. The event will be available to audiences everywhere as a live video webcast at http://wqxr.org/mttja/. More information is available at www.greenespace.org.
On Friday, March 30 at 8:30pm, Denk will perform Lukas Foss’s Echoi at Carnegie Hall as part of the final concert of the American Mavericks U.S. tour. The evening of chamber works in Zankel Hall explores the wide range of music that has defined the maverick spirit throughout the festival, and features groundbreaking, imaginative compositions by artists who have been fundamental to our nation’s current musical explorations. Written in 1963 and inspired by work the composer had done with the Improvisation Chamber Orchestra in Los Angeles, Echoi is a four-part piece using “controlled improvisation,” and it is now considered one of America’s premiere experimental chamber pieces. Three musicians from the San Francisco Symphony (percussionist Jack Van Geem, clarinetist Carey Bell, and cellist Peter Wyrick) will join Denk for the quartet. In addition to Echoi, the evening also includes works by Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, and Morton Subotnick, and welcomes additional guests including Meredith Monk & Vocal Ensemble and vocalist Joan La Barbara.
To fill out a week of music-making, Denk will spend his mornings (March 26–30) as a pianist-in-residence on Q2 Music’s Hammered!, the daily show “celebrating the breadth of keyboard music.” Also known for his curious mind and exceptional writing—he has received accolades for his blog, Think Denk and his February 6 New Yorker piece, “Flight of the Concord”, and he offers lively commentary on NPR Music’s Deceptive Cadence blog during its Goldberg Week—Denk will offer listeners insight into his distinctive take on experimental and cutting-edge works for piano. Hammered! airs weekdays at 11am and repeats each evening at 11pm on WQXR’s Q2 Music.
Jeremy Denk at American Mavericks in New York
March 26, 7pm
New York, NY
Jerome L. Greene Performance Space / online at WQXR’s Q2 Music: http://wqxr.org/mttja/
An Evening of Music and Conversation with Michael Tilson Thomas
Hosted by Nadia Sirota and David Garland
With Michael Tilson Thomas, John Adams, St. Lawrence Quartet, and others
March 30, 8.30pm
New York, NY
Zankel Hall
American Mavericks
Members of the San Francisco Symphony
March 26–30, 11am (repeats at 11pm)
Pianist-in-residence
Q2 Music’s Hammered!
Online here
jeremydenk.net
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