EVERY GOOD BOY DOES FINE

An acclaimed American pianist tells his story.

Denk traces his journey from a tormented child to a globe-trotting performer. With remarkable detail, the author recalls the countless hours of music lessons, as well as the demands of his parents and teachers, that helped shape him into a MacArthur-winning musician and frequent performer at Carnegie Hall. When he was 6, Denk’s family moved from North Carolina to New Jersey. Following a playground incident, his teacher suggested that he needed a hobby to keep him out of trouble. At the author’s request, he began piano lessons. Unfortunately, as music began to bring stability, his “home life got worse. My father’s job stress, in tandem with my mom’s drinking, manifested for me…in the form of an unavoidable and senseless anger, a kind of autopilot screaming that inhabited the late afternoons.” At age 10, his family moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Following a successful audition, Denk began private lessons with William Leland, a piano professor at New Mexico State. At the same time, Denk began an accelerated school plan. He graduated high school at 16 and entered Oberlin College, where he studied music and chemistry. At Oberlin, the author made the decision to pursue a career as a musician despite his parents’ concerns. Working on his master’s degree at Indiana University, he fell under the spell of his guru, Hungarian pianist and teacher György Sebők. While finishing his doctorate at Juilliard, Denk also took on a faculty position at Indiana. During this time, he began to fully comprehend the joys and frustrations that his teachers had endured. The author recounts the ups and downs of each phase of his educational career, with a particular focus on the input he received from his teachers. Along the way, he offers readers lessons in harmony, melody, and rhythm.

Musicians and music enthusiasts will appreciate this journey of self-discovery.