Noting his "searching style and formidable technique," the New Yorker in 2011 praised Jeremy Denk, noting that the highly regarded pianist was "all over town these days and New York audiences are spoiled."

Now it's Fresno's turn to bask in Denk's spotlight. The Philip Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts series welcomes him for a solo recital Wednesday, March 13.

Here are five things you should know about Denk:

He's had a fruitful musical partnership since 2005 with violinist Joshua Bell, which continues to this day. The pair recorded "French Impressions," released on Sony Classical last year.

In a world in which seemingly everyone has a blog, his offering -- called "Think Denk," at jeremydenk.net/blog -- is a standout. Filled with observations about music, tidbits from his personal life and a sharp, opinionated bent toward politics, it's an entertaining compendium of a lively mind and gifted writer. (The Los Angeles Times, reviewing Denk's debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel at Disney Hall, noted a satirical blog post in which he interviewed Sarah Palin about playing Beethoven -- "trill, baby, trill.")

Denk has a doctorate from Juilliard and taught at the Indiana University School of Music from 1996 to 2002. He's currently on the faculty of Bard College.

In the upcoming April issue of Vanity Fair, Denk gets deep: "At the center of his curiosity are the gateways between music's seemingly paradoxical layers: micro and macro, detail and whole, the transition from the close-up work of practice -- 'physics and housekeeping,' as he puts it -- to the structural sweep of a performance." (In the accompanying photo he wears a jacket by Calvin Klein and Ermenegildo Zegna.)

His Fresno program includes Bartok's rarely played Sonata, a four-piece suite of Liszt's piano music and Bach's Prelude and Fugue in B minor. The Boston Globe, reviewing Denk's performance earlier this month of the same program he will play in Fresno, noted it would be "foolish to understate how remarkably talented he is."

CONCERT PREVIEW

Jeremy Denk, 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 13, Fresno State Concert Hall. keyboardconcerts.com, (559) 278-2337. $18, $12 seniors, $5 students