This season, pianist Jeremy Denk will make solo appearances in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium and London’s Wigmore Hall. Fortunately for Lowcountry residents he will also be performing at the USCB Center for the Arts on Sunday, February 10 along with the extraordinary young violinist Stefan Jackiw and the USCB Festival Series host and cellist, Edward Arron.
In 2012, Denk made his debut as a Nonesuch recording artist with a pairing of masterpieces old and new: Ligeti’s highly complex Études and Beethoven’s final Piano Sonata. This album was featured on “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, while BBC Music’s review concluded: “All in all, it’s a marvel.”
An avid chamber musician, the pianist has most recently spent considerable time touring with violinist Joshua Bell, and French Impressions — their recording of Franck, Saint-Saëns, and Ravel was recently released on the Sony Classical label, winning the 2012 Echo-Klassik award. Known for his witty and personal music writing, which has appeared in he New Yorker, the front page of the New York Times Book Review, Newsweek, and on the NPR Music website, Denk also has a popular blog.
He is also preparing to be the artistic director of the 2014 Ojai Music Festival.
After graduating from Oberlin College and Conservatory in piano and chemistry, Denk earned a master’s degree in music from Indiana University as a pupil of György Sebök, and a doctorate in piano performance from the Juilliard School, where he studied with Herbert Stessin. Denk lives in New York City, and his web site and blog are at jeremydenk.net.
Violinist Stefan Jackiw is recognized as “one of the best and most interesting young violinists heard in a long time” (Chicago Sun-Times), captivating audiences with playing that is “striking for its intelligence and sensitivity” (Boston Globe). Hailed for “talent that’s off the scale” (Washington Post), Jackiw has appeared as soloist with the Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, New
York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco symphony orchestras, among others, and he has collaborated with such renowned conductors as Marin Alsop, Andrew Davis, Giancarlo Guerrero, Hannu Lintu, Ludovic Morlot, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Yuri Temirkanov. His solo performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the YouTube Symphony Orchestra at Australia’s Sydney Opera House last March was seen live on YouTube by more than 30 million people worldwide.
Jackiw made his European debut in London in 2002 to great critical acclaim, playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Benjamin Zander. His sensational performance was featured on the front page of London’s Times, and The Strad reported, “A 14-year-old violinist took the London music world by storm.”
Born in 1985 to physicist parents of Korean and German descent, Stefan Jackiw began playing the violin at the age of 4. His teachers have included Zinaida Gilels, Michèle Auclair, and Donald Weilerstein. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University, as well as an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory. In 2002, the young artist was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant. He makes his home in New York City.
High praise from The New Yorker: “It would be hard — very hard — to find better chamber music playing than at the cellist Edward Arron’s enterprising series.”
Festival Series host, cellist Edward Arron has garnered recognition worldwide for his elegant musicianship, impassioned performances, and creative programming.
In the fall of 2009, Edward Arron succeeded Charles Wadsworth as the artistic director, host, and resident performer of the USC Beaufort Festival Series. The 2012-2013 season marks Arron’s 10th anniversary season as the artistic director of the Metropolitan Museum Artists in Concert, a chamber music series created in 2003 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Museum’s prestigious Concerts and Lectures series. He is also the artistic director of the Caramoor Virtuosi, the resident chamber ensemble of the Caramoor International Music Festival.
The concert begins at 5 p.m. on Sunday, February 10 at the USCB Center for the Arts on Carteret Street. For advance tickets, call Staci Breton at 843-208-8246, Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets are also available at the door and start at $40. For more information, visit www.uscb.edu/festivalseries.
