Catalogue #

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Nonesuch releases the label debut from acclaimed pianist Jeremy\nDenk, Ligeti/Beethoven, on May 15, 2012. The solo recording\nfeatures Ligeti’s Piano Études, Books One and Two, which Denk\nmemorably performed in a series of recitals in 2011. The New York\nTimes said his reading of the works left “audience members grasping\nfor superlatives at intermission.” The sets of études, six from\nBook One and seven from Book Two, bookend Denk’s recording of\nBeethoven’s Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111, on the album. The\nTimes said of Denk’s 2010 Mostly Mozart Festival performance of the\nwork: “This account, alive to every suggestion and nuance in the\nscore, was an absolute joy to witness. Mr. Denk, clearly, is a\npianist you want to hear no matter what he performs, in whatever\ncombination—both for his penetrating intellectual engagement with\nthe music and for the generosity of his playing.”

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In his Ligeti/Beethoven liner note, Denk explains his reasons\nfor recording these works together: “One curious connection…is the\nway both Ligeti and Beethoven relate themselves to jazz (and to\nsyncopation, rhythmic dislocation generally). Many people get\ndisturbed, or confused, by Beethoven’s anachronistic boogie-woogie;\nbut I can’t help thinking that however unlikely, this is an\noutgrowth, too, of ecstasies latent in the holy theme. There is a\nsense of ecstasy, too, in the discombobulations of Ligeti …

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“But the most significant connection for me is between\nBeethoven’s vast timeless canvas and Ligeti’s bite-sized bits of\ninfinity. Almost every étude visits the infinite; Ligeti uses it\nalmost as a kind of cadence, a reference point. From simplicity, he\nranges into unimaginable complexity; he wanders to the quietest and\nloudest extremes; he veers off the top and bottom of the keyboard.\nAlways the infinite is lurking around, reminding you that it’s not\nimpossible, that it exists. I think of the way, among other things,\nBeethoven drifts off at the end of the Arietta, the way he\nindicates ending without ending, implies an infinite space of\nsilence surrounding the work.”

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Jeremy Denk has steadily built a reputation as one of today’s\nmost compelling and persuasive artists with an unusually broad\nrepertoire. He has appeared as soloist with many major orchestras,\nincluding the Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, New World, St. Louis, and\nSan Francisco symphonies, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestra of\nSt. Luke’s, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and Philharmonia Orchestra\nin London. He appears often in recital in New York, Washington,\nBoston, and Philadelphia. Denk maintains working relationships with\na number of living composers and has participated in many\npremieres. Denk’s recording of music by Charles Ives, released on\nhis own Think Denk Media label, made many Best of 2010 lists,\nincluding those of the New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington\nPost, and New York magazine. He also is an avid chamber musician\nand a respected writer, both on his blog and in such publications\nas The New Yorker.

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