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In Practice: Jeremy Denk
In Practice: Jeremy Denk
Jeremy Denk thinks of his cramped Manhattan apartment as his own "piano boot camp." Except for his books, an overworked coffee pot and a laptop, there's not much else to do there but practice. We eavesdropped on Denk working on the complex etudes of György Ligeti. by Tom Huizenga Jeremy Denk has his own personal "piano boot camp." Actually, it's his cramped Manhattan apartment. Beside his beloved books, a trusty coffee pot and a laptop, there's not much to do except practice. Which Denk does, hours and hours a day on a Steinway wedged into his living room. On a good day, he brews pot of coffee number one at about 11, then plays for about five hours. Perhaps a run to the gym, then pot number two is brewed at about 6, followed by more playing ? until the neighbors complain.

When we invaded his "camp" he was seriously practicing the piano etudes of Gy?rgy Ligeti. His music is "continuous madness," Denk says. "Wonderful, joyful madness." Denk has a great talent for making you fall in love with the most complex music, letting it sound completely natural. He admits, "I'm atuned to the weirdnesses. I guess that's something I like about music that's on the edge of destroying itself."

Credits

Producers: Mito Habe-Evans, Anastasia Tsioulcas; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Production Assistants: Amanda Ameer, Nick Michael; Executive Producers: Anya Grundmann, Keith Jenkins

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
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