Mark Steinberg, violin & Jonathan Biss, piano
Brentano Quartet violinist Mark Steinberg joins pianist Jonathan Biss for three Mozart sonatas—K.305, K.380, and the expansive K.454—pairing youthful energy and lyrical warmth with the clarity, balance, and expressive interplay that define these remarkable works.
Program:
Sonata in A major, K. 305
Sonata in E-flat major, K. 380
Sonata in B-flat major, K. 454
MARK STEINBERG, violin
Violinist Mark Steinberg is an active chamber musician and recitalist with a distinguished international career. He has appeared at major chamber music festivals throughout Europe, including engagements in Holland, Germany, Austria, and France, and participated for four summers at the Marlboro Music Festival, touring extensively with the ensemble. His U.S. appearances include the El Paso Festival, Bargemusic in New York, Chamber Music Northwest, and performances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.
A frequent and versatile collaborator, Steinberg has performed trio and duo recitals with pianist Mitsuko Uchida, including their presentation of the complete Mozart violin sonata cycle at London’s Wigmore Hall in 2001, followed by additional recitals in other major cities. As a soloist, he has appeared with the London Philharmonia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, Kansas City Camerata, and the Philadelphia Concerto Soloists, working with conductors such as Kurt Sanderling, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya.
An ardent advocate for contemporary music, Steinberg has collaborated closely with many composers and performed with leading new-music ensembles including the Guild of Composers, Da Capo Chamber Players, Speculum Musicae, and Continuum, with whom he has toured and recorded extensively. He has also performed and recorded on period instruments with the Helicon Ensemble, Four Nations Ensemble, and the Smithsonian Institution.
Steinberg holds degrees from Indiana University and The Juilliard School, where he studied with Louise Behrend, Josef Gingold, and Robert Mann. He has taught at Juilliard’s Pre-College Division, Princeton University, and New York University, and is currently on the violin faculty of the Mannes College of Music.
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.