ITHACA, NY—One of America’s most thought-provoking and multi-faceted artists, pianist Jeremy Denk, will give a free recital at Ithaca College on Tuesday, April 12. His 8:15 p.m. performance in Ford Hall is part of the annual Rachel S. Thaler Concert Pianist Series.
Denk’s honors include a 2013 MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, the 2014 Avery Fisher Prize and Musical America’s 2014 Instrumentalist of the Year award. Noted for his unexpected pairings of pieces in recitals and recordings, he often draws out surprising themes and continuities between historically and stylistically disparate works. His Ford Hall program will range from a Schubert sonata and Bach suite to ragtime pieces by Stravinsky and Joplin.
Denk has appeared as a soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and London and regularly gives recitals throughout the United States. His recording of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations” reached number one on Billboard’s classical chart and was featured in “best of 2013” lists by the New Yorker and the New York Times.
In addition to his performing, Denk is known for his original and insightful writing on music, with pieces appearing in the New Yorker, the New Republic and on the front page of the New York Times Book Review. For his work as a writer and pianist, Out magazine included Denk on its “Out 100” list celebrating the most compelling people of 2013.
Established in 1991 in honor of a talented pianist and longtime Ithaca College supporter, the Rachel S. Thaler Concert Pianist Series has brought to the college such world-class virtuosos as Vadym Kholodenko, Yefim Bronfman, Gilbert Kalish and Garrick Ohlsson.
For more information, visit www.ithaca.edu/thaler/piano.