Biography
Piano
Jeremy Denk
Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists. Also a New York Times bestselling author, he is the recipient of both the MacArthur Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Denk is also known for his original and insightful writing on music. His memoir, Every Good Boy Does Fine, was published to universal acclaim by Random House in 2022. He also 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, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and on the front page of the New York Times Book Review.
Denk is recognized for his interpretations of the music of Charles Ives, and in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, Nonesuch Records released a collection of his Ives recordings in 2024. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for Nonesuch Records reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts, and his recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Opus 111 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 received special recognition by BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2006 and appeared many times with Michael Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra in San Francisco and on tour.
Denk is also known for his original and insightful writing on music. His memoir, Every Good Boy Does Fine, was published to universal acclaim by Random House in 2022. He also 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, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and on the front page of the New York Times Book Review.
Denk is recognized for his interpretations of the music of Charles Ives, and in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth, Nonesuch Records released a collection of his Ives recordings in 2024. His recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for Nonesuch Records reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts, and his recording of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata Opus 111 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 received special recognition by BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2006 and appeared many times with Michael Tilson Thomas and the Orchestra in San Francisco and on tour.
