Jonathan Biss and Stephen Fry Discuss Anxiety and The Arts In Virtual Conversation Presented By 92Y

In connection with his new, best-selling Audible Original, Unquiet: My Life with Beethoven, pianist and author Jonathan Biss is joined by English actor, comedian, and writer Stephen Fry for a virtual conversation about the recent memoir's underlying theme-mental health in the context of life as an artist. This streamed event is presented by the 92nd Street Y on Monday, January 25 at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be subsequently available on demand.

Tickets priced $15, or $22 with UNQUIET included, are available from the 92nd Street Y online at 92y.org.

In Unquiet, Mr. Biss ("one of today's foremost Beethoven exponents" -Chicago Tribune) examines the interplay between his lifelong passion for the music of Beethoven and his own personal struggles with anxiety. He and Mr. Fry will engage in a dialogue about their personal experiences as entertainers and the extent to which having mental health issues might have contributed to-and been exacerbated by-their decisions to become performers.

Published by Audible, Inc., the leading creator and provider of premium audio storytelling, UNQUIET marked the first release by a classical musician in Audible's Words + Music programming, which also includes Audible Originals from James Taylor, Patti Smith, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Rufus Wainwright, and more. In addition to Mr. Biss's narration, this audio memoir includes musical interludes of selections primarily from Beethoven's piano sonatas, recorded by Mr. Biss specifically for the project. For more information, see the original press release here or visit audible.com/unquiet.

Mr. Biss first encountered Beethoven's music as a young boy, quickly becoming obsessed. After years of studying and performing the composer's works for piano, he embarked in 2011 on a nine-year project to record all 32 of Beethoven's landmark piano sonatas, while also performing and lecturing around the world. He expected this project to be "the most fulfilling experience of [his] life," but he did not anticipate the latent anxieties that his journey would uncover.

At the time of the COVID-19 outbreak, Mr. Biss was in the midst of multiple recital series of Beethoven's complete piano sonatas, as well as numerous performances of selections from the sonatas. These concerts included a recital for New York's 92nd Street Y that became one of the first widely viewed online classical events of the coronavirus era-with more than 280,000 views on Facebook.