Jeremy Denk was featured on NPR's All Things Considered this weekend. He spoke with host Arun Rath about J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations and his new recording of it. "The piece is kind of about invention and imagination," says Denk. "In another way, it's like the biggest jazz riff ever written. It's endlessly funny in some ways and endlessly moving in other ways."
Jeremy Denk was featured on NPR's All Things Considered this weekend. He spoke with host Arun Rath about J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations. Nonesuch Records released Denk's recording of the piece earlier this fall, with a companion DVD of video 'liner notes' of Denk demonstrating passages on the piano as he explains certain details of the iconic piece. And, says Rath, "critics love it."
"The piece is kind of about invention and imagination and the joy of re-invention and re-imagination and how much can you ring out of this eight-note bass idea," Denk tells Rath. "In another way, it's like the biggest jazz riff ever written. It's endlessly funny in some ways and endlessly moving in other ways. And it's partly an encyclopedia in which every possibility of musical style of the time is explored. And it's partly like an adventure, a journey."
You can listen to the complete All Things Considered interview at npr.org.
The New York Times has remarked on Denk's "profound affinity with Bach," and the Philadelphia Inquirer has called his performance of the Goldberg Variations "mesmerizing." Rath's colleague, NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas, says: "Once you've entered the Denkian dimension, you won't want to leave." To pick up a copy of the album, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD/DVD orders include a download of the recording at checkout; it is also available to purchase as MP3 and FLAC files.
Jeremy Denk next performs at the Bailey Center in Kennesaw, Georgia, on Wednesday, then joins the Westchester Philharmonic for a performance this weekend. For additional details on upcoming concerts, including runs with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.
- Log in to post comments