Concert Review —

A Young Pianist Triumphs

By June April

It would not be at all surprising to see the pianist Jeremy Denk one day viewed as one of the outstanding pianists of this decade. He performs with subtle nuances that are all too rarely heard and has a range of dynamic and technical skills that are inspiring to witness. In the tradition of one of his heroes, the deceased pianist Artur Schnabel, Denk’s performance is a communion with music.

An afternoon program on Sunday, February 13 by the pianist, hosted by Newtown Friends of Music and presented at Edmond Town Hall Theatre in Newtown, was all Bach and Schubert. Opening with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata in D Major, BWV 912, it was immediately evident Jeremy Denk’s rigorous standards were realized.

Owing to time constraints, a second Bach toccata was deleted from the program. Four Schubert Impromptus and the composer’s Sonata in D Major comprised the remainder of the program.

Mr Denk spoke to the audience before playing the Schubert, saying the composer was one of his very favorite composers.

“His music is some of the most heart rendering I have ever heard,” the young pianist explained, “Schubert’s music has the ability to touch certain emotions… moving between great sadness and great joy.”

Of the four Improptus (Opus 142), this reviewer was particularly excited with the last one, Number 4. The contrasts were especially colorful. Scaling up and down the keyboard, shifting from major to minor modes, there was the frenzy of life with an underlying frenetic struggle with death that dances throughout this piece. The dual awareness of the passionate intellect/performer and the technically minded pianist are simultaneously working in every stroke of Mr Denk’s fingers.

What stands out about this delightful man (who physically reminds one somewhat of the actor Tom Hulce) is the range of his talents, his mature determination, intense desire to communicate his passion for music, and his ability to transmit all the above. Wherever he might be playing within a two-hour drive, this reviewer would most definitely go hear him again, and bring friends to share in the joy of piano artistry.