Pianist Jonathan Biss to Tour 10 U.S. Cities with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Oct 22-Nov 6

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Mr. Biss to lead the ensemble from the keyboard performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto Nos. 9 & 12

Pianist Jonathan Biss will perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 in E-flat Major, K271 & Piano Concerto No. 12 in A Major, K414 with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in 10 North American cities in October and November 2010, directing these works from the keyboard.

The all-Mozart tour programs will include: Symphony in D Major, K196/121, La finta giardiniera; Symphony No. 29 in A Major, K201; Divertimento in D Major, K136; and Cassation No. 1 in G Major, K63; led by director Kenneth Sillito. (See below for program details for each city.) The tour begins on Friday, October 22 in Austin, TX and then travels to Spring, TX (10/23), Waco, TX (10/25), Dallas, TX (10/26), Conway, AR (10/28), Fayetteville, AR (10/29), Thomasville, GA (11/1), North Bethesda, MD (11/3), Selinsgrove, PA (11/4), and Greenvale, NY (11/6).

Mr. Biss says these concerts will reacquaint him with a familiar and beloved Mozart concerto and also see him venture into new territory: “The Piano Concerto K271 is the first of a long line of miracles Mozart created in the genre. In it, he takes a form which had previously been primarily an outlet for his fluency and charm, and imbues it with an imagination, drama, and above all, depth which is astonishing. This is one of the Mozart concerti I've played most, and yet it continues to offer revelations every time I come back to it,” says Mr. Biss. “The Concerto K414, on the other hand, is new to me, and it has been pure pleasure to get to know. People often talk about Mozart's ‘simplicity’ and this concerto would be the perfect example - it has a beauty which is extremely pure, even naive, and its perfection of proportion is impressive even by Mozart's own impossible standard. Its total lack of ostentation also makes a beautiful contrast with the other concerto on the program, which has plenty of brilliance to go with its profundity.”

The ASMF tour is one of many highlights of Mr. Biss’s 2010-11 season which includes performing Beethoven concerti with the New York Philharmonic and Boston , Chicago and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Biss, who turned 30 in September, will also make his Carnegie Hall recital debut in the Isaac Stern Auditorium on January 21, 2011. The program includes the New York premiere of Three Pieces for Piano, a new work written for him by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Bernard Rands, which he will premiere in Europe and also perform elsewhere in the U.S.

Friday, October 22, 8:00 PM
Bass Concert Hall, Austin , TX
Tickets: www.texasperformingarts.org
Phone: 512 471 1444

Saturday, October 23, 8:00 PM
The Centrum, Spring, TX
Tickets: www.cypresscreekface.org
Phone: 281 440 4850

Monday, October 25, 7:30 PM
Jones Hall, Waco , TX
Tickets: www.baylor.edu/music
Phone: 254 710 3571

Tuesday, October 26, 8:00 PM
Meyerson Center , Dallas , TX
Tickets: www.dallassymphony.com
Phone: 214 692 0203

Thursday, October 28, 7:30 PM
Reynolds Auditorium, Conway , AR
Tickets: www.uca.edu
Phone: 866 810 0012

Friday, October 29, 8:00 PM
Baum Walker Hall, Fayetteville , AR
Tickets: www.waltonartscenter.org
Phone: 479 443 5600

Monday, November 1, 8:00 PM
Thomasville Cultural Center, Thomasville , GA
Tickets: www.tefconcerts.com Phone: 229 226 7404

Wednesday, November 3, 8:00 PM
Tickets: www.strathmore.org/eventstickets
Phone: 301 581 5100

Thursday, November 4, 7:30 PM
Degenstein Center , Selinsgrove , PA
Tickets: www.susqu.edu/arts
Phone: 570 372 2787

Saturday, November 6, 8:00 PM
Tilles Center , Greenvale , NY
Tickets: www.tillescenter.org
Phone: 516 299 3100

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