An internationally respected, actively touring pianist serves as Honens’ Mentor-in-Residence. Each Semifinalist who does not advance to the Finals will meet with the Mentor-in-Residence for a one-hour meeting on the days following the Semifinals. The Mentor-in-Residence also attends the Finals after which he / she meets with the two Finalists and the Honens Prize Laureate.
Jeremy Denk
Mentor
Jeremy Denk is one of America’s foremost pianists. Winner of a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and the Avery Fisher Prize, Denk was recently elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He returns frequently to Carnegie Hall (US) and in recent seasons has appeared with the Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, and Cleveland Orchestra, as well as on tour with Academy of St Martin in the Fields (UK), and at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Proms (UK). In 2019 / 2020, Denk plays Bach’s Well-Tempered Klavier Book 1, culminating in performances at Lincoln Center in New York and the Barbican in London. He returns to Carnegie Hall and makes his solo debut at the Royal Festival Hall with the London Philharmonic, and his solo recital debut at the Boulez Saal in Berlin. He continues to tour the US extensively, including performances of John Adams’ Must the Devil Have all the Good Tunes? with the St. Louis Symphony and the Seattle Symphony. Praised for his “arresting sensitivity and wit,” Denk is also known for his original and insightful writing on music, which has appeared in the New Yorker, The Guardian, and on the front page of the New York Times Book Review. He wrote the libretto for a comic opera presented by Carnegie Hall, Cal Performances, and the Aspen Festival. One of his New Yorker contributions, “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” forms the basis of a book for future publication by Random House. Denk’s recording of the Goldberg Variations (Nonesuch) reached No. 1 on the Billboard Classical Charts. His recording of Beethoven’s Op. 111 paired with Ligeti’s Études was named one of the best discs of the year by the New Yorker, NPR, and the Washington Post, and his account of the Beethoven sonata was selected by BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library as the best available version recorded on modern piano. Denk graduated from Oberlin College, Indiana University, and The Juilliard School (US). He lives in New York City.
