Q&A with Paul Biss: 50 Years of Teaching, 75th Birthday Concert

The beginning of the school year brings two very special anniversaries for strings faculty Paul Biss—in September, he celebrates both his 75th birthday and his 50th year of teaching.

In celebration of these two anniversaries, Biss will present an evening of chamber music in NEC's Jordan Hall on Sunday, September 8 featuring some of his most beloved collaborators: son Jonathan Biss, wife and fellow faculty member Miriam Fried, NEC colleague Kim Kashkashian, NEC alumna Stephanie Zyzak ’15, ’17 MM and longtime friend Marcy Rosen.

What do you love about the repertoire you've chosen? What makes it special to you?

They are works that I love dearly, that I have played on and off over many, many years of playing and studying.

We begin with this miraculous Mozart sonata, which I’ve nicknamed the “one-hour sonata.” He wrote to his father about it in a letter—he had to fill out a program, so he wrote this thing between 11 and 12. But he didn’t have time to write the piano part out, so he just played it! Even with the extraordinary, mind-boggling genius of Mozart, this is one for the books.

The Beethoven C Minor Trio is a very compact piece, very dramatic, and a nice contrast to the opening Mozart sonata. Then the Mozart G Minor two viola quintet has a very, very beautiful slow movement, followed by the introduction to the last movement, which is heartbreaking.

Tell us about your collaborators for this concert. What is it like to play chamber music with loved ones?

When you play with people who you feel a common bond with, musically and artistically, plus the personal dimension of what these people mean to you, it elevates the experience.

Performing is a means of communicating, and we are trying to communicate joy, love, and the miracle of the music.

When you share the stage with people you have such an affinity with—when you feel a kind of joy, and human connection—I think it makes it easier to communicate that to the listener.

The opportunity to play with Jonathan started when he was a young child, but with his enormously busy schedule and active career, now it’s a rare opportunity. It’s so meaningful and special to me, to play with my son who is such a phenomenal artist.

Of course Miriam is my life partner, a violinist who’s at the pinnacle of the profession, and a wonderful artist—that really speaks for itself.

Marcy Rosen is a phenomenal musician, a favorite cellist of mine whose playing particularly moves me, and a friend for many years. And Kim Kashkashian is a dear friend and a wonderful colleague, and a consummate artist to say the least.

Last but not least, I wanted to have a former student because I’m beginning my 50th year of teaching, and teaching has been a huge component in my life. With your students, you become very close—students sometimes become like extended family. We’re thrilled that Stephanie [Zyzak] will be joining us.

When you perform, what do you hope the audience will experience?

My beloved teacher, Josef Gingold, said the greatest compliment is not, “You played wonderfully,” but “That music is so fantastic.” It’s not about you, it’s about the music and communicating the music.

When you’re able to make people realize that the music you’re playing has touched them; that they see, on some level, the miracle of Mozart or Beethoven. If you can share these monuments of music in a way that people realize that this is something wonderful, what could be better for a performer?

Why is music important? How does music make life better, and make the world a better place?

We need beauty. We need culture to show us the possibility of what one is able to do.

I recently visited the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and I can’t begin to tell you how much the experience of looking at those masterpieces meant to me. I’m not a painter; I can’t draw anything but a stick figure, but seeing that human emotion, that sense of beauty—there is something so complete. 

When I hear a Beethoven symphony, or when I go and see a Rembrandt, I feel a kind of a hope. It lifts me, and makes me want to be better, because of the experience of having listened to it or seen it.

I think it’s necessary for the human experience to know that there is beauty. It moves the soul, and we need that. It’s not enough just to go along without ever experiencing that kind of depth of meaning and expression.

Pablo Casals said, “Maybe music can save the world.” In the political sense, no, it can’t. But in the sense of what the human soul needs, music and the arts are necessary, for everyone’s life. When you have it, you feel greatly enriched.

Paul Biss's celebratory concert takes place Sunday, September 8 at 8 p.m. at NEC's Jordan Hall. Reserve your free tickets now