(Boston) Celebrity Series of Boston presents pianist Jeremy Denk, one of today’s most virtuosic and imaginative pianists, a MacArthur Fellow and Avery Fisher grantee, and a thoughtful and engaging writer about music. The streaming digital performance is part of the “Celebrity Series at Home” series of virtual concerts, and takes place on Sunday, September 20, 2020 at 7pm ET. The performance is streamed from WGBH’s Fraser Performance Studio in Boston, MA, and is followed by an artist chat with WCRB host and producer Brian McCreath.
This performance highlights and reflects on three leaders of the Romantic movement: Robert and Clara Schumann, and Johannes Brahms. The program features Missy Mazzoli’s “Bolts of Loving Thunder,” composed in 2013 and inspired by what she calls the “romantic and stormy idea of Brahms.”
This concert marks the fourth Celebrity Series performance by Jeremy Denk. He last appeared on the Series in April 2019 in a trio with violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Steven Isserlis.
Tickets for the digital concert are $20 and are available online at celebrityseries.org on September 8, 2020. To browse the entire “Celebrity Series at Home” series and learn more about ticket bundles available now, visit: celebrityseries.org/athome
Program:
Robert Schumann, Papillons, Opus 2 (Butterflies)
Clara Schumann, Romances, Op. 21
Missy Mazzoli, Bolts of Loving Thunder
Brahms Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119
About Jeremy Denk:
Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists. Winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and the Avery Fisher Prize, Denk was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Denk returns frequently to Carnegie Hall and in recent seasons has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra, as well as on tour with Academy of St Martin in the Fields, and at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms.
In 19-20, until the COVID-19 pandemic led to the shutdown of all performances, Denk toured Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1 extensively, and was to have performances culminate with Lincoln Center in New York and the Barbican in London. Earlier in the season, he returned to Carnegie Hall to perform Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Orchestra St. Luke’s, and made his solo debut at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic performing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4. He also made his solo recital debut at the Boulez Saal in Berlin performing works by Bach, Ligeti, Berg, and Schumann, and returned to the Piano aux Jacobins Festival in France, as well as London’s Wigmore Hall. Further performances abroad included his debut with the Bournemouth Symphony, returns to the City of Birmingham Symphony and the Piano Espoo Festival in Finland, and recitals of the complete Ives violin sonatas with Stefan Jackiw.
Highlights of the previous season, included a three-week recital tour, culminating in Denk’s return to Carnegie Hall; play-directing Mozart concerti on an extensive tour with Academy of St Martin in the Fields; and a nationwide trio tour with Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis. He also performed and curated a series of Mozart violin sonatas (‘Denk & Friends’) at Carnegie Hall.
Denk is also known for his original and insightful writing on music, which Alex Ross praises for its “arresting sensitivity and wit.” He wrote the libretto for a comic opera presented by Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances, and the Aspen Festival, and his writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New Republic, the Guardian, and on the front page of the New York Times Book Review. One of his New Yorker contributions, “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” forms the basis of a book for future publication by Random House in the US, and Macmillan in the UK.
Denk’s recording of the Goldberg Variations for Nonesuch Records reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts. His recording of Beethoven’s Op. 111 sonata paired with Ligeti’s Études was named one of the best discs of the year by the New Yorker, NPR, and the Washington Post, and his account of the Beethoven sonata was selected by BBC Radio 3’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, and his recording of Ives’s two piano sonatas also featured in many “best of the year” lists. His recording c.1300-c.2000 was released in 2018 with music ranging from Guillaume de Machaut, Gilles Binchois, and Carlo Gesualdo, to Stockhausen, Ligeti, and Glass.
About Celebrity Series of Boston
Celebrity Series of Boston was founded in 1938 by pianist and impresario Aaron Richmond. The Series has been bringing the very best performers–from orchestras and chamber ensembles, vocal and piano music, to dance companies, jazz, and more–to Boston’s major concert halls for 81 years. The Celebrity Series of Boston believes in the power of excellence and innovation in the performing arts to enrich life experiences, transform lives and build better communities. Through its education initiatives, the Celebrity Series seeks to build a community of Greater Boston where the performing arts are a valued, lifelong, shared experience—on stages, on streets, in neighborhoods–everywhere.
Celebrity Series wishes to thank our Season Sponsors, Amy & Joshua Boger for their generous support of this performance. This performance is made possible in part by support from Celebrity Series LIVE PERFORMANCE! Arts for All Endowment & Innovation Funds, with generous leadership support from Lawrence T.P. Stifler & Mary McFadden and Dorothy & Stephen Weber. Additional support provided by Stephen C. Perry & Oliver Radford, Stephen C. Harrison & Tomas Kirchhausen, Debra & Michael Raizman, and in memory of Blanche & George Jones.
Celebrity Series of Boston is grateful to our 2020-21 Season Sponsors Amy & Joshua Boger, and to the many individuals, corporations, foundations, and government agencies whose support helps fulfill our mission to present performing artists who inspire and enrich our community. Institutional supporters include the Barr Foundation through its ArtsAmplified initiative, Stephanie L. Brown Foundation, The Catered Affair, Susanne Marcus Collins Foundation, D.L. Saunders Real Estate Corp., First Republic Bank, Foley & Lardner LLP, Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Outside the Box: A Production of the Boston Arts Summer Institute, Cynthia and John S. Reed Foundation, Royal Little Family Foundation, Stifler Family Foundation, Anonymous, and many others.
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