The Brentano Quartet—celebrated for its “luxuriously warm sound” and imaginative interpretations—joins pianist Jonathan Biss for a program of Haydn, Beethoven, and Dvořák, uniting one of today’s leading chamber ensembles with a pianist admired for intellectual depth and expressive clarity.
PROGRAM
HAYDN: String Quartet, Op. 20, No. 4
BEETHOVEN: String Quartet, Op. 18, No. 1
Intermission
DVORÁK: Piano Quintet, Op. 81, No. 2
BRENTANO QUARTET
Mark Steinberg, violin | Serena Canin, violin | Misha Amory, viola | Nina Lee, cello
With a career spanning more than three decades, the Brentano Quartet has appeared worldwide to both popular and critical acclaim. The New York Times praises its “luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism,” while The Times of London hails the ensemble’s “wonderful, selfless music-making.” Renowned for its probing interpretive style, distinctive musical sensibility, and imaginative programming, the Quartet has performed across five continents in many of the world’s most prestigious venues and festivals, establishing itself as one of today’s preeminent chamber ensembles.
Equally committed to education, the Brentano Quartet has served for the past decade as Artists-in-Residence at the Yale School of Music, where its members are deeply involved in mentoring young musicians. The Quartet also leads the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival and appears regularly at the Taos School of Music. Previously, it served for fifteen years as Ensemble-in-Residence at Princeton University, shaping generations of chamber musicians.
Formed in 1992, the Brentano Quartet has received numerous honors, including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award and the Cleveland Quartet Award. The ensemble has collaborated with artists such as Jessye Norman, Joyce DiDonato, Mitsuko Uchida, and Jonathan Biss, and has commissioned works from leading composers including Gabriela Frank, Vijay Iyer, Steven Mackey, and Charles Wuorinen.
The Quartet’s recordings include Beethoven’s Op. 131 (Aeon), featured in the film A Late Quartet, and Into the Fire—Live from Wigmore Hall with Joyce DiDonato (Warner). The ensemble is named for Antonie Brentano, believed by many scholars to be Beethoven’s “Immortal Beloved.”
JONATHAN BISS, piano
Jonathan Biss is an internationally acclaimed pianist recognized for his profound musicianship, intellectual curiosity, and deeply communicative performances. Born in 1980 into a musical family, he began piano studies at age six and grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, studying with Karen Taylor and Evelyne Brancart. At seventeen, he entered the Curtis Institute of Music to study with Leon Fleisher, an experience central to his artistic development.
Biss has established himself as one of the leading pianists of his generation, appearing regularly with major orchestras and conductors worldwide. He has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra, as well as many of Europe’s leading ensembles. His collaborators have included Lorin Maazel, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Simon Rattle, and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He is also a frequent recitalist in major concert halls across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Especially admired for his interpretations of the core classical repertoire—particularly Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, and Brahms—Biss has released numerous critically acclaimed recordings. These include a complete cycle of Beethoven’s piano sonatas, issued in nine volumes, as well as recordings of concertos and chamber music.
Committed to education and musical inquiry, Biss is the author of Exploring Beethoven’s Piano Sonatas and a long-standing member of the faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music.