Poster Jonathan Biss
Jonathan Biss
EMI Classics
Performance Today®

A matter of life and death

Most people don't think of performing classical music as a life or death proposition. But pianist Jonathan Biss does. He talks about pouring blood, sweat and tears into his performances, in order to do justice to the composer and the music. Today we'll hear Biss performing Beethoven's second piano concerto with the Swedish Radio Symphony.

Episode Playlist

Hour 1

Ludwig van Beethoven: Rondo from Piano Sonata No. 8 in C Minor, Op. 13 ("Pathetique")
Pianist Jonathan Biss

Parsegh Atmacayan: "For Children"
Pianist Sahan Arzruni
Merkin Concert Hall, New York City

Bohuslav Martinu: Scherzo and Finale from Sextet for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Two Bassoons, and Piano, H. 174
Pianist Joel Fan with members of the Imani Winds
Skaneateles Music Festival, Skaneateles, New York

Antonin Dvorak: Cavatina from Four Miniatures for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 75a
Violinists Lily Francis and Karen Gomyo and violist Choong-Jin Chang
Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Bridgehampton, New York

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 19
Pianist Jonathan Biss with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Michael Guttler
Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden

Hour 2

Bedrich Smetana: "A Country Woman" from "Short Orchestral Pieces"
The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra with conductor Robert Stankovsky

Jing-Ping Zhang: "Harvest Celebration"
The Shanghai Quartet
Lincoln Performance Hall, Portland, Oregon

Timo Alakotila: "Pelimanni's Revenge"
ETHEL
Windham Chamber Music Festival, Windham, New York

Antonin Dvorak: Symphony No. 5 in F, Op. 76
The Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra with conductor Mario Kosik
Slovak Philharmonie, Bratislava, Slovakia

Jacob van Eyck: "The Standing Masque"
Julien Martin, recorder, with Capriccio Stravagante and conductor Skip Sempe
Musica Antica Early Music Festival, Bruges, Belgium

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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.

Performance Today® features live concert recordings that can’t be heard anywhere else, highlights from new album releases, and in-studio performances and interviews. Performance Today® is based at the APM studios in St. Paul, Minnesota, but is frequently on the road, with special programs broadcast from festivals and public radio stations around the country. Also, each Wednesday, composer Bruce Adolphe joins host Fred Child for a classical musical game and listener favorite: the Piano Puzzler.

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