Two Hands, One Heart
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To the soft swoosh of the washing machine and the warm, dusky tones of Alfred Drake singing "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life" on Classic Arts Showcase, I sat down to read pianist Jonathan Biss's blog and was promptly besotted. The guy writes with heart and self-deprecating humor, so much so that quite apart from what he does with a piano, he's an engaging figure.
This month young Mr. Biss turns 27, and it's entirely possible that this Bloomington, Indiana, native has completely escaped your notice.
Jonathan Biss comes from a musical family, and the joke -- evidently true -- is that he was already on the concert stage while in the womb. His parents, Miriam Fried and Paul Biss, are both classical violinists, and Grandmother was not only a cellist but the cellist for whom Samuel Barber composed his Cello Concerto. Young Jonathan studied with Evelyne Brancart and Leon Fleisher (check out the amusing account of the latter experience on Biss's website, ), and has been touring his native country and the world, collecting prizes and glowing reviews.
He is, however, only at the beginning of his recording career, which has thus far been devoted to Beethoven and Schumann. The latest album, comprised of solo piano works from Schumann's earlier compositions, is a particularly welcome arrival and shows his technique to great advantage.
With these Schumann works, Biss is assertive and sensitive at once, a romantic with backbone. He approaches the material both with an open heart and great intelligence, with passion and maturity. It's not so much that the music is laid out for our enjoyment, like a piece of jewelry in a case, but that it's an organic, living being.
These solo works allow you to grasp the young Biss in his purest form. You'll have to wait for a concert (or perhaps another recording) to catch him with an orchestra.
His concert schedule has him roaming the Middle East and Europe, as well as snaking his way across the other States, and we don't get to see him in the DC area until May 2008, when he's scheduled for a Kennedy Center concert featuring Bartok, Brahms, and Janacek. Yes, the man's repertoire is growing in interesting directions, quite apart from his obvious affinity for the Romantic era.
- Jonathan Biss: Schumann: Fantasie in C, Kreisleriana, Arabeske in C (EMI 65391)
To the soft swoosh of the washing machine and the warm, dusky tones of Alfred Drake singing "Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life" on Classic Arts Showcase, I sat down to read pianist Jonathan Biss's blog and was promptly besotted. The guy writes with heart and self-deprecating humor, so much so that quite apart from what he does with a piano, he's an engaging figure.
This month young Mr. Biss turns 27, and it's entirely possible that this Bloomington, Indiana, native has completely escaped your notice.
Jonathan Biss comes from a musical family, and the joke -- evidently true -- is that he was already on the concert stage while in the womb. His parents, Miriam Fried and Paul Biss, are both classical violinists, and Grandmother was not only a cellist but the cellist for whom Samuel Barber composed his Cello Concerto. Young Jonathan studied with Evelyne Brancart and Leon Fleisher (check out the amusing account of the latter experience on Biss's website, ), and has been touring his native country and the world, collecting prizes and glowing reviews.
He is, however, only at the beginning of his recording career, which has thus far been devoted to Beethoven and Schumann. The latest album, comprised of solo piano works from Schumann's earlier compositions, is a particularly welcome arrival and shows his technique to great advantage.With these Schumann works, Biss is assertive and sensitive at once, a romantic with backbone. He approaches the material both with an open heart and great intelligence, with passion and maturity. It's not so much that the music is laid out for our enjoyment, like a piece of jewelry in a case, but that it's an organic, living being.
These solo works allow you to grasp the young Biss in his purest form. You'll have to wait for a concert (or perhaps another recording) to catch him with an orchestra.
His concert schedule has him roaming the Middle East and Europe, as well as snaking his way across the other States, and we don't get to see him in the DC area until May 2008, when he's scheduled for a Kennedy Center concert featuring Bartok, Brahms, and Janacek. Yes, the man's repertoire is growing in interesting directions, quite apart from his obvious affinity for the Romantic era.
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