
Review: Jeremy Denk Essays Beethoven, Ives and Ragtime. Culture OC, April 10, 2026.
photo credit: Philharmonic Society of Orange County/Paul Cressey

Review: Jeremy Denk Essays Beethoven, Ives and Ragtime. Culture OC, April 10, 2026.
photo credit: Philharmonic Society of Orange County/Paul Cressey
April 12, 2026
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Really enjoyed this article and the discussion about how classical music can still evolve through narrative and atmosphere while remaining connected to literary and symphonic traditions.
I recently worked on a large-scale orchestral project inspired by Dante’s Inferno called “Inferno Symphony,” where orchestra, choir, and selected verses from the Divine Comedy are used to create a cinematic descent through Hell. Projects like this made me reflect on how deeply literature and symphonic music can still interact in contemporary composition.
Always great to see spaces that continue exploring classical music beyond traditional boundaries.
You can listen to the full symphony here:
https://youtu.be/14fziK0497I
Speaking of Divine Comedy, one cannot do much better musically than Dante by Thomas Ades. All three parts of it are very good, but the longest and best of them is Inferno which may just be the orchestral masterpiece of this century (so far). The entire work is available on YouTube as recorded by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Gustavo Dudamel.