San Francisco Performances favorite Jonathan Biss returns with an ambitious and intriguing series of recitals that ask contemporary American composers of three generations to consider and musically respond to the legacy of Franz Schubert. Alvin Singleton (b. 1940) draws inspiration from a wide stream including folk and spiritual, classical and pop, with often surprising and theatrical nuance. At just 23, Tyson Gholston Davis has been commissioned by an astonishing array of artists and ensembles, including the Juilliard String Quartet and Eighth Blackbird.
Jonathan Biss’s boundless curiosity about humanity and art make him a thoughtful and compelling performer. He is known for assembling programs that plumb the depths of history, explore sparks of creativity and affirm the unity of shared experience. San Francisco Classical Voice called him, “a pianist whose probing, incisive, and deeply considered performances are consistently challenging and rewarding.
Jonathan Biss is a world renowned pianist who channels his deep musical curiosity into performances and projects in the concert hall and beyond. In addition to performing with today’s leading orchestras, he continues to expand his reputation as a teacher, musical thinker, and one of the great Beethoven interpreters of our time. He is Co-Artistic Director alongside Mitsuko Uchida at the Marlboro Music Festival, where he has spent fifteen summers. He also recently led a massive open online course (MOOC) via Coursera, reaching an international audience of over 150,000. Biss writes extensively on his repertoire and has authored four audio- and e-books, including UNQUIET: My Life with Beethoven (2020), the first Audible Original by a classical musician and one of Audible’s top audiobooks of 2020.