Bio

Pianist Jonathan Lee has thrilled audiences throughout the United States in venues including Symphony Hall in Boston, Bass Hall in Fort Worth, Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City, Benaroya Hall in Seattle, and Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, Massachusetts, and has performed as soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony, Boston Pops Orchestra, and Utah Symphony.
A prizewinner of several competitions, Mr. Lee captured first prize at the Cliburn International Amateur Piano Competition, first prize at the the San Diego International Piano Competition, first, audience, and best Liszt prizes at the Washington International Piano Artists Competition, second, audience, and best Baroque prizes at the Boston International Piano Competition, and gold medal, audience, and teacher prizes at the Seattle International Piano Competition.
Mr. Lee has also performed and participated in festivals such as Amalfi Coast Piano Festival, PianoTexas, St. Lawrence String Quartet Chamber Music Seminar, and the Wassermann Festival. He has worked with esteemed pedagogues Jerome Lowenthal, Leon Fleisher, Boris Slutsky, and Russell Sherman. Currently he studies privately with Professor Yoshikazu Nagai, chair of the piano department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and visiting professor of piano at Peabody Conservatory.
In recent years, Mr. Lee has developed an interest in chamber music and formed the Alden Trio in 2013, performing throughout the Bay Area in concert series including Berkeley Hillside Club, Neighborhood Performance Project, and Berkeley Arts Festival.
In addition to his music interests, Mr. Lee pursued a Master’s degree in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and currently enjoys a career in software. A new job took him from Cambridge to San Francisco where his passion for music was rekindled by the weekly Classical Revolution chamber jams in San Francisco’s Mission district.
Combining his interests in music and technology, Jon wrote MusicPodium, an app for iPad, to make piano score reading more portable. He continues to explore projects to advocate and share his enthusiasm for classical music.
Curriculum Vitae
A condensed CV is available online and as a PDF document. Please inquire by email for a complete version.
Repertoire
Solo
Baroque
- Johann Sebastian Bach, French Suite no. 5 in G major, BWV 816
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Partita no. 1 in B
♭ major, BWV 825 - George Frideric Handel, Keyboard Suite no. 2 in F major, HWV 427
- Domenico Scarlatti, Sonatas, K. 9, 435
Classical
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata no. 11 in B
♭ major, op. 22 - Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata no. 14 in c
♯ minor, op. 27 no. 2 “Moonlight” - Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata no. 23 in f minor, op. 57 “Appassionata”
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata no. 30 in E major, op. 109
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Sonata no. 31 in A
♭ major, op. 110 - Joseph Haydn, Sonata no. 13 in G major, Hob. XVI:6
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sonata no. 12 in F major, K. 332
Romantic
- Johann Sebastian Bach/Sergei Rachmaninov, Violin Partita no. 3 in E major for piano
- Johannes Brahms, Ballades, op. 10
- Frédéric Chopin, Etudes, op. 10 and op. 25
- Frédéric Chopin, Nocturne in F
♯ major, op. 15 no. 2 - Frédéric Chopin, Mazurka in a minor, op. 17 no. 4
- Frédéric Chopin, Preludes, op. 28
- Frédéric Chopin, Scherzo no. 2 in b
♭ minor, op. 31 - Frédéric Chopin, Fantaisie in f minor, op. 49
- Frédéric Chopin, Ballade no. 4 in f minor, op. 52
- Frédéric Chopin, Berceuse in D
