American pianist
Simone Dinnerstein is a searching and inventive artist who is motivated by a desire to find the musical core of every work she approaches.
NPR reports, "She compels the listener to follow her in a journey of discovery filled with unscheduled detours . . . She's actively listening to every note she plays, and the result is a wonderfully expressive interpretation." The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach's
Goldberg Variations, which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007 on Telarc, it ranked No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many "Best of 2007" lists including those of
The New York Times,
The Los Angeles Times, and
The New Yorker.
The three solo albums Dinnerstein has released since then -
The Berlin Concert(Telarc),
Bach: A Strange Beauty (Sony), and
Something Almost Being Said (Sony) - have also topped the classical charts. She was the bestselling instrumentalist of 2011 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart and was included in
NPR's 2011 100 Favorite Songs from all genres.
In spring 2013, Dinnerstein and singer-songwriter Tift Merritt released an album together on Sony called
Night, a unique collaboration uniting classical, folk, and rock worlds. Other upcoming and recent highlights include Dinnerstein's debuts in Sydney and Melbourne; her debuts in Leipzig at the Gewandhaus and in Toulouse; the world premiere of
Nico Muhly's
You Can't Get There From Here at Symphony Hall in Boston; her third return engagement at the Berlin Philharmonie; and world premiere performances of Philip Lasser's
The Circle and The Child with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
Dinnerstein's performances have taken her around the world since her triumphant New York recital debut at
Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall in 2005 to venues including the Kennedy Center, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Metropolitan Museum, and Wigmore Hall; festivals including the Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival, the Aspen, Verbier, and
Ravinia Festivals, and the Stuttgart Bach Festival; and performances with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic,
New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra of
St. Luke's, Kristjan Järvi's Absolute Ensemble, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Symphony.
Dinnerstein is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she was a student of Peter Serkin. She also studied with Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music and in London with Maria Curcio. Dinnerstein lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and son.