The Met Presents Pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Performing as Part of 'Spark: Painting and Provocation', 11/12

Pianist Simone Dinnerstein will perform as part of Spark: Painting and Provocation, a Met Museum Presents conversation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in The Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium (1000 Fifth Avenue) on Tuesday, November 12 at 6pm. This ticketed talk explores the work of the artist Balthus, and in addition to Dinnerstein will feature Sabine Rewald, Jaques and Natasha Gelman Curator of Modern Art, MMA; Deborah Tolman, psychologist and author; and Dar Williams, singer/songwriter. It will be hosted by Julie Burstein, author and Peabody Award-winning creator of public radio's Studio 360. The program is in conjunction with the exhibition Balthus: Cats and Girls-Paintings and Provocations, on view fromSeptember 25, 2013 through January 12, 2014.

Met Museum Curator Sabine Rewald describes Balthus's 1938 painting Thérèse Dreaming as "the epitome of dormant adolescent sexuality." Simone Dinnerstein will perform Sonata in A Major, K. 331 by Balthus' favorite composer, Mozart. Deborah Tolman will talk about her book Dilemmas of Desire, in which teenage girls speak candidly about their sexual curiosity and confusion. And Dar Williams contributes songs that beautifully capture the dreams and desires of girls. Intimate, revealing, disturbing, and inspiring, the stories told this evening explore what Thérèse may have been dreaming about.

"Mozart was Balthus' favorite composer and in many ways they had a lot in common. There's a sense of line and clarity, a translucent beauty, combined with a dark chromaticism and a sense of mischief that is present in both of their work," Dinnerstein says. "My father is an artist and he introduced me to Balthus' work when I was a young teenager. I vividly remember the retrospective at the Met from 1984. I was around the same age as those young girls that were the subjects of so many of his paintings, and I could relate to that combination of innocence and interest in the dark unknown that seemed so present in those girls. He has remained one of my favorite artists to this day."

Simone Dinnerstein next performs in New York on January 23, 2014 at Columbia University's Miller Theatre. That concert will celebrate the release of her newest album, a recording of Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias, due out on Sony Classical in January 2014. For her complete concert schedule, visit http://bit.ly/SimoneConcerts.

About Simone Dinnerstein:
American pianist Simone Dinnerstein is a searching and inventive artist who is motivated by a desire to find the musical core of every work she approaches. NPR reports, "She compels the listener to follow her in a journey of discovery filled with unscheduled detours . . . She's actively listening to every note she plays, and the result is a wonderfully expressive interpretation." The New York-based pianist gained an international following because of the remarkable success of her recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which she raised the funds to record. Released in 2007 on Telarc, it ranked No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart in its first week of sales and was named to many "Best of 2007" lists including those of The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The New Yorker.

The three solo albums Dinnerstein has released since then - The Berlin Concert (Telarc), Bach: A Strange Beauty (Sony), andSomething Almost Being Said (Sony) - have also topped the classical charts. Dinnerstein was the bestselling instrumentalist of 2011 on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart and was included in NPR's 2011 100 Favorite Songs from all genres.

In spring 2013, Simone Dinnerstein and singer-songwriter Tift Merritt released an album together on Sony called Night, a unique collaboration uniting classical, folk, and rock worlds. Other upcoming and recent highlights include Dinnerstein's debuts in Sydney and Melbourne; her debuts in Leipzig at the Gewandhaus and in Toulouse; the world premiere of Nico Muhly's You Can't Get There From Here at Symphony Hall in Boston; her third return engagement at the Berlin Philharmonie; and world premiere performances of Philip Lasser's The Circle and The Child with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Dinnerstein's performances have taken her around the world since her triumphant New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall in 2005 to venues including the Kennedy Center, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Metropolitan Museum, and Wigmore Hall; festivals including the Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival, the Aspen, Verbier, and Ravinia festivals, and the Stuttgart Bach Festival; and performances with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Berlin, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Minnesota Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Kristjan Järvi's Absolute Ensemble, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Symphony.

Dinnerstein has played concerts throughout the U.S. for the Piatigorsky Foundation, an organization dedicated to bringing classical music to non-traditional venues. She gave the first classical music performance in the Louisiana state prison system when she played at the Avoyelles Correctional Center, and performed at the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women in a concert organized by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Dedicated to her community, in 2009 Dinnerstein founded Neighborhood Classics, a concert series open to the public hosted by New York public schools which raises funds for the schools.

Dinnerstein is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she was a student of Peter Serkin. She also studied with Solomon Mikowsky at the Manhattan School of Music and in London with Maria Curcio. Simone Dinnerstein lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and son. She is managed by IMG Artists and is a Sony Classical artist.

About Met Museum Presents:
A wide-ranging series of performances and talks at The Metropolitan Museum of Art that explores contemporary issues and innovations through the lens of the Museum's exhibitions and unparalleled gallery spaces. Met Museum Presents creates a platform for curators, thought-leaders, and artists to come together and explore the Met as a generative force.

Ticket Information:
Tickets for Spark: Painting and Provocation, seating in the Metropolitan Museum's Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, are $30. Tickets can be ordered at 212.570.3949, www.metmuseum.org/tickets, or The Great Hall Box Office.