The Wide Horizon: An Appreciation of Jonathan Biss

by Jill Pearlman

Jonathan Biss has a surplus of brio, charm, and passion.  If things come easily, the world-renowned pianist ups the game, looking for wider horizons to expand and spill that nerve and talent.  As a young musician, he gravitated to the infinitely complex works of Beethoven and has become known as one of the composer’s great interpreters on the contemporary scene.

Alongside that surplus: a surplus of generosity.  Biss recently performed a benefit concert in Providence, his sixth for CMW.  Boyish at 39, he sat at the baby grand, flicked the flaps of his coat jacket and smoothed his thick hair.  Then he immersed himself in the great rollicking energies of Beethoven, playing with great intensity from memory.  The pieces seemed to contain all the things of this world – and the world after.  Emotionally, physically, it required utmost concentration to keep from being overthrown by the power unlocked by the work.  “These are the most difficult and challenging pieces for any musician, but I couldn’t live without them,” he said.

At the same time, Biss brings this unwavering intensity and commitment, his passion and brio for what we do at CMW.  As a shaper of phrases, his language is to the point: “I love this organization,” he said. “It’s one of the  few things these days that makes me feel hopeful.” 

And “I can’t imagine musicians NOT bringing their commitment to the community the way the country is these days!” 

If that’s not enough: “The model that they’ve established is so right-headed and inspired.  The best thing I could hope for would be if it were replicated in every community across the U.S.!” 

Biss doesn’t waver: “When I first learned of CMW, I instantly thought it was a fantastic idea,” he said.  “I was attracted to the idea of thinking about the role of the musician in the community….CMW musicians play on such a high caliber.  They have impact on the communities which they’ve chosen.   What they do is different than outreach, a word I hate.  They have chosen a life’s work through music.”

With his big-picture outlook, Biss seized on the urgent crisis of classical music in the early 2000s.  He was convinced of the need for musicians to radically rethink the way they engaged with the world.  Audiences were shrinking; concert halls found themselves chasing audiences with less than challenging crowdpleasers. 

His approach has taken several turns.  As a means of engaging with an engaged audience, Biss thought deeply about the possibilities of online reach, and in response developed a massive online course on Coursera, which has reached more than 150,00 people.

That public project supported an even more ambitious artistic project of recording all of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas on nine disks over nine years.  Along with practicing those immensely challenging musical sonatas, with the international concerts and recording, he generously offered to make a pilgrimage to Providence to perform for the benefit of CMW’s teaching and programming.  

The crisis Biss felt has intensified since he began thinking about the role of music.  Culture and civil society are on the line.  Art can go by the wayside, be seen as largely irrelevant, or it can step in, improve the quality of our interactions and the fullness of our humanity. Biss understood years ago that CMW’s teaching expands both student and teacher, giver and receiver.  It’s not enough to be cloistered artist; it shrinks the world.  Jonathan Biss lives by the wide horizon. 

Jill Pearlman is a Providence-based poet and arts journalist and a CMW board member. She writes a blog about art, politics, and aesthetics at jillpearlman.com.

Jonathan Biss‘ concert calendar, Coursera, and recording information can be found at www.jonathanbiss.com.

Photo by Alexandra O’Connor.