Pianist Jeremy Denk Returns to Carnegie Hall, 3/22

Pianist Jeremy Denk returns to Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Friday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m., for his first recital since his much acclaimed, last-minute solo debut in 2011, when he stepped in for the ailing Maurizio Pollini. The program includes Bartók's Piano Sonata; Bach's Prelude and Fugue in B Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I; and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor as well as four works by Liszt: "Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen" Prelude after J.S. Bach; Sonetto 123 del Petrarca from Années de pèlerinage; Après une lecture du Dante, fantasia quasi sonata; and Isoldes Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.

An active soloist and chamber musician, pianist Jeremy Denk performs repertoire ranging from the standard works of the 18th and 19th centuries to 20th-century masters such as Ives, Ligeti, Lutos?awski, and Messiaen, and new works by leading composers of today. He has appeared as soloist with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and London Symphony Orchestra among others. Mr. Denk has premiered works by Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, Kevin Puts, and Ned Rorem, and, as a chamber musician, he has performed at Marlboro Music, toured with "Musicians from Marlboro," and played at the Santa Fe, Seattle, Verbier, and Spoleto festivals. In March 2011, Mr. Denk graciously agreed to replace Maurizio Pollini in recital for his Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall. His program included Ives's "Concord" Sonata and Bach's Goldberg Variations, iconic musical works that he had performed in recent Zankel Hall recitals to great critical and public acclaim. Most recently, Mr. Denk performed all six Bach keyboard concertos in a single evening with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

Mr. Denk released his first solo recording, Jeremy Denk Plays Ives, in 2010 on his Think Denk Media label. The recording made many "Best of 2010" lists, including those of The New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and New York Magazine. Last year, he made his Nonesuch Records debut with the release of Ligeti/Beethoven. In addition, he performed as part of Carnegie Hall's American Mavericks series with the San Francisco Symphony, touring also to San Francisco and Ann Arbor, where they recorded Cowell's Piano Concerto. 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. Recently, Mr. Denk's writing horizons have expanded exponentially, with his work being published in Newsweek, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. He is currently at work on the libretto for a semi-satirical opera by Steven Stucky to be premiered at the 2014 Ojai Music Festival, where Mr. Denk will serve as artistic director.