Talented young pianist greatly admires Brahms

Among the younger generation of pianists making names for themselves today, Jonathan Biss has been standing head and shoulders above the rest.

Since his New York Philharmonic debut in 2001, Biss has been one busy young man, developing an international reputation as a concert soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. His orchestral appearances in the last few years have included performances with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the BBC Symphony, the City of Birmingham Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Symphony.

The 29-year-old pianist will finally make his Utah Symphony debut this coming weekend in an all-Brahms program. He'll be playing the D minor Piano Concerto, a work that he first learned a decade ago while a student of Leon Fleisher at the Curtis Institute of Music. Also on the program is the Symphony No. 4 in E minor.

In an e-mail interview with the Deseret News, Biss, who was on a recital tour of Europe at the time, wrote that Brahms certainly counts as one of his favorite composers. "I do love Brahms — more and more, in fact, as time goes by." The reason for that is the composer's humanity as it expresses itself in the music. "I find him to be the most human — and humane — of composers. There is such a generosity and warmth to his music, even in the darkest moments. His sense of struggle is so audible … and it is a struggle I think we all can relate to."

The D minor Concerto, Brahms' first piano concerto, was originally intended to be a symphony. But he had doubts about its suitability in that form, so he reworked it into a concerto. But the work's grandness and its broad and bold gestures are definitely symphonic, and its tremendous outpouring of emotions is Mahlerian in scope and not seen in a concerto up to that time. "The first is a mountain," Biss wrote. "Not only are its proportions immense, but the feelings are huge, too. There are moments of shocking fury, particularly in the first movement, but the slow movement is one of the most ardent, moving creations. To play it is almost overwhelming."

Conductor/violinist/violist Pinchas Zukerman will conduct this weekend's concerts, and he and Biss have collaborated frequently over the last few years. "We've worked together many times, and we've played chamber music as well," Biss wrote. "He's a wonderful person to work with. He's such a natural musician, whenever he's on the podium, playing becomes very comfortable."