A week with Joshua Bell, Steven Isserlis, Jeremy Denk.

I was invited to be Jeremy Denk’s personal page turner for an entire week, thanks to my middle and high school strings teacher and his connections*. From Tuesday to Saturday, I had the surreal experience of living and breathing the music of the Joshua Bell—Steven Isserlis—Jeremy Denk trio, with Irène Duval and Blythe Teh Engstroem, for their Fauré Project.

“I didn’t name my son Gabriel without a reason,” Steven Isserlis quipped. This incredible week consisted of multiple recording sessions and two concerts at 92NY, featuring only the works of Gabriel Fauré. The musicians’ reverence for the composer was palpable through their passionate playing.

Tuesday (7/8):
I arrived at the studio** a complete novice in page-turning. At one point, I reached for the bottom corner of the page instead of the top. Jeremy Denk signaled with an expressive tilt of his head—“I CAN’T SEEEE.” Lesson learned.
I quickly adapted, internalizing his rhythm and the shifting tempi across movements. By the end of the day, I received a high compliment—“Amazing page turns!”—from Jeremy Denk himself, prompting Steven Isserlis to remark how rare that praise is.
That day, they were tackling Fauré’s Piano Quintet No. 2—impressively completing the recording of the entire 35-minute work in just one day. Though densely written, their interpretation brought clarity, leaning into contrasting characters and textures that reshaped my understanding of the piece.

Joshua Bell, my violin idol, shook my hand. Holy moly. Not washing my right hand tonight.

Wednesday (7/9):
Originally my off day, I got a call a few hours before the concert that they might need me again, so I rushed to 92NY for my on-stage page turning debut. As most of the pieces were not part of the recording sessions and therefore unfamiliar to me, Jeremy Denk had kindly written arrows in the score indicating exactly when to turn. I am very grateful for his everlasting patience and guidance. He is also hilarious! At one point, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis fell into a geeky discussion about bowings and fingerings that I understood and was equally invested in as a violinist. Then Denk turned to me and sarcastically pantomimed a talking mouth with his hand, paired with a slight eye roll. Every interaction with him was a joy.

Thursday (7/10):
We returned to the studio to record Fauré’s Piano Trio, the slow movement of which moved me to tears. While I would normally let myself get lost in the music, allowing it to transport me into different worlds, this was the precise thing I braced myself to avoid, allowing only brief moments at the ends of movements for my eyes and ears to wander away from the score.
After the session, Steven Isserlis said, “They told me I should learn to smile from you.” I was touched to hear that I had contributed to a more joyful atmosphere. One can make a difference even in the background—smiling is powerful!

Steven Isserlis the Comedian:

To Joshua Bell: “I know you don’t speak Italian, but ‘p’ for piano means soft.”

In response to producer Silas Brown’s, “Are you happy with that take?”: “Happy? I’m Jewish!!”

Friday (7/11) was an off day while the others recorded the string quartet. After several intense days of 8–10 hour laser-sharp focus, my body seemed to unravel—I’ve never spent a day so horizontal.

Saturday (7/12):
I returned to 92NY for the final concert of this dream-like week. The program featured more Fauré gems and closed with the Second Piano Quintet, which has now earned a spot on my top 10 list of favorite pieces. At the end of the concert, all the musicians—not just Jeremy Denk—took time to thank me. I’ll never forget Joshua Bell’s kind smile.

Reflections:
What an unbelievably inspirational experience. I had the privilege of observing these musical giants up close—their dedication, humor, generosity, and artistic mastery. In the studio, they debated articulation and phrasing with vivid language and expressive playing, unafraid to disagree and always finding beautiful compromises. On stage, they wove in and out of each other’s sounds, rich with color and character.

Watching them make decisions, amidst playful banter and thoughtful discussion, showed me just how alive classical music becomes in the hands of people who care this deeply. It is insufficient to describe the piano’s sound production purely in terms of kinetic energy or the mechanics of hammers striking strings within the instrument. Jeremy Denk’s emotional intent and expressive nuance shape the sound in ways that transcend scientific explanation. Listening to Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis’s profound connection with their instruments was equally inspiring. I returned home at midnight and, still buzzing with energy, practiced the violin briefly—giddy to discover that my sense of performance had already grown.

Joshua Bell extra pickles,
Jeremy Denk no onions,
Steven Isserlis a cup of milk on the side with his double espresso.

*Special thank you’s to David Lai for reaching out to my teacher for a page turner and for trusting me; to Mr. Charles duChateau for recommending me; and his family for hosting me during this special week.

**Grammy-Award winning producer Adam Abeshouse built this beautiful dream studio of his in his home in South Salem, NY, before passing away last year. Beautiful music continues to be performed and recorded there in his memory.

Tuesday, July 8th. An audience outside the window.