♭ major, op. 57 - Frédéric Chopin, Sonata no. 3 in b minor, op. 58
- Frédéric Chopin, Barcarolle in F
♯ major, op. 60 - Franz Liszt, Mephisto Waltz no. 1, S. 514
- Francis Poulenc, 3 Novelettes, FP 47/173
- Franz Schubert/Franz Liszt, Gretchen am Spinnrade
- Franz Schubert, Impromptus, op. 142
- Robert Schumann, Toccata, op. 7
- Robert Schumann, Fantasiestücke, op. 12, Des Abends, Grillen, Fabel
- Robert Schumann, Kinderszenen, op. 15
- Alexander Scriabin, Preludes, op. 16
- Alexander Scriabin, Sonata no. 2 in g
♯ minor, op. 19 “Sonata-Fantaisie”
Impressionist
- Claude Debussy, Deux Arabesques
- Claude Debussy, Suite Bergamasque
- Claude Debussy, Rêverie
- Claude Debussy, Estampes, Jardins sous la pluie
- Claude Debussy, Images I, Reflets dans l’eau
- Maurice Ravel, Pavane pour une infante défunte
- Maurice Ravel, Sonatine
- Maurice Ravel, Le Tombeau de Couperin
Twentieth Century
- Samuel Barber, Sonata in e
♭ minor, op. 26 - Béla Bartók, Suite, op. 14
- Sergei Prokofiev, Sonata no. 7 in B
♭ major, op. 83 - Igor Stravinsky, Trois mouvements de Petrouchka, Chez Petrouchka
- Igor Stravinsky/Guido Agosti, L’oiseau de feu
Concerto
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto no. 4 in G major, op. 58
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Concerto no. 5 in E
♭ major, op. 73 “Emperor” - Frédéric Chopin, Piano Concerto no. 2 in f minor, op. 21
- George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue
- Sergei Prokofiev, Piano Concerto no. 3 in C major, op. 26
- Maurice Ravel, Piano Concerto in G major, M. 83
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto no. 1 in B
♭ major, op. 23
Collaborative
Sonatas
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Cello Sonata no. 3 in A major, op. 69
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Violin Sonata no. 4 in a minor, op. 23
- Johannes Brahms, Cello Sonata no. 1 in e minor, op. 38
- Johannes Brahms, Cello Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 99
- Johannes Brahms, Clarinet Sonata no. 1 in f minor, op. 120 no. 1
- Johannes Brahms, Clarinet Sonata no. 2 in E
♭ major, op. 120 no. 2 - Johannes Brahms, Violin Sonata no. 1 in G major, op. 78
- Johannes Brahms, Violin Sonata no. 3 in d minor, op. 108
- César Franck, Sonata in A major
- Paul Hindemith, Viola Sonata no. 1 in F major, op. 11 no. 4
- Maurice Ravel, Violin Sonata no. 1, M. 12 “Sonate posthume”
Duos
- Johannes Brahms, Piano Concerto no. 1 for piano four-hands, op. 15
- Nikolai Kapustin, Nearly Waltz for cello and piano
Chamber
Classical
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Clarinet Trio, op. 11 “Gassenhauer”
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio no. 1 in E
♭ major, op. 1 no. 1 - Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio no. 7 in B
♭ major, op. 97 “Archduke” - Joseph Haydn, Piano Trio in C major, Hob. XV:27
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Quartet in g minor, K. 478
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Piano Quartet in E
♭ major, K. 493
Romantic
- Johannes Brahms, Clarinet Trio, op. 114
- Johannes Brahms, Piano Quartet no. 2 in A major, op. 26
- Johannes Brahms, Piano Quartet no. 3 in c minor, op. 60
- Johannes Brahms, Piano Trio no. 2 in C major, op. 87
- Gabriel Fauré, Piano Quartet no. 1 in c minor, op. 15
- Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Trio no. 1 in d minor, op. 49
- Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Trio no. 2 in c minor, op. 66
- Francis Poulenc, Sextet, FP 100
- Franz Schubert, Piano Trio no. 1 in B
♭ major, op. 99, D 898 - Robert Schumann, Piano Trio no. 1 in d minor, op. 63
- Robert Schumann, Piano Quartet in E
♭ major, op. 47 - Robert Schumann, Piano Quintet in E
♭ major, op. 44
