Paul Badura-Skoda
Pianist Paul Badura-Skoda was one of the most accomplished and revered pianists of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Through his concerts, recordings, and in his work with youth organizations, Badura-Skoda taught and imparted the knowledge he gained through his lifetime of performing.
Badura-Skoda was born in Vienna on October 6, 1927. As a youth, he studied piano with Viola Thern and Otto Schulhof. In 1948, he graduated with distinction for piano and conducting from the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien and began studying piano with Edwin Fischer, who would be his teacher and mentor until Fischer's death in 1960.
Badura-Skoda's professional career began in 1949 when he performed concertos with conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan. When Fischer grew ill in 1950, Badura-Skoda substituted for him at the Salzburg Festival, leading to wider recognition. This same year found Badura-Skoda begin his recording career, in large part due to a new recording medium, the long-playing record. In 1952, he launched his international performing career with tours of Australia and the Americas. He also toured throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. Badura-Skoda made his New York debut in 1953 to a capacity recital audience only familiar with him through his recordings. In 1970, he toured throughout the world performing all 32 complete Beethoven sonatas for the Beethoven bicentennial. Similarly, he toured the world in 1991 performing 140 concerts of Mozart's music.
As his career developed, Badura-Skoda experimented with period instruments with the interest of comparing the sound of historical instruments with that of the modern. He recorded the complete sonatas of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert on modern and period instruments. While he was mostly known for his performances of Viennese classicists, his repertoire extended well beyond to Bach, Brahms, Debussy, and Frank Martin. He and Martin developed a friendship that led to Martin composing two works for the pianist, the Piano Concerto No. 2 and Fantasy on Flamenco Rhythms.
A lifelong friendship with Jörg Demus turned into a successful piano, 4 hands duo. Together, they recorded several albums and performed together in concert. Along with performing together, Badura-Skoda and Demus wrote the book Die Klaviersonaten von Ludwig van Beethoven. Another influential relationship in Badura-Skoda's life was with his wife, musicologist Eva Badura-Skoda. Together, the Badura-Skodas published Mozart-Interpretation and Bach-Interpretation, concerning issues with performing the works of these composers. Paul Badura-Skoda passed away in Vienna on September 25, 2019.
Badura-Skoda's recording career contained a vast number of releases, from the 1950s LPs that launched his international career to complete cycles on multiple period instruments. He recorded for many labels, including Deutsche Grammophon, RCA, and Arcana. In 2019, Badura-Skoda was heard on the album Schubert: Klaviertrios with Boris Pergamenschikow and Wolfgang Schneiderhan, on Gramola.
© Keith Finke /TiVo
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Darius Milhaud vous parle et présente son œuvre, avec illustrations musicales (Mono Version)
Darius Milhaud, Írma Kolássi, Paul Badura-Skoda
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1957
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Schubert: Piano Trio in B-Flat Major, D. 898 (Mono Version)
Jean Fournier, Antonio Janigro, Paul Badura-Skoda
Klassiek - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1957
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Mozart: Concerto pour piano No. 27 (Mono Version)
Paul Badura-Skoda, Wiener Symphoniker, Felix Prohaska
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
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Beethoven: Trois sonates pour le piano-forte (Piano Hammerflügel de Georg Hasska, vienne ca. 1815)
Klassiek - Released by naïve classique on 1 jan. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight"
Klassiek - Released by SWR Classic on 12 mrt. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fantasia No. 3 in D Minor, K. 397
Klassiek - Released by Vienna New on 20 jan. 2014
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Schubert: Sonate pour piano No. 13 (Mono Version)
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1955
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Beethove: Concerto pour piano No. 5 "L'empereur" (Mono Version)
Paul Badura-Skoda, Hermann Scherchen, Orchestre de l'opéra d'état de Vienne
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
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Schubert: Trio pour piano, violon et violoncelle No. 2, Op. 100 (Mono Version)
Paul Badura-Skoda, Jean Fournier, Antonio Janigro
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1957
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Beethoven sur les instruments de son temps: Trois sonates favorites
Klassiek - Released by naïve classique on 1 jan. 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paul Badura Skoda Plays Chopin (1971-1975)
Klassiek - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 14 dec. 2010
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Paul Badura- Skoda plays the Chopin Piano Concertos (1954)
Paul Badura-Skoda, Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Artur Rodzinski
Klassiek - Released by Music and Arts Programs of America on 6 nov. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Piano of Badura-Skoda
Klassiek - Released by Music Manager on 7 feb. 2022
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Beethoven: Piano Concerto No 5, Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5, Coriolan
Hans Knappertsbush, Paul Badura-Skoda
Klassiek - Released by Urania on 7 feb. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Quintet in a Major Op. 114 "the Trout" for Piano and Strings
Paul Badura-Skoda, Vienna Konzerthaus Quartet
Klassiek - Released by Classically on 2 aug. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: Impromptus D 899
Klassiek - Released by Classically on 5 dec. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: "wanderer" Fantasy in C Major D 760
Klassiek - Released by Classically on 5 dec. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Les plus belles pages pour le piano (Mono Version)
Nadia Reisenberg, Paul Badura-Skoda, Yuri Boukoff
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Chopin: Concertos pour piano Nos. 1 & 2 (Mono Version)
Paul Badura-Skoda, Artur Rodzinski, Wiener Staatsoper
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1962
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 "Moonlight Sonata" (Mono Version)
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Symphonie No. 40 & Concerto pour piano No. 20 (Mono Version)
Paul Badura-Skoda, Milan Horvat, Wiener Staatsoper
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1959
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo