Pianist Jeremy Denk wins 2013 MacArthur Fellowship
It was announced today that Jeremy Denk – “one of his generation’s most eloquent and thoughtful interpreters” (New York Times) – has been named a 2013 MacArthur Fellow. Selected for his extraordinary originality, dedication in his creative pursuits, and a marked capacity for self-direction, the pianist is one of 24 recipients of this year’s “genius grant,” which awards each fellow a stipend of $625,000.
Denk has established himself as one of America’s most thought-provoking, multi-faceted, and compelling artists. September 30 sees the release of his second recording for the Nonesuch label, a CD/DVD set of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” accompanied by recitals in Boston, Chicago, and Washington, DC. Denk’s first Nonesuch recording, which juxtaposed Beethoven with Ligeti, featured in many “Best of 2012” lists, including those in the New Yorker, Washington Post, and NPR Music.
This season, orchestral collaborations take the pianist to three continents in concertos by Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Ravel, Ligeti, and Mozart, whose Concerto No. 25 is the vehicle for appearances with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony. In 2014 Denk will serve as Music Director of the 68th annual Ojai Music Festival, for which, besides performing and curating, he is writing the libretto for a semi-satirical opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Steven Stucky.
The pianist’s blog, Think Denk, is widely read and enjoyed both within and outside the industry, and he has made witty and personal contributions to the New Yorker, the New York Times Review of Books, Newsweek, the New Republic, and the website of NPR Music. Just days after his recent main-stage solo recital at Carnegie Hall, the New Yorker published a personal history that will also form the basis of Denk’s forthcoming memoir, Every Good Boy Does Fine, to be published by Random House in the 2015-16 season. As the Washington Post observes, he is “one of the most interesting pianists around.”
The MacArthur Fellowship is awarded to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits. Fellows receive $625,000 stipends that are bestowed with no conditions; recipients may use the money as they see fit. Nominated anonymously by leaders in their respective fields and never notified of their candidacy, recipients learn of their selection only when they receive a call from the MacArthur Foundation just before the public announcement.
The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world. In addition to selecting the MacArthur Fellows, the Foundation works to defend human rights, advance global conservation and security, make cities better places, and understand how technology is affecting children and society.
More information is available on the artist’s web site: jeremydenk.net.
For photographs, contact Michael Lutz: tel. (646) 532 4381; [email protected].
jeremydenk.net
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jeremydenk.net/blog
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© 21C Media Group, September 2013