Jonathan Biss/Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Pianist Jonathan Biss launched his career in the late 1990s with appearances as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony and several other prominent national ensembles. While he has generally favored standard-repertory works, he has ventured into contemporary works with compositions by John Corigliano, Leon Kirchner, and others. Biss was born on September 18, 1980, in Bloomington, Indiana. He comes from a distinguished family of string players: his grandmother was Raya Garbousova, the cellist who inspired Samuel Barber to compose his Cello Concerto, his mother is the well-known...