András Schiff
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András Schiff
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Biography
András Schiff was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1953 and started piano lessons at the age of five with Elisabeth Vadasz. Subsequently he continued his musical studies at the Ferenc Liszt Academy with Professor Pal Kadosa, Gyorgy Kurtag and Ferenc Rados, and in London with George Malcolm.
Recitals and special cycles, i.e. the major keyboard works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartok form an important part of his activities. Since 2004 he has been performing complete cycles of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in chronological order, and the 8 concerts given in the Zurich Tonhalle were recorded live.
András Schiff has worked with most of the major international orchestras and conductors, but nowadays he performs mainly as a conductor and soloist. In 1999 he created his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca, which consists of international soloists, chamber musicians and friends. In addition to working annually with this Orchestra, he also works every year with the Philharmonia Orchestra London and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Since childhood he has enjoyed playing chamber music and from 1989 until 1998 was Artistic Director of the internationally highly praised "Musiktage Mondsee" chamber music festival near Salzburg. In 1995, together with Heinz Holliger, he founded the Ittinger Pfingstkonzerte in Kartause Ittingen, Switzerland. In 1998 Mr Schiff started a similar series, entitled "Hommage to Palladio," at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza. From 2004 to 2007 he was Artist in Residence of the Kunstfest Weimar. In the 2007/8 season he was Pianist in Residence of the Berlin Philharmonic.
András Schiff has been awarded numerous international prizes, the most recent being in September 2008 when he was given the Wigmore Hall Medal in appreciation of 30 years of music-making at Wigmore Hall. In June 2006 he became an Honorary Member of the Beethoven House in Bonn in recognition of his interpretations of Beethoven's works; in May 2007 he received the renowned Italian prize, the "Premio della critica musicale Franco Abbiati" awarded for his Beethoven Piano Sonata Cycle; in October 2007 he was presented with The Royal Academy of Music Bach Prize, sponsored by the Kohn Foundation - this annual award is for an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the performance and/or scholarly study of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.
In 2006 András Schiff and the music publisher G Henle began an important Mozart edition project. In the course of the next few years there will be a joint edition of Mozart's Piano Concertos in their original version to which Mr Schiff is contributing to the piano parts, the fingerings and the cadenzas where the original cadenzas are missing. In addition, in 2007 both volumes of Bach's "Well Tempered Klavier" were edited in the Henle original text with fingerings by Mr Schiff.
András Schiff has been made an Honorary Professor by the Music Schools in Budapest, Detmold and Munich.
For further information on András Schiff please E mail us on artists@harrisonturner.co.uk
UK PERFORMANCES – subject to change
2009
MAY
28 London, Wigmore Hall, with Miklos Perenyi and Yuuko Shiokawa, Haydn, Piano Trios: E major Hob XV:28, F sharp minor Hob XV: 26, A flat major Hob XV: 14, E flat minor Hob XV: 31, C major Hob XV: 27
29 London, Wigmore Hall, afternoon Lecture Recital on Haydn Piano Music
31 London, Wigmore Hall, Solo Recital @ 1130 Haydn Capriccio in G major Hob XVII:I, Sonata No 32 in G minor Hob XVI:44, Fantasie in C major Hob XVII:4, Sonata No 53 in E minor Hob XVII:34, Variations in F minor XVII:6, Sonata No 62 in E flat major Hob XVI:52.
JUNE
23 Bedford, Corn Exchange, with Philharmonia. Haydn Sym 80, Piano Concerto in D, Cello Concerto in C (Miklos Perenyi) Sym 103 "Drum Roll"
24 London, RFH, as 23rd.
27 Oxford, Sheldonian Theatre; with Philharmonia. Mendelssohn String Symphony in B minor, Violin Concerto (Sergei Zimmermann), Piano Concerto No 2 (Schiff), Symphony No 4 "Italian".
28 London, RFH, as 27th.
2010
JANUARY 6 London, Wigmore Hall, with Juliane Banse, Mendelssohn Reiselied; Suleika I and II; Frage, Neue Liebe; Schilflied; Nachtlied. Schumann Papillons Op. 2. Mahler 3 Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn; Fruhlingsmorgen; Hans und Grethe. Schumann Gedichte der Konigin Maria Stuart. Mendelssohn Songs without Words. Schumann Frauenliebe und-leben.
FEBRUARY 4 & 6 London, Wigmore Hall, with Magdalena Kozena. Dvorak Biblical Songs Op 99, Musorgsky Detskaya (The Nursery), Bartok Falun (Village Scenes), Janacek Selection of Songs; In the Mists.
JUNE 29 & JULY 1 London, Wigmore Hall, with Miklos Perenyi. Beethoven Cello Sonatas.
JULY 3 London, Wigmore Hall, with Andrea Rost. Programme to be announced.
