March 28, April 11 & 25: GRAMMY®-nominated Pianist Simone Dinnerstein Curates Bach Series at Miller Theatre at Columbia University
Photo by Lisa Marie Mazzucco available in high resolution at: www.jensenartists.com/artists-profiles/simone-dinnerstein
GRAMMY-nominated Pianist Simone Dinnerstein Curates Bach Series at Miller Theatre at Columbia University
Thursday, March 28, 2024 at 8pm – Bach Collection
with Mezzo-Soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, Oboist Peggy Pearson, Violinist Rebecca Fischer, and Baroklyn
Thursday, April 11, 2024 at 8pm – Bach Suites and Concertos
with Flutists Christina Jennings and Ilaria Loisa Hawley,
Plus Baroklyn
Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 8pm – Bach Sinfonias
Simone Dinnerstein, Solo Piano
Miller Theatre at Columbia University
2960 Broadway (at 116th Street) | New York, NY
Tickets and Information
“an utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation”
– The New York Times
New York, NY – GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein will be presented by Miller Theatre at Columbia University (2960 Broadway, at 116th Street) in three concerts on Thursday, March 28, Thursday, April 11, and Thursday, April 25, 2024 as part of Miller Theatre’s 2023-2024 Bach Series, which was curated by Dinnerstein.
A champion of unifying people through music and sharing its beauty with everyone, the Brooklyn-based pianist has collaborated with Miller Theatre to present and perform in another concert series highlighting the awe-inspiring complexities and collaborative joys of J.S. Bach’s work, in addition to music by several other compelling composers.
Dinnerstein shares these thoughts ahead the series opening on March 28:
“For these concerts, I commissioned the fabulous composer, Philip Lasser, to create keyboard realizations for the Cantata 170, Brandenburg 6, and the Orchestral Suite No 3. Philip’s very special sensitivity to Bach’s writing is melded with his own distinctive musical voice and will bring a new flavor to these familiar works. I am particularly excited about his transformation of the Air on the G String and can’t wait to premiere this on April 11!”
On March 28, Dinnerstein opens the series with Bach Collection –– a program highlighting an elegant variety of Bach’s music in several musical forms –– sonata, concerto, and cantata –– performed together with a stellar group of guest artists.
The second performance on April 11, Bach Suites and Concertos, highlights a pair of Bach’s orchestral suites and two of his concertos –– one for keyboard and one of his famed Brandenburg concertos –– performed in collaboration with Dinnerstein’s ensemble Baroklyn, and two guest flutists.
Lastly, on April 25, Dinnerstein closes the series with Bach Sinfonias –– a program for solo piano, which juxtaposes Bach’s Sinfonias with three other musically diverse selections, spanning more than 250 years.
Over the course of more than a decade, Dinnerstein has steadily gained recognition as both a skilled and imaginative performer of Bach’s music. Public appreciation for her performances of his music began with the exuberant and wide-reaching reception of her 2007 debut album featuring J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Since then, Miller Theatre has enthusiastically embraced several opportunities to present Bach-centric concert programs curated and performed by Dinnerstein.
The opening concert on March 28 underscores the creative versatility of J.S. Bach as a composer. The program is anchored by two Bach masterpieces—his Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, where violas get their chance to shine, and his breathtaking sacred cantata Vergnügte Ruh', beliebte Seelenlust (Delightful repose, cherished pleasure of the soul). Featured with Dinnerstein are mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, oboist Peggy Pearson, violinist Rebecca Fischer, and Dinnerstein’s ensemble, Baroklyn, of which she is the Artistic Director and which Dinnerstein conducts from the piano.
Dinnerstein says of the collaborations for the first performance in this year’s series:
“It is also my special pleasure to welcome back Peggy Pearson on March 28. I first fell in love with Peggy’s fabulous oboe d’amore playing on the legendary recording she made with Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Emmanuel Music of Bach’s Ich Habe Genug. In this same concert, we will welcome concertmaster Rebecca Fischer’s daughter, Oriana Hawley, to join Baroklyn’s violists in our performance of Brandenburg 6. Oriana is a dual degree undergraduate student at Columbia University and the Juilliard School.”
On April 11, the Bach Series continues with a performance centered around two pairs of pieces by Bach: his orchestral suites and concertos. Dinnerstein’s artistry at the piano shines in Bach’s Keyboard Concerto No. 6 in F major (1738), while Baroklyn and flutists Christina Jennings and Ilaria Loisa Hawley add a whirlwind of grandiosity and musical color to performances of Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor (c. 1738-39); Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major (c. 1731), and the Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D major (c. 1720-21).
Then on April 25, Miller Theatre will present the finale of the Bach Series with a performance featuring a thrilling program of solo works for piano that display an assortment of moods and musical forms. Rooted in the Baroque era with J.S. Bach’s technical collection of 15 Sinfonias (1720-23), Dinnerstein also brings her highly skilled and thoughtful performance style to Philip Lasser’s 12 Variations on a Chorale by J.S. Bach (2002), Keith Jarrett’s Encore From Tokyo (1978) and Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Gavotte et 6 Doubles (c. 1729-30).
Through every concert, Dinnerstein strives to inspire enthusiasm and curiosity around Bach’s music. She showcases the beauty of his work, in modern interpretations for today’s listeners. “I hope that hearing these myriad works in one program will bring new shades of meaning to the listeners as well as the performers,” she says.
About Simone Dinnerstein: American pianist Simone Dinnerstein has a distinctive musical voice. The Washington Post has called her “an artist of strikingly original ideas and irrefutable integrity.” She first came to wider public attention in 2007 through her recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, reflecting an aesthetic that was both deeply rooted in the score and profoundly idiosyncratic. She is, wrote The New York Times, “a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation.”
Dinnerstein has played with orchestras ranging from the New York Philharmonic and Montreal Symphony Orchestra to the London Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Rai. She has performed in venues from Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center to the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, Seoul Arts Center and Sydney Opera House. She has made thirteen albums, all of which topped the Billboard charts. During the pandemic she recorded three albums which form a trilogy: A Character of Quiet, An American Mosaic, and Undersong. An American Mosaic was nominated for a Grammy.
The Eye Is the First Circle is one of the projects Dinnerstein has created in recent years that express her broad musical interests. In addition, she premiered Richard Danielpour’s An American Mosaic, a tribute to those affected by the pandemic, in a performance on multiple pianos throughout Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery. Following her recording Mozart in Havana, she brought the Havana Lyceum Orchestra from Cuba to the U.S. for the first time, performing eleven concerts. Philip Glass composed his Piano Concerto No. 3 for her, co-commissioned by twelve orchestras. Working with Renée Fleming and the Emerson String Quartet, she premiered André Previn and Tom Stoppard’s Penelope at the Tanglewood, Ravinia and Aspen music festivals, and performed it at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and presented by LA Opera. Dinnerstein has also created her own ensemble, Baroklyn, which she directs. The Washington Post comments, “it is Dinnerstein’s unreserved identification with every note she plays that makes her performance so spellbinding.” In a world where music is everywhere, she hopes that it can still be transformative.
About Miller Theatre: Miller Theatre at Columbia University is the leading presenter of new music in New York City and a vital force for innovative programming. In partnership with Columbia University School of the Arts, Miller is dedicated to producing and presenting unique events, with a focus on contemporary and early music, jazz, opera, and multimedia performances. Founded in 1988, Miller Theatre has helped launch the careers of myriad composers and ensembles over the years, serving as an incubator for emerging artists and a champion of those not yet well known in the United States. A four-time recipient of the ASCAP/Chamber Music America Award for Adventurous Programming, Miller Theatre continues to meet the high expectations set forth by its founders—to present innovative programs, support the development of new work, and connect creative artists with adventurous audiences.
For Calendar Editors:
Description: GRAMMY®-nominated pianist Simone Dinnerstein, described by The New York Times as “an utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation,” is presented by Miller Theatre at Columbia University in three performances over March and April, as part of Miller Theatre’s 2023-2024 Bach Concert Series. The performances were each curated by Dinnerstein herself and features several guest artists, including Baroklyn, the ensemble Dinnerstein founded and which she conducts from the piano.
Short description: GRAMMY®-nominated Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, “an utterly distinctive voice in the forest of Bach interpretation,” (The New York Times) is presented by Miller Theatre at Columbia University in three performances as part of Miller Theatre’s 2023-2024 Bach Concert Series, which was curated by Dinnerstein herself.
Concert details:
Who: Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Mezzo-Soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano, Oboist Peggy Pearson, Violinist Rebecca Fischer, Flutists Christina Jennings and Ilaria Loisa Hawley, and Baroklyn
Presented by Miller Theatre at Columbia University
What: Three performances as part of Miller Theater’s 2023-2024 Bach Concert Series
When: March 28, April 11, and April 25, 2024 - all at 8pm
Where: Miller Theatre at Columbia University 2960 Broadway (at 116th Street), New York, NY 10003
Tickets and information: www.millertheatre.com/season-subscriptions/bach#subscription