Jonathan Biss Will Perform Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 EMPEROR at Carnegie Hall Next Month

In his fourth appearance with the New York String Orchestra since making his Carnegie Hall debut with the ensemble 23 years ago to the day in 1999, Jonathan Biss joins conductor Jamie Laredo to perform Beethoven's Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major "Emperor" on Saturday, December 28 at 8:00 pm on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage. The Carnegie Hall-presented program also includes Prokofiev's Symphony No.1, "Classical," and Felix Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3, "Scottish."

Hailed as "one of today's foremost Beethoven exponents" (Chicago Tribune), Biss has dedicated over a decade of his career to exploring Beethoven's work not just as a performer - he released his complete recording of all 32 piano sonatas in 2020 - but as a writer and educator. Passionate about communicating his love for Beethoven's art, Biss goes beyond the concert hall with projects that inspire audiences, readers, and listeners, to form a personal connection with music.

Following this concert, he plays the "Emperor" concerto along with the American premiere of Brett Dean's Gneixendorfer Musik - A Winter's Journey, on February 10, 2023, with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. This season marks the final installment of his Beethoven/5 venture, which paired Beethoven's five concertos with a new piece created in response by some of today's most prominent composers, with the "Emperor" capping off the seven-year long commissioning project.

Biss' Audible Original UNQUIET, released in 2020, examines the interplay between his personal struggles and lifelong passion for Beethoven. After spending nine years immersed in the sonatas, Biss found himself suddenly afflicted with bouts of crippling anxiety. Using his struggle as a means to connect with both Beethoven's music and Beethoven himself, UNQUIET conveys how art both reveals and heals, and how facing a tempestuous artist helped Biss face himself.

Biss also explored the Beethoven sonatas through a scholarly lens for the online course Exploring Beethoven's Piano Sonatas, available via Coursera in partnership with the Curtis Institute of Music. Aimed at musicians and music enthusiasts alike, Biss' lectures feature analysis and historical background from the perspective of a performer, rather than that of a musicologist.

Other writing includes his 2011 e-book, Beethoven's Shadow, the first Amazon Kindle Single written by a classical musician, which details Biss' relationship with Beethoven as he began recording and performing the full cycle of sonatas.

Concert appearances this season include Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 20 with Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra on January 19 and 21, and Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 25 with the Rochester Philharmonic on March 2 and 4. Biss also performs recitals at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society on April 27, and at the People's Symphony Concerts at New York City's Town Hall on May 7.

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