Jeremy Denk Is on NPR’s All Things Considered Today

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“Formidable technique and a fine combination of intellectual rigor and emotional depth.” — The Chicago Tribune

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.”

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