Jeremy Denk (born May 16, 1970 in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

) is an American classical pianist and author of the memoir ''Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story, in Music Lessons'' (2022).

Early life

Denk did not come from a musical family. After several years in New Jersey, his family settled in

Las Cruces, New Mexico Las Cruces (; ; lit. 'the crosses') is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the county seat, seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 United States ce ...

, where he grew up. He attended

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

and did graduate work at Indiana University where he studied with György Sebők.

Career

Denk has been awarded a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

, won the Avery Fisher Prize and ''

Musical America ''Musical America'' is the oldest American magazine on classical music, first appearing in 1898 in print and in 1999 online magazine, online, at musicalamerica.com. It is published by Performing Arts Resources, LLC, of East Windsor, New Jersey. ...

s Instrumentalist of the Year award, and has been elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. Denk has performed throughout the US and Europe in recital and with major symphony orchestras and has toured with Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Denk's releases from

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, Nonesuch ...

include the

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'' The Classical Style'' with music by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. He joined his long-time musical partners,

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He is currently music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, one of four children of ...

and

Steven Isserlis Steven John Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. An acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, educator, writer and broadcaster, he is widely regarded as one of the leading musicians of his generation. He is also noted for his div ...

, in a recording of Brahms' Trio in B-major. His previous disc of the ''

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'' (), BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of thirty variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may ...

'' reached number one on '' ''Billboard''s Classical Chart. In 2014, Denk served as music director of the

Ojai Music Festival The Ojai Music Festival is an annual classical music festival in the United States. Held in Ojai, California (75 miles northwest of Los Angeles), for four days every June, the festival presents music, symposia, and educational programs emphasizi ...

, for which, besides performing and curating, he wrote the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

for a comic opera, ''The Classical Style'', with music by

Steven Stucky Steven Edward Stucky (November 7, 1949 − February 14, 2016) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer. Life and career Steven Stucky was born in Hutchinson, Kansas. At age 9, he moved with his family to Abilene, Texas, where, as a teenager ...

. The opera was later presented by Carnegie Hall and the Aspen Festival. Denk is known for his original and insightful writing on music, which

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book creator, comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which ...

praises for its "arresting sensitivity and wit." His writing has appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', and on the front page of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

''. His New York Times-bestselling memoir "Every Good Boy Does Fine" published by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

in the US, and Macmillan in the UK., and expands on an essay first published in the ''New Yorker'' in 2013. His original blog, Think Denk, recounts his experiences of touring, performing, and practicing, and was selected for inclusion in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

web archives. In 2024, he resumed his blogging on the

Substack Substack is an American online platform that provides publishing, payment, analytics, and design infrastructure to support subscription-based content, including newsletters, podcasts, and video. It allows writers to send digital content directl ...

platform, entitled ''Denk Again''. In 2012, Denk made his Nonesuch debut with a pairing of masterpieces old and new: Beethoven's final Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111, and Ligeti's '' Études''. The album was named one of the best of 2012 by ''The New Yorker'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, and ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', and Denk's account of the Beethoven sonata was selected by

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

's ''Building a Library'' as the best available version recorded on modern piano. Denk has a long-standing attachment to the music of American visionary

Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (; October 20, 1874May 19, 1954) was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored d ...

, and his recording of Ives's two piano sonatas featured in many "best of the year" lists. Denk graduated from

Indiana University School of Music The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music. It has more than 1,500 students, approximately half of whom ar ...

, and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. He lives in New York City. In 2019, Denk released an album entitled ''c.1300–c.2000'', of piano versions of pieces by composers from circa the years 1300 to 2000. The album was released on Nonesuch Records. He discussed the work on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's '' Front Row'' in March 2019. Denk made his

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially european classical music, classical music) and ...

debut in August 2019 with a programme of piano works by

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

, Ligeti,

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

and

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Recordings

*November 2002: Brahms and Dvořák Quintets, with Concertante Chamber Ensemble. Meridian Records *February 2003:

Tobias Picker Tobias Picker (born July 18, 1954) is an American composer, pianist, and Conductor (music), conductor, noted for his orchestral works ''Old and Lost Rivers'', ''Keys To The City (orchestral work), Keys To The City'', and ''The Encantadas (orches ...

's Piano Concerto No. 2 ("Keys to the City"). Russian Philharmonic. Thomas Sanderling, conductor. Chandos Records *March 2007: Works for Solo Piano by

Leon Kirchner Leon Kirchner (January 24, 1919 – September 17, 2009) was an American composer of contemporary classical music. He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and he won a Pulitzer Pr ...

. Sonata No. 2 for Piano. Albany Records *September 2007:

John Corigliano John Paul Corigliano (born February 16, 1938) is an American composer of contemporary classical music. With over 100 compositions, he has won accolades including a Pulitzer Prize, five Grammy Awards, Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, and a ...

Violin Sonata. Joshua Bell, violin. Sony Records *April 2009:

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

Violin Sonata. Chausson Concert. Soovin Kim/Jupiter String Quartet. Azica Records *April 2010: Johannes Brahms: Sonatas for Viola and Piano. Roberto Diaz, Viola. Naxos *October 2010: ''Jeremy Denk Plays Ives'', which features Charles Ives' Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, on his Think Denk Media Label *October 2011: Bach Partitas 3, 4, 6. Azica Records *January 2012: ''French Impressions'', including sonatas of

Franck Franck can refer to: People * Franck (name) Other * Franck, Argentina, town in Santa Fe Province, Argentina * Franck (company), Croatian coffee and snacks company * Franck (crater), Lunar crater named after James Franck See also * Franc (di ...

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

, and Saint-Saëns with violinist

, Sony Classical *May 2012: ''Ligeti/Beethoven'', including Books I and II of György Ligeti's

piano études A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a chromatic scale in equal tempera ...

and Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 32, Nonesuch Records *November 2012: ''American Mavericks'', including

Henry Cowell Henry Dixon Cowell (; March 11, 1897 – December 10, 1965) was an American composer, writer, pianist, publisher, teacher Marchioni, Tonimarie (2012)"Henry Cowell: A Life Stranger Than Fiction" ''The Juilliard Journal''. Retrieved 19 June 2022.C ...

's ''Synchrony'' and Piano Concerto with

Michael Tilson Thomas Michael Tilson Thomas (born December 21, 1944) is an American conductor, pianist, and composer. He is Artistic Director Laureate of the New World Symphony, an American orchestral academy in Miami Beach, Florida, Music Director Laureate of the S ...

, SFS Media *September 2013: ''J.S. Bach:

'', Nonesuch Records *February 2019: c. 1300–c. 2000, Nonesuch Records *September 2021: ''Mozart Piano Concertos'', K.503 in C Major and K.466 in D Minor with Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Nonesuch Records *August 2024: ''Mendelssohn Piano Trios''. Joshua Bell, violin. Steven Isserlis, cello. Sony Classical *October 2024: ''IVES DENK''. Stefan Jackiw, violin. Nonesuch Records

Bibliography

A partial list of Denk's writings includes: * *

References

External links

Jeremy Denk's official websiteJeremy Denk's Opus 3 Artists pageThe Bard College Conservatory of Music Profile on CBS Sunday Morning 3/20/22Think Denk blogDenk Again Substack
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denk, Jeremy 1970 births Living people 20th-century American classical pianists 21st-century American classical pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians American male classical pianists American opera librettists Bard College faculty Jacobs School of Music alumni Jacobs School of Music faculty Juilliard School alumni MacArthur Fellows Oberlin Conservatory of Music alumni Musicians from Durham, North Carolina The New Yorker people