Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk Collaborate for Carnegie Hall's Isaac Stern Memorial Concert

World-renowned violinist Joshua Bell and MacArthur "Genius" winning pianist Jeremy Denk return T. Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage on Wednesday, February 7 at 8:00 p.m. for Carnegie Hall's annual Isaac Stern Memorial Concert, playing music by Mozart, Schubert, Janácek, and Richard Strauss. Longtime collaborators, the duo last performed together in recital in 2010, which The New York Times described as a "passionate performance."

As part of the seventh annual Carnegie Hall Live series, this performance will be broadcast live on WQXR 105.9 FM in New York and streamed online at wqxr.org and carnegiehall.org/wqxr. Produced by WQXR and Carnegie Hall, and hosted by WQXR's Jeff Spurgeon, select Carnegie Hall Live broadcasts throughout the season feature live web chats, including Twitter commentary from the broadcast team backstage and in the control room, connecting national and international fans to the music and to each other. This broadcast marks Mr. Bell's debut Carnegie Hall Live performance after 33 Carnegie Hall appearances.

About the Artists
With a career spanning more than 30 years as a soloist, chamber musician, recording artist, and conductor, Joshua Bell is one of the most celebrated violinists of his era. An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Bell has recorded more than 40 albums garnering Grammy, Mercury, Gramophone, and Echo Klassik awards, and is a recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize. Named the Music Director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 2011, he is the only person to hold this post since Sir Neville Marriner formed the orchestra in 1958.

In 2018, Mr. Bell tours with the Academy to the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and Asia as well as performs 10 recitals with pianist Sam Haywood in Europe and America. Further season highlights include dates with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, and an all-Beethoven play/direct program with the Orchestre National de Lyon.

Recently Sony Classical released Joshua Bell - The Classical Collection, a 14-CD set of albums of classical repertoire that displays Mr. Bell's unique breadth, versatility and breathtaking virtuosity. Slated for June 2018 is Mr. Bell's recording with the Academy of Bruch's Scottish Fantasy and G Minor Concerto.

Mr. Bell recently engaged in two tech projects: with Embertone, the leading virtual instrument sampling company, the Joshua Bell Virtual Violin was created for producers, artists, engineers and composers. Mr. Bell also teamed up with Sony for the Joshua Bell VR Experience featuring Mr. Bell performing Brahms's Hungarian Dance No. 1 in full 360-degree VR. This experience is available for free download for SONY PlayStation 4 VR.

Convinced of the value of music as a diplomatic and educational tool, Mr. Bell participated in former President Obama's Committee on the Arts and Humanities' first cultural mission to Cuba. He is also involved in Turnaround Arts, administered by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which provides arts education to low-performing elementary and middle schools. Mr. Bell has devoted himself to several charitable causes, most notably Education Through Music, which puts instruments in the hands of thousands of children in America's inner cities.

Bell performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin.

Jeremy Denk is one of America's foremost pianists. Winner of a MacArthur 'Genius' Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize, Mr. Denk was also recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Mr. Denk regularly appears at Carnegie Hall and has recently performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Cleveland Orchestra, as well as on tour with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. Last season he undertook a recital tour of the UK, including a return to the Wigmore Hall. He also returned to the BBC Proms playing Bartok's Second Piano Concerto.

This season, Mr. Denk returns to the San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas, and Carnegie Hall with Orchestra of St. Luke's. Returning in subscription to the Seattle Symphony, Mr. Denk will embark on a tour with the orchestra performing Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5, and he continues as Artistic Partner of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra with multiple performances throughout the season, and a new piano concerto written for him by Hannah Lash. He also appears in recital throughout the US, including performances in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Houston, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Abroad, Mr. Denk will be presented by the Barbican in multiple performances as artist-in-residence at Milton Hall. He will also return to play-direct the Britten Sinfonia in London, and on tour in the UK. In Asia, Mr. Denk will make his debut in recital, including recitals in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Seoul. Future projects include re-uniting with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, and a US tour with his longtime musical partners Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis.

Mr. Denk is known for his original and insightful writing on music which Alex Ross praises for its "arresting sensitivity and wit." His writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New Republic, The Guardian, and on the front page of the The New York Times Book Review. He is the composer of an opera presented by Carnegie Hall, and is working on a book to be published by Random House. Mr. Denk's debut with Nonesuch Record's paired Beethoven's Sonata, Op. 111 with Ligeti's Études; his account of the Beethoven sonata was selected by BBC Radio 3's Building a Library as the best available version recorded on modern piano. His latest recording of the Goldberg Variations reached No. 1 in the Billboard Classical Charts.

Program Information
Wednesday, February 7 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Joshua Bell, Violin
Jeremy Denk, Piano

THE ANNUAL Isaac Stern MEMORIAL CONCERT

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Violin Sonata in B-flat Major, K. 454
Richard Strauss Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18
LEOŠ JANÁCEK Sonata for Violin and Piano
Franz Schubert Fantasy in C Major, D. 934

Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.

Tickets, priced $38-$125, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org.

For Carnegie Hall Corporation presentations taking place in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, a limited number of seats, priced at $10, will be available day-of-concert beginning at 11:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 12:00 noon on Sunday until one hour before the performance or until supply lasts. The exceptions are Carnegie Hall Family Concerts and gala events. These $10 tickets are available to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis at the Carnegie Hall Box Office only. There is a two-ticket limit per customer.

In addition, for all Carnegie Hall presentations in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage a limited number of partial view (seats with obstructed or limited sight lines or restricted leg room) will be sold for 50% of the full price. For more information on this and other discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.