Pianist Simone Dinnerstein emerged swiftly onto the classical scene during the opening decades of the twenty-first century, building a thriving global presence as a soloist while amassing both popular appeal and critical recognition through her catalog of releases. Although her programming spans eras from Baroque foundations to brand-new commissions, she earned particular notice for her deep connection to the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian Bach. The coronavirus lockdowns of 2020 prompted composer Richard Danielpour to create new pieces with Dinnerstein in mind, resulting in her 2021 album devoted to those compositions.
Born September 18, 1972, in New York City, Dinnerstein trained at the Manhattan School of Music before completing her studies at the Juilliard School under Peter Serkin and serving as a fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. Her profile rose sharply after her 2005 Carnegie Hall debut in New York, where she presented Bach’s Goldberg Variations. The 2007 Telarc recording of the same work reached the summit of the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart within its opening week, collecting honors that included a Diapason d’Or Award along with inclusions on multiple year-end “best of” lists. A second release, drawn from her 2007 Berlin recital of music by Bach, Beethoven, and Philip Lasser, appeared in 2008 and likewise claimed the number-one position on the U.S. Billboard Classical Chart in its first week.
After signing with Sony Classical in 2010, Dinnerstein issued Bach: A Strange Beauty in 2011; the album not only headed the classical rankings but ranked among the year’s strongest sellers across all genres. The following year brought Something Almost Being Said: Music of Bach and Schubert. In early 2013 she joined singer-songwriter Tift Merrit for the song cycle Night, and she also released the all-Bach program Inventions & Sinfonias that same year.
Throughout her concert career Dinnerstein assembled an extensive international schedule encompassing both solo recitals and concerto appearances. She has appeared at London’s Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, and the Kennedy Center, as well as additional venues across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Among the orchestras she has joined are the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Tokyo Symphony. Her work has received coverage in outlets ranging from Gramophone and The New York Times to the Howard Stern Show. Beyond conventional stages and studios, she has invested significant effort performing in nontraditional spaces such as nursing homes, public schools, and state prisons. Following her 2017 album Mozart in Havana, she arranged the Havana Lyceum Orchestra’s first visit to the United States. Dinnerstein established the string ensemble Baroklyn, which she leads from the keyboard, and she released An American Mosaic in 2021, a collection featuring music by Richard Danielpour.
