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Jeremy Denk

Jeremy Denk Books

Classical pianist

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“I feel Bach's voice in those three notes, like a message in a bottle, trying to cross the ocean of harmony he himself has created. What's the message? Those notes don't say we're in a place. How could they? We're still en route. But they remember being in a place. They remember having a home, while the chords, time, life keep shifting on.”

MusicBachWell Tempered Clavier
Book:Every Good Boy Does Fine: A Love Story, in Music Lessons
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“As you deal with thumb-crossings, or fingerings for the F-sharp-minor scale, or chromatic scales in double thirds, it is hard to accept that these will eventually allow you to probe eternity in the final movement of Beethoven's last sonata. Imagine that you are scrubbing the grout in your bathroom and are told that removing every last particle of mildew will somehow enable you to deliver the Gettysburg Address.”

HardLastsDealsAcceptingImagineMovementThirdsEternityFinalsScalesAddressesImagine ThatMinorsBathroomParticlesThumbsCrossingsGettysburgSonatasGettysburg AddressMildew
Author:Jeremy Denk
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“If there's one thing I feel very strongly about, it's that there shouldn't be a distinction between pianists who play Ligeti and those who play Chopin. It might seem that they involve different skill sets, but I don't think that's true: whether playing Ives or Bach or Beethoven, you must bring the same imagination, the same sensitivity, and an ability to deal with same kinds of musical problems. The method behind my madness, anyway, is to keep plugging away at this idea.”

IfsThinkingFeelsKindIdeasDifferentPlayProblemSeemsMightImaginationAbilityDealsBehindsOne ThingSkillsMadnessMethodMusicalDistinctionVery StrongSensitivityPianist
Author:Jeremy Denk
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