Thunderous applause filled the high-ceilinged Galvin Recital Hall after each set during internationally-renowned pianist Jeremy Denk’s performance Friday.
Denk performed a two-hour concert with a packed audience to kick off the Skyline Piano Artist Series, a sequence of five performances that will conclude at the end of April. The entire series is already sold out.
Denk has received the Avery Fisher Prize and a MacArthur Fellowship –– otherwise known as the “Genius Grant” –– and has performed in Chicago, New York and across Europe.
The Bienen School of Music’s Director of Concert Management, Jerry Tietz, said he wanted to bring in Denk to perform because of his achievements both in and outside of the music world.
“Jeremy Denk absolutely represents, just a fabulous example of an artist-scholar,” Tietz said. “He’s written a book, and he’s just such a thoughtful, sensitive communicator, as well as just an incredible pianist technically at the keyboard.”
After an introduction of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, Denk said that the remainder of the first half of the set would only feature female composers, both from the Classical and contemporary periods.
He highlighted the work of French composer Hélène de Montgeroult, noting that she was responsible for building the modern standard of technique back in the late 1700s. He interspersed her work with the likes of Missy Mazzoli and Meredith Monk, noting that Montgeroult continues to influence modern compositions.
“I wanted to give women the opportunity to speak without men interrupting,” Denk said.
Beyond his music, classics and comparative literature Prof. Marianne Hopman said she enjoys Denk’s wit and reads his blog.
Hopman attended the concert and said it is just one of many in the series she plans to attend. She has subscribed to the entire series, stemming from her love of music and playing piano as a child.
“I really loved the way the program was composed, especially the first part with the alternation between the Montgeroult pieces and different time periods,” she said.
The Skyline series began in 2015, inaugurated by former Bienen dean and pianist Toni-Marie Montgomery in light of the opening of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center for the Musical Arts.
Tietz said he worked with Bienen Prof. James Giles to compile a short list of musicians for the series who are not performing at other Chicago symphony centers and will be new to the audience.
“We like bringing new names to people, and many of Skyline’s audience are rabid fans of the piano repertoire and of pianists,” he said. “But, many really love this series because of the intimacy of the hall, because our tickets are priced low, at least relative to what you might pay to see artists of this caliber in other venues.”
Denk also taught a masterclass to Bienen students in the piano program.
To conclude the first half of the concert, he played a piece by nineteenth-century German composer Clara Schumann. For the second half, he then played music by Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann, both of whom pined for her love.
“The three of them had a lot going on,” he quipped.
Denk received a standing ovation and came back out for multiple curtain calls after an energetic encore.
Tietz said he spoke to patrons after the concert, many of whom stuck around to be able to speak to Denk. The most repeated praise from audience members was that they were grateful to have been introduced to Montgeroult, who Tietz said was a composer he doubts anyone in the audience would have heard of otherwise.
“It’s not just that he’s an incredible pianist,” he said. “If you’re bringing Jeremy in to perform a recital that he’s programming, you can bet you’re likely going to learn something, and it’s going to be special.”
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