“Beethoven is a special case. As E. M. Forster put it, we can trust him because – however much he rewards us with glory, resolution and joy – he never hides the horrible, the ugly and the frightening from us. He cannot pretend. He is our champion, our Prometheus. He burns himself when he brings us fire. It is usually non-musicians like me who open ourselves up to (quite justifiable) accusations of pretension and ignorance, who try to stammer out something incoherent and babbling whenever we stand at the foothills of Mount Beethoven, but when someone like Jonathan expresses what we can’t quite name with such force, conviction and authority, well – it makes all the difference.” 

So wrote Stephen Fry after listening to Jonathan Biss’s moving new Audible original UNQUIET: My Life with Beethoven in which Biss outlines in rich detail both the treasures Beethoven’s music has gifted him and the searing self-doubt and crippling anxiety that has resulted from it. To mark the US release of UNQUIET, Jonathan Biss was joined by Stephen Fry for a virtual conversation about its underlying theme – mental health in the context of life as an artist.  

On Thursday 11 March, UK audiences will get the chance to watch this conversation when Kings Place present it in collaboration with New York’s 92Y. All ticket holders will be able to access the stream from 7pm GMT on 11 March until 23:59 on Thursday 18 March.