Marilyn Nonken is one of the most celebrated champions of the modern repertoire of her generation, known for performances that explore transcendent virtuosity and extremes of musical expression. Upon her 1993 New York debut, she was heralded as "a determined protector of important music" (New York Times). Recognized as "one of the greatest interpreters of new music" (American Record Guide), she has been named “Best of the Year” by the nation’s leading critics (Boston Globe, 1997-2002, and The Washington Post, 2005).

Marilyn Nonken's performances have been presented world over, at such venues as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, IRCAM, the Theâtre Bouffe du Nord, the ABC (Australia), Guggenheim Museum, Rockefeller Foundation, Kettle's Yard, Cleveland Museum of Art, Phillips Collection, Menil Collection, Miller Theatre, DaCamera of Houston, and Mid-American Center for Contemporary Music. Composers who have written for her include Milton Babbitt, Chris Dench, Pascal Dusapin, Jason Eckardt, Michael Finnissy, Liza Lim, Tristan Murail, and David Rakowski. As a chamber musician, she plays with Ensemble 21 (New York) and Elision (Melbourne); she also has appeared as a guest with the Group for Contemporary Music, MusicNOW (Chicago Symphony), Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Speculum Musicae, and Boston Modern Orchestra Project. Festival appearances include Résonances and the Festival d'Automne (both, Paris), Musica Nova (Helsinki), Aspects des Musiques d’Aujourd-hui (Caën), Messiaen 2008 (Birmingham, UK), New Music Days (Ostrava), Musikhøst (Odense), When Morty Met John (New York), Works and Process (New York), Music on the Edge (Pittsburgh), The Festival of New American Music (Sacramento), and the William Kapell International Piano Festival and Competition. Highlights of her 2008-2009 season include world premieres of works by Drew Baker, Liza Lim, Richard Festinger, and Jason Eckardt, and performances at the Helsinki Festival, Toronto’s Music Gallery, New York’s Lincoln Center, Miller Theatre, and Baryshnikov Arts Center, and the Rothko Chapel.

She has recorded for New World Records, Mode, Lovely Music, Albany, Metier, Divine Art, Innova, CRI, BMOP Sound,  New Focus, Tzadik, and Neos. "American Spiritual," a CD of works written for her, was released in 2001; other solo discs include “Morton Feldman: Triadic Memories” and “Tristan Murail: The Complete Piano Music.” Upcoming releases include music of David Rakowski and Roger Reynolds.

A student of David Burge at the Eastman School, she received a Ph.D. degree in musicology from Columbia University. Her writings on music have been published in Tempo, Perspectives of New Music, Contemporary Music Review, Agni, Current Musicology, Tempo, Ecological Psychology, and the Journal of the Institute for Studies in American Music. Marilyn Nonken is a Steinway Artist.