Jeremy Denk: Beethoven, Bach, Liszt at Eastman

Dennis Callahan

Pianist Jeremy Denk is playing a recital tonight at 8pm in Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School of Music. He’ll be playing music by Bartók, Liszt, Bach, and Beethoven.

A little bit of the interview made its way on to the radio this morning, but there’s more that I’d like you to hear if you have just a few minutes to listen.
 

These are three excerpts: one about the overall program and the way the pieces “speak to each other in interesting and sometimes bizarre ways,” then the complicated and beautiful musical world of Franz Liszt (“never shy about big themes”),  and (my favorite) his description of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Op. 111 (“A question being overwhelmed by a transcendent answer” and  “ecstatic, bizarre rhythmic frenzy”).


I'm still working out a better way to embed the audio here - for now, click here to listen to them on Soundcloud. 

Here’s more info about the recital. Check out his website, his blog Think Denk, and his recordings.

...and his article about Charles Rosen...and this series of pieces about the Goldberg Variations for NPR Music. Oh, and he was on Fresh Air! And if you have a copy of this article, send it my way?