SCHUMANN
Fantasie in C, Op. 17; Kreisleriana Op.16; Arabeske Op.18
Jonathan Biss (piano)
EMI 365 3912 70:27 mins
Click on the link below to hear an extract from the second movement of Schumann's Kreisleriana Op.16 taken from his recent EMI disc (0946 3 65391 2 6):
NEWS: Jonathan Biss awarded La Diapason d'or de l'année for Schumann recording on EMI
Gramophone
Editor's Choice
The Young American produces Schumann playing on an exalted level
"I hope there is much more to come, for this is Schumann-playing on an exalted level with performances of all three works that bear comparison to the finest. Schumann's youthful declaration of love in the Fantasie is echoed by Biss's obvious love for the ardent score. ... On the technical side, passages such as the treacherous close of the March are seen off with convincing relish. Biss's musicality and maturity also make for an outstanding Kreisleriana ."
Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone, February 2007
BBC Music Magazine
BBC Music Choice
A Schumann Fantasy
Tim Parry welcomes transcendental playing by Jonathan Biss
"Jonathan Biss is no ordinary 25-year-old. Indeed he's no ordinary pianist. ... This young American ... plays with a selfless maturity that is exceptional. Biss has all the technique required, yet he unfailingly puts the composer first. ... Such is the strength and conviction of his playing that the music unfolds with a natural-sounding inevitability ... He brings life and significance to Schumann's inner voices, without detracting from the essential line. More Romantically inclined pianists might revel more in beautiful sound, or inflect melodic lines with a richer expressive elasticity, but the innate quality of Biss's playing transcends such issues."
Performance 5 stars
Sound 4 stars
Classic FM Magazine
CD of the Month
Jonathan Biss brings his subtle yet stylish musicianship to Schumann's piano music
"If a cry of ‘Bis’ means ‘More, please’, then so, too, does ‘Biss’. This wonderful young American pianist is a gem of an artist, wise beyond his years. Hailing from a family of distinguished musicians, Jonathan Biss has emerged in the last few years as one of the most significant young pianists on the international circuit.
Biss applies to immerse his listeners in the essence of Schumann. Good sense informs the way he phrases and voices the music according to its inner structures. The tone is full, rich and replete with well-judged colour. In Kreisleriana, Op. 16, Biss successfully alternates tenderness and turbulence to the manner born, the control of tension and momentum drawing the pieces into a unified whole. And the Arabeske , Op. 18 … is as conversational and intimate as if the pianist were playing it in your front room. Bis, Biss!"
Jessica Duchen, Classic FM , February 2007
5 stars
After one disc in EMI's Debut series, the 26-year-old US pianist Jonathan Biss, a pupil of Leon Fleischer, has been smartly promoted to the main label, and the result is one of the finest new Schumann recitals to appear for many years. Biss's performances are marvellously selfless; though his technique is utterly secure, there's not a hint of ego or attention-seeking in what he does with the C major Fantasy and Kreisleriana, the two greatest and most demanding of Schumann's piano works. Everything about his authoritative playing shows the thought behind it. The Fantasy has a natural flow and structural coherence, with every detail given space and expressive weight. And if some other pianists give the movements of Kreisleriana a sharper character, the lack of indulgence in Biss's playing is more than sufficient compensation. His lightness of touch and straightforward poetry in the less highly wrought Arabeske are perfectly judged, too.
Andrew Clements, March 2007
4 Stars
"Endlessly cryptic and poetic, Schumann’s piano music is tough meat for a veteran pianist, let alone someone aged 25. But the American Biss already seems much at home. In this recital, dominated by the Op 17 Fantasie and Kreisleriana , he judges his rubato most sensitively and always balances fine detail with impetus... Biss is already far beyond promising."
Geoff Brown, The Times, 7 January 2007
Fanfare Magazine
"This new version from Jonathan Biss is nothing if not humane. In the opening pages, he immediately sets a tone of mitigated brio: There are demons lurking beneath Schumann’s glistening, bristling surface. This is conveyed by carefully tempered dynamics and rubato rhythm. Biss seems to be seeking a balance between thoughtfulness and emotional spontaneity. ...
In the next two movements of the Fantasy , Biss manages the flow from vaulting athleticism to blissful, eerie beauty with remarkable poise and a disciplined feel of structure … A young musician performing standard repertoire must always confront the risk of being compared to the giants that came before, but in the case of Biss, his compelling artistry stands on its own"
Peter Burwasser, Fanfare Magazine, January/February 2007