Impressionist
- Claude Debussy, Piano Trio, L. 5
- Maurice Ravel, Piano Trio
Twentieth Century
- Frank Bridge, Phantasie Piano Quartet in f
♯ minor, H. 94 - Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Five Negro Melodies for piano trio, op. 59 no. 1
- Chick Corea, Addendum
- Ernő Dohnányi, Sextet, op. 37
- Philip Glass, Head-On
- Pierre Jalbert, Piano Trio no. 1
- Arvo Pärt, Mozart-Adagio
- Astor Piazzolla, Four Seasons of Buenos Aires for piano trio
- Dmitri Shostakovich, Piano Trio no. 2 in e minor, op. 67
- Joaquín Turina, Círculo, op. 91
Sample Programs
Solo
Half program (33m)
- Handel, Keyboard Suite no. 2 in F major, HWV 427 (8m)
- Adagio
- Allegro
- Adagio
- Allegro
- Schumann, Toccata, op. 7 (7m)
- Schubert/Liszt, Gretchen am Spinnrade (4m)
- Chopin, Etude in F major, op. 10 no. 8 (3m)
- Scriabin, Sonata no. 2 in g
♯ minor, op. 19 “Sonata-Fantaisie” (11m)- Andante
- Presto
Half program (29m)
- Scarlatti, Sonata in D major K. 9 (4m)
- Scarlatti, Sonata in d minor K. 435 (4m)
- Schubert, Impromptu in B
♭ major, op. 142 no. 3 (10m) - Chopin, Scherzo no. 2 in b
♭ minor, op. 31 (11m)
Full program (65m)
- Handel, Keyboard Suite no. 2 in F major, HWV 427 (8m)
- Adagio
- Allegro
- Adagio
- Allegro
- Beethoven, Sonata no. 30 in E major, op. 109 (18m)
- Vivace, ma non troppo
- Prestissimo
- Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo
- Chopin, Etude in E major, op. 10 no. 3 (4m)
- Chopin, Etude in F major, op. 10 no. 8 (3m)
- Chopin, Mazurka in a minor, op. 17 no. 4 (4m)
- Chopin, Etude in c minor, op. 10 no. 12 (3m)
- Bach/Rachmaninov, Violin Partita no. 3 in E major for piano (8m)
- Preludio
- Gavotte
- Gigue
- Schubert/Liszt, Gretchen am Spinnrade (4m)
- Scriabin, Prelude in B major, op. 16 no. 1 (2m)
- Scriabin, Sonata no. 2 in g
♯ minor, op. 19 “Sonata-Fantaisie” (11m)- Andante
- Presto
Full program (75m)
- Bach, Partita no. 1 in B
♭ major, BWV 825 (17m)- Praeludium
- Allemande
- Corrente
- Sarabande
- Menuet I
- Menuet II
- Giga
- Beethoven, Sonata no. 11 in B
♭ major, op. 22 (24m)- Allegro con brio
- Adagio con molta espressione
- Minuetto
- Rondo. Allegretto
- Scriabin, Prelude in B major, op. 16 no. 1 (2m)
- Liszt, Mephisto Waltz no. 1, S. 514 (12m)
- Prokofiev, Sonata no. 7 in B
♭ major, op. 83 (20m)- Allegro inquieto
- Andante caloroso
- Precipitato
Collaborative
Full program (57m)
- Beethoven, Violin Sonata no. 4 in a minor, op. 23 (22m)
- Ravel, Violin Sonata no. 1, M. 12 “Sonate posthume” (13m)
- Brahms, Violin Sonata no. 3 in d minor, op. 108 (22m)
Chamber
Full program (55m)
- Debussy, Piano Trio (22m)
- Pärt, Mozart-Adagio (7m)
- Mendelssohn, Piano Trio no. 2 in c minor, op. 66 (26m)
Full program (47m)
- Corea, Addendum (5m)
- Jalbert, Piano Trio no. 1 (15m)
- Ravel, Piano Trio (27m)
Full program (48m)
“A trio sampler”
- Haydn, Allegro (first movement) from Trio in C major, Hob. XV:27 (8m)
- Coleridge-Taylor, Selections from Five Negro Melodies for piano trio, op. 59 no. 1 (8m)
- Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child
- I Was Way Down A-Yonder
- Beethoven, Menuetto: Quasi Allegro (third movement) from Trio in C minor, op. 1 no. 3 (4m)
- Glass, Head-On (5m)
- Brahms, Andante con moto (second movement) from Trio in C major, op. 87 (8m)
- Pärt, Mozart-Adagio (7m)
- Schumann, Mit Feuer (fourth movement) from Trio in D major, op. 63 (8m)
Full program (87m)
- Mozart, Piano Quartet no. 1 in g minor, K. 478 (26m)
- Allegro
- Andante
- Rondo. Allegro
- Fauré, Piano Quartet no. 1 in c minor, op. 15 (33m)
- Allegro molto moderato
- Scherzo. Allegro vivo
- Adagio
- Allegro molto
- Schumann, Piano Quartet in E-flat major, op. 47 (28m)
- Sostenuto assai — Allegro ma non troppo
- Scherzo. Molto vivace
- Andante cantabile
- Finale. Vivace