Marilyn Nonken
Pianist
Biography
Photo by Sara Press
Marilyn Nonken is one of the most celebrated champions of the modern repertoire of her generation, known for performances that explore transcendent virtuosity and extremes of musical expression. Upon her 1993 New York debut, she was heralded as "a determined protector of important music" (New York Times). Recognized as "one of the greatest interpreters of new music" (American Record Guide), she has been named “Best of the Year” by some of the nation’s leading critics (Boston Globe, 1997-2002, and The Washington Post, 2005).
Marilyn Nonken's performances have been presented at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Miller Theatre, the Guggenheim Museum, IRCAM, the Theâtre Bouffe du Nord, the ABC (Australia), Rockefeller Foundation, Kettle's Yard, Cleveland Museum of Art, Phillips Collection, and Menil Collection, as well as at conservatories and universities around the world. Composers who have written for her include Tristan Murail, Pascal Dusapin, Chris Dench, Michael Finnissy, David Rakowski, and Milton Babbitt. As a chamber musician, she plays with Ensemble 21 (New York, the new music group of which she is Artistic Director and a co-founder) and Elision (Melbourne); she also has appeared with the Group for Contemporary Music, MusicNOW (Chicago Symphony), the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum Musicae, and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Festival appearances include Résonances and the Festival d'Automne (both, Paris) and When Morty Met John, Making Music, and Works and Process (all, New York), as well as Musica Nova (Helsinki), Aspects des Musiques d’Aujourd-hui (Caën), Messiaen 2008 (Birmingham, UK), New Music Days (Ostrava), Musikhøst (Odense), Music on the Edge (Pittsburgh), Piano Festival Northwest (Portland), and the William Kapell International Piano Festival and Competition. Highlights of her 2008-2009 season include world premieres of works by Drew Baker, Liza Lim, Richard Festinger, and Jason Eckardt, and performances at the Helsinki Festival, Toronto’s Music Gallery, New York’s Miller Theatre, and the Rothko Chapel.
She has recorded for New World Records, Mode, Lovely Music, Albany, Metier, Divine Art, Innova, CRI, BMOP Sound, New Focus, Tzadik, and Neos. "American Spiritual," a CD of works written for her, was released in 2001; other solo discs include “Morton Feldman: Triadic Memories” and “Tristan Murail: The Complete Piano Music.” Recent releases include portrait discs of Chris Dench, William Albright, and Charles Wuorinen. Forthcoming CD's feature music of Brian Ferneyhough, Roger Reynolds, and David Rakowski.
Photo by Peter Schütte
A student of David Burge at the Eastman School, Marilyn Nonken received a Ph.D. degree in musicology from Columbia University. Her writings on music have been published in Tempo, Perspectives of New Music, Contemporary Music Review, Agni, Current Musicology, Tempo, Ecological Psychology, and the Journal of the Institute for Studies in American Music. Currently Director of Piano Studies at New York University’s Steinhardt School, Marilyn Nonken is a Steinway Artist.