Sir András Schiff
“Ever since I was 16 years old, I’ve started every day by playing Bach for half an hour. Bach remains the alpha and omega. In his works, the emotional, intellectual and physical aspects of music interact optimally with each other.” In his concerts, Sir András Schiff reveals himself to be an insightful interpreter of works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartók. His love for piano playing, which developed in his youth in Hungary, continued in an unparalleled international career.
“As an interpreter, you have to live a full life.” Since 2004, Sir András Schiff has performed the complete cycle of piano sonatas by Ludwig van Beethoven in chronological order in more than 20 cities. He founded the Musiktage Mondsee chamber music festival and was its artistic director for many years. Sir András Schiff is an Austrian and British citizen and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2014 for his services to music.
Schiff is known for formulating his opinions clearly and pointedly, in both political and artistic contexts. In interviews, for example, he longs for more curiosity amongst pianists regarding their interpretations and in their choice of concert grand. He also decidedly urges classical musicians in particular to express their political opinions in public.
Ever since he was a child, Sir András Schiff has played Bösendorfer grand pianos with great enthusiasm. He is currently using his performances in Vienna to underscore his interpretations of Viennese Classical music with a Bösendorfer. “For me, Bösendorfer best represents the Central European music tradition: history, tradition and a connection to the past.
All instruments try to imitate the human voice and
this Bösendorfer piano does it on a very, very high level.