New York City-based pianist
Jeremy Denk is as well known for his chamber music-making as he is for his appearances as soloist and recitalist. Indeed, he has famously collaborated with violinists
Joshua Bell and
Soovin Kim and violist
Roberto Diaz, and has performed with the
Shanghai, Vermeer, and
Jupiter string quartets and
Windscape. As a soloist,
Denk has appeared with the major orchestras of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, St. Louis, and Atlanta, and with the
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, as well as ensembles abroad. As a recitalist and chamber player, he has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe, especially in his critically acclaimed collaborations with
Bell.
Denk's repertory is exceedingly broad, taking in works by
J.S. Bach,
Beethoven,
Schubert,
Dvorák,
Richard Strauss,
Bartók, and many modern and contemporary composers, like
Leon Kirchner,
John Corigliano, and
Tobias Picker. In fact,
Denk has premiered several major contemporary works, including
Ned Rorem's The Unquestioned Answer (2003).
Denk has made numerous recordings, available from Naxos, Albany, Chandos,
Meridian, and other major labels.
Jeremy Denk was born in Durham, NC, on May 16, 1970. He studied music at Oberlin Conservatory and received post-graduate degrees at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studied with
György Sebök, and at Juilliard, where his teachers included Herbert Stessin. In 1997
Denk gave his major debut at Alice Tully Hall in New York City and also appeared on his first recording, a CD on the Indiana University label of new works that included
David Dzubay's Trio for violin, cello, and piano.
Denk went on to win the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 1998.
Denk quickly drew notice and soon began premiering important new works, like
Jake Heggie's Cut in Time, in 2001, with the
Eos Orchestra, and
Leon Kirchner's Duo No. 2, in 2002, with Ida Levin.
Denk's first recording as a soloist was the acclaimed 2003 Chandos disc of
Tobias Picker's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Keys to the City), with the
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra,
Thomas Sanderling conducting.
Denk first appeared with
Joshua Bell at the 2004 Spoleto Festival. The two have since collaborated in more than 70 performances across the globe, and received critical acclaim for their 2007 Sony CD of the
Corigliano Violin Sonata.
Denk serves on the faculty of Bard College Conservatory of Music. Among his later recordings is the 2011 Azica CD of the
J.S. Bach Partitas No. 3, No. 4, and No. 6.