András Schiff
András Schiff is among the most prominent members of a generation of Hungarian pianists born in the years following World War II, along with such artists as Zoltán Kocsis, Dezso Ránki, and Jenö Jandó. Of this remarkable group, Schiff has achieved the strongest international reputation, due not only to his decision to pursue his career outside of Hungary but also to his finely shaded sense of touch and his energetic yet clear treatment of contrapuntal textures.
Schiff was born in Budapest on December 21, 1953. He studied with composers Pál Kadosa and Ferenc Rados (saying of the latter that he had benefited from his overwhelmingly critical attitude), as well as harpsichordist George Malcolm. Schiff made his debut in Budapest at age 19 and was soon making concert appearances throughout Europe and the U.S., despite Iron Curtain-era restrictions. He took the top prize at the 1974 Moscow competition and the 1975 Leeds Festival. A major early mentor was violinist and conductor Sándor Végh, with whom Schiff recorded the complete piano concertos of Mozart and much violin-and-piano chamber music. In 1989, he founded his own Mondsee Musiktage festival near Salzburg (where he had first encountered Végh). Schiff also formed his own ensemble, Cappella Andrea Barca, in 1999, and with it, recorded a complete cycle of Mozart's piano concertos.
Schiff's energy and clarity in contrapuntal music has made him a top Bach interpreter; he has recorded Bach's complete keyboard music. Later, he recorded a complete Beethoven sonata cycle on the boutique label ECM, completing it in 2009. He has also recorded a large amount of music by Schubert and Schumann, receiving a prize in 2011 from the city of Zwickau, Germany, for his interpretations of the latter. Eastern European music by the likes of Béla Bartók and Leos Janácek have also appeared prominently in his repertory. He left Hungary in 1979 and spoke out forcefully against developments there, stating that he would never again set foot in his homeland, alluding to physical dangers he would face if he did. He renounced his Austrian citizenship, which he had taken in 1987, also for political reasons, and is now a British citizen.
In the 2000s, he often revisited Bach repertory that he had previously recorded. Schiff has held several prestigious residencies: from 2004 to 2007, he was Artist-in-Residence of the Kunstfest Weimar; in the 2007-2008 season, he was Pianist-in-Residence of the Berlin Philharmonic; and in 2011-2012, he was a Perspectives Artist of Carnegie Hall in New York. Schiff is married to violinist Yuuko Shiokawa, with whom he has recorded violin-and-piano repertory for ECM. In addition to ECM, Schiff's large discography includes albums on the Decca, London, and Teldec labels as well as others. In the 2010s, despite earlier skepticism about the trend, he began to perform and record on the fortepiano, often using a Viennese instrument of 1820 built by the lesser-known maker Franz Brodmann. On that instrument, he released an album of Schubert Impromptus and the Piano Sonata in C minor, D. 958, in 2019. He returned on ECM with an album of Brahms piano concertos in 2021 and with J.S. Bach: Clavichord in 2023. By that time, Schiff's recording catalog comprised well over 150 items.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Schubert : Sonatas & Impromptus
Solo Piano - Released by ECM New Series on Apr 12, 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Clavichord
Solo Piano - Released by ECM New Series on Jan 27, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
J.S. Bach: Das Wohltemperierte Clavier
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Aug 24, 2012
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Johann Sebastian Bach: Six Partitas (Live)
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Aug 28, 2009
The Qobuz Essential Discography24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franz Schubert
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Mar 27, 2015
Gramophone Editor's ChoiceGramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (Live)
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Aug 18, 1986
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Piano Concertos
András Schiff, Orchestra Of The Age Of Enlightenment
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on May 21, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven : The Piano Sonatas (Live)
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Nov 25, 2016
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988 (Live)
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Aug 18, 1986
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ludwig van Beethoven : Diabelli-Variationen
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Sep 24, 2013
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Clarinet Trio, Op. 114; Horn Trio, Op. 40 (New Vienna Octet; Vienna Wind Soloists — Complete Decca Recordings Vol. 5)
András Schiff, Peter Schmidl, Günter Högner, Friedrich Dolezal, Erich Binder
Classical - Released by Universal Music Australia Pty. Ltd. on Jan 1, 1984
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Schiff Plays Bartok
Classical - Released by Denon on Jan 1, 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: Two and Three Part Inventions
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1985
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: The Solo Keyboard Works
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Solo Piano Music (Works by Brahms, Haendel, Haydn, Reger, Schumann, Smetana)
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Jun 18, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bach - Busoni - Beethoven
Duets - Released by ECM New Series on Oct 27, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bach, J.S.: French Suites Nos. 1-6/Italian Concerto etc.
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: The Piano Concertos
András Schiff, Camerata Salzburg, Sándor Végh
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Sep 6, 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janácek: A Recollection
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on May 11, 2001
Discothèque Insolite Qobuz16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Music for Piano and Violoncello
Classical - Released by ECM New Series on Jan 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Piano Sonatas; Impromptus
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo