Published: 04 January 2012
Category: Artists

Jonathan Biss begins the New Year with the release of the first volume of the complete Beethoven piano sonatas on the Onyx label and a piano recital at Southbank Centre.

In a major recording project that is already receiving excellent reviews, Biss will record and release the 32 sonatas over nine discs and in as many years. This first album, which is released on 9 January 2012, features four works: sonata no.5 in C minor Op.10 No.1, sonata no.11 in B flat Op.22, sonata No.12 in A flat Op.26 ‘Funeral March’ and sonata No.26 in E flat op.81a ‘Les Adieux’.

To accompany the first release, Biss has written an essay entitled Beethoven’s Shadow, which has been released as a Kindle Single and is currently No.8 in the US Kindle Single’s charts. Click here to read an extract.

Biss also performs the 'Les Adieux' and Op.10 No.1 sonatas in his recital at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, as part of Southbank Centre's International Piano Series, on January 17. The programme also includes works by Janácek and Chopin.

“There's a wonderfully unforced quality to Biss's playing that's as effective in Beethoven as it was in the outstanding Schumann disc with which he really made his name four years ago. The way in which he eases into the opening movement of the A flat Funeral March Sonata Op 26, or perfectly weights the climaxes in Op 81a, Les Adieux, are marks of an outstanding pianist; for those who stay the course, this could be a Beethoven cycle to treasure.”
Andrew Clements, The Guardian, five stars, January 2012

“Biss, a young American pianist with an exceptional musical pedigree, intense intelligence and a fantastic sense of humour, has all the ingredients he needs to become one of today’s great Beethovenians... An exciting and sophisticated start to what promises to be a great Beethoven cycle.”
Jessica Duchen, Classic FM magazine, February 2012

UPDATE, 18 January: Listen again to Jonathan Biss's recital at the Queen Elizabeth Hall last night, which was recorded live by BBC Radio 3. Available for the next seven days.

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