Press Center

Acclaimed pianist András Schiff continues his extensive, season-long Perspectives series in February and May 2012, performing seven concerts in Zankel Hall as well as leading a Professional Training Workshop for young pianists presented by Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Focusing largely on the music and legacy of twentieth-century Hungarian pianist and composer Bela Bartók and titled In the Steps of Bartók, the series showcases Mr. Schiff’s exceptional abilities as a recitalist, soloist, and chamber musician, and includes concerts with fellow Hungarian musicians, many of whom he has known since childhood. 

In February, Mr. Schiff’s Perspectives series moves to Zankel Hall, where he performs with Hungarian folk music ensemble Muzsikás, then in a chamber music program with pianist Dénes Várjon that includes Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. Prior to these concerts, Mr. Schiff leads a workshop for young pianists on the piano suites of Bach and Bartók. The intensive weeklong workshop includes a public master class and a concert by the workshop participants in Weill Recital Hall.

Mr. Schiff concludes his Perspectives series with five performances in May, beginning with a solo recital featuring the US premiere of Hungarian composer György Kurtág’s Rituale—Strém Kálmán in memoriam, as well as the world premiere of a new work by Jörg Widmann, commissioned by Carnegie Hall. Mr. Widmann, a German composer and clarinetist, is also the subject of a Making Music program that features Mr. Schiff. Later in May, Mr. Schiff collaborates in recital with German baritone Christian Gerhaher and appears twice with the Salzburg Marionette Theater, including a Carnegie Hall Family Concert.

Further details on each concert and workshop are noted below. For more information on András Schiff’s Perspectives series, please visit carnegiehall.org/schiff.

February 16–21: Professional Training Workshop on Music of Bach and Bartók
Mr. Schiff returns to Carnegie Hall to lead his first Professional Training Workshop presented by the Weill Music Institute. The intensive workshop, for five pianists selected by international application, runs from February 16–21 and explores the solo piano works of Bach and Bartók. The workshop culminates with a public master class on Sunday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. and a concert by the participants on Tuesday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m., both in Weill Recital Hall. The five award-winning young pianists featured in the workshop are Alexandra Dariescu from Romania, Zoltán Fejérvári from Hungary, Yuval Gilad from Israel, Naomi Kudo from New York, and Roman Rabinovich from Israel. For more information about the workshop, click here.

András Schiff recently discussed his interest in teaching in relation to these workshops: “Teaching and education is very important to me, increasingly so. The older I get, the more so. When you are young, you still have to teach yourself. It’s always a work in process. It’s a progressing work. It never stops. I still keep teaching myself, but, as I get older, I don’t want to travel too much and I want to play fewer concerts. So I’m beginning to teach more. And I enjoy it. ‘Enjoy’ is not the right word, but it’s important. There are new generations of musicians growing up, and we would like to influence them in a positive way, because they are confronted with a lot of ideas. It’s not easy today to be a young musician, but it never was easy. It’s up to the individual intelligence of a student to distinguish. He or she is getting different influences, different ideas, and they have to sort them out. Keep certain ideas. Discard others. It’s a wonderfully healthy process. I think that the really gifted and intelligent ones will prevail.”

February 22: Performing with Muzikás in Zankel Hall
On Wednesday, February 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Zankel Hall, Mr. Schiff joins Hungarian folk-music ensemble Muzsikás—arguably the first group to popularize Hungary’s traditional music. Mr. Schiff studied with one of the founding members of Muzsikás, Peter Eri, from the age of six. On that relationship, Mr. Schiff shared, “We all have these roots together. It’s very important to show the connection of the material that Bartók collected and how he worked on that material and incorporated it into his own music. So we’re going to show the original folk music and the Bartókian arrangements side by side. They’re a wonderful group, so I’m sure that it’s going to be a very lively experience.”

February 25: András Schiff and Dénes Várjon in Duo Recital and Chamber Music
Hungarian pianist Dénes Várjon joins Mr. Schiff in Zankel Hall on Saturday, February 25 at 7:30 p.m. for Schumann’s Six Etudes in Canonic Form, selections from Kurtág's Játékok, and Debussy’s En blanc et noir. Percussionists David Skidmore and James Michael Deitz (both alumni of The Academy program) also collaborate with the duo on Bartók’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. On his relationship with fellow pianist and friend, Dénes Várjon, Mr. Schiff said, “He did study with me a little bit, but not formally, just in master classes. I’m very, very fond of him. He’s an excellent musician and ensemble player, very good at chamber music.”

May 2: Two Premieres on Solo Recital in Zankel Hall
Mr. Schiff performs Bach’s two-part inventions, as well as music by Bartók and Beethoven in a solo recital in Zankel Hall on Wednesday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. The program also includes the world premiere of a new work by Jörg Widmann, commissioned by Carnegie Hall, as well as the US premiere of Rituale - Strém Kálmán in memoriam by György Kurtág, today's leading Hungarian composer and Schiff’s former teacher.

May 3: Making Music: Jörg Widmann
On Thursday, May 3 at 6:00 p.m. in Zankel Hall, Mr. Schiff appears on a Making Music program focusing on the music of German composer and clarinetist Jörg Widmann. The all-Widmann program is moderated by Carnegie Hall’s Director of Artistic Planning Jeremy Geffen and features performances by soprano Claron McFadden, pianist Shai Wosner, and The Parker Quartet, in addition to Mr. Schiff and Mr. Widmann.

May 5–6: Salzburg Marionette Theater
Mr. Schiff joins the Salzburg Marionette Theater in Zankel Hall on Saturday, May 5 at 7:30 p.m. for Debussy’s La boîte à joujoux. Also on the program is Schumann’s Kinderszenen and Debussy’s Children’s Corner. The following afternoon, Sunday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m., the troupe performs a Carnegie Hall Family Concert, presented by the Weill Music Institute, of Debussy’s La boîte à joujoux, again with Mr. Schiff. This chamber ballet about the adventures of toys that come to life was created especially for András Schiff by the Salzburg Marionette Theater and initially grew out of his relationship with gifted puppeteer Philippe Brunner, with whom he first collaborated when Mr. Brunner was twelve.

May 12: Performing with Baritone Christian Gerhaher
András Schiff concludes his Perspectives series on Saturday, May 12 at 8:00 p.m. in a recital collaboration with baritone Christian Gerhaher, performing songs devoted to the pains of love, including Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte and Schumann’s Dichterliebe as well as works by Haydn in Zankel Hall.  

About the Artist
András Schiff was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1953 and started piano lessons at the age of five with Elisabeth Vadász. Recitals and special cycles, like the major keyboard works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, and Bartók form an important part of his activities. Between 2004 and 2009, he performed complete cycles of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in 20 cities throughout the United States and Europe, a project recorded live in the Zürich Tonhalle and released in eight volumes for ECM New Series.

In addition to his Carnegie Hall Perspectives series, Mr. Schiff’s performances during the 2011—2012 season include concerts with the Budapest Festival Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and the Salzburg Marionette Theater at Princeton, as well as recitals with Christian Gerhaher in Philadelphia, Vancouver, and Toronto. Solo recitals will be given in Philadelphia, Boulder, Berkeley, and Napa, CA. Future North American engagements will focus on a two-season project dedicated to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Mr. Schiff has worked with most of the major international orchestras and conductors, but now performs mainly as conductor