Jonathan Biss

Jonathan Biss, whom The New Yorker describes as playing with “unerring sophistication,” made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001 when he was 20 years old. Since then he has appeared with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. His virtuosity and spirit have been recognized since he began playing, having won multiple awards, including Lincoln Center’s Martin E. Segal Award, The Avery Fisher Prize and Leonard Bernstein Award. Constantly striving to challenge himself, Biss is on his fourth volume of Beethoven’s Sonatas and hopes to record all 32 by 2020. NPR said of Biss’ Beethoven project that “Biss unreels the music like a prayer to the universe.” He returns to Meany Hall for the first time in over a decade.

Program:Mozart: Sonata in C Minor, K457Schönberg: Sechs Kleine Klavierstücke, Op. 19Mozart: Sonata in F Major, K533/494Schumann: Kreisleriana, Op. 16

CAST

American pianist Jonathan Biss is widely regarded for his artistry, musical intelligence and deeply felt interpretations, winning international recognition for his orchestral, recital, and chamber music performances and for his award-­‐winning recordings. He performs a diverse repertoire ranging from Mozart and Beethoven, through the Romantics to Janácek and Schoenberg as well as works by contemporary composers such as György Kurtág and including commissions from Leon Kirchner,  Lewis Spratlan and Bernard Rands.

Jonathan  Biss, whom The New Yorker describes as playing with "unerring sophistication", made his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, and since then has appeared with the foremost orchestras of North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia.  He is a frequent performer at leading international music festivals and gives recitals in major music capitals both at home and abroad.   

This season Mr. Biss's return engagements include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Günther Herbig,  the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Jirí Belohlávek, the Cleveland Orchestra with Fabio Luisi, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with Robin Ticciati, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic with Sakari Oramo and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with Peter Oundjian. He will make his debut with the Dresden Staatskapelle with Sir Colin Davis and his subscription debut with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Ludovic Morlot.   

Mr. Biss will begin the 2011‐12 season with a two‐week residency with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra centered on programs that juxtapose Mozart concerti with works by Kurtág, directing the orchestra from the keyboard as well as performing chamber music. Mr. Biss, who last season toured the U.S. with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and who has recorded Mozart with the Orpheus  Chamber Orchestra, will perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20, K466 with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in three cities in Scotland in May. In January 2012 he will join Mitsuko Uchida in Salzburg for the Mozartwoche festival, performing Mozart's Sonata in F major  for Piano (four hands).   

Last  season Mr. Biss made his much‐anticipated Carnegie Hall recital debut with a program of works by Beethoven, Schumann, Janácek and a new work written for him by Bernard Rands. Mr. Biss contributed to an insightful and entertaining blog series  about his debut experience at  CarnegieHall.org. This season Mr. Biss will perform solo recitals in Europe at London's Southbank  Centre, and in Berlin under the auspices of the Berliner Philharmoniker, with recitals in the U.S. in New York City, Washington, DC, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Princeton, Omaha and Kansas. He will also perform chamber programs with the Elias Quartet at London's Wigmore Hall and in Belgium, Philadelphia  and Washington, DC.       

In  January 2012 Onyx Classics will release  the first CD in a nine-year, nine‐disc  recording cycle of Beethoven's complete sonatas.  The first CD will feature Opus 10, No. 1 in C minor, Opus 22 in B flat major, Opus 26 in A flat major and Opus 81  in E flat major, Les Adieux.   

Mr. Biss's previous recordings include an album of Schubert Sonatas in A Major, D. 959 and C Major, D. 840 and two short Kurtág pieces from Játékok that was released  in October 2009 on the  Wigmore Hall Live label and named by NPR Music as one of the best albums of the year. It follows four acclaimed recordings for EMI Classics, including  an  all-Schumann recital album, which won  a Diapason d'Or de l'année award and a recital album of Beethoven Piano Sonatas, Opp. 13, 28, 90, and 109; which received an Edison Award. With the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra he recorded Mozart Piano Concertos 21 and    22 in a  live performance. His first recording  for EMI Classics  was a 2004 recording on EMI's Debut series of works by Beethoven and Schumann.       

At  age 20, Mr. Biss made his New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y's Tisch Center for the Arts in 2000 and his New  York Philharmonic debut under Kurt Masur that same season.  Among  the many conductors  with whom he has worked are Marin Alsop, Daniel Barenboim, Herbert Blomstedt,  James Conlon,  Charles Dutoit,  Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Andris Nelsons, Antonio Pappano, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph von Dohnányi, and Pinchas Zukerman.   

Jonathan  Biss, who was born in 1980, represents the third  generation in a family of  professional musicians that includes his grandmother Raya Garbousova, one of the first well-known female cellists (for whom Samuel Barber composed his  Cello Concerto), and his parents, violinist Miriam Fried and violist/violinist Paul Biss. Growing up surrounded by music, Mr. Biss began his  piano studies at age six,  and his first musical collaborations were with his mother and father.  He studied at Indiana University with Evelyne Brancart  and at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Leon Fleisher. In 2010 Mr. Biss was appointed to  the piano faculty of The Curtis Institute and he will perform with The Curtis Symphony Orchestra in October 2011 in Philadelphia at the Kimmel Center.   

Mr. Biss has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Leonard Bernstein Award presented at the 2005 Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Wolf Trap's Shouse Debut Artist Award, the Andre Wolf Memorial Chamber Music Award, Lincoln Center's Martin E. Segal Award, an Avery  Fisher  Career Grant, the 2003 Borletti‐Buitoni Trust Award,  and the 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award. He was an artist‐in‐residence on American Public Media's Performance Today and was the first American chosen to participate in the BBC's New Generation Artist program.  

RELATED

Master Class for UW Music students with Jonathan Biss. October 19 1:30-3:30pm. More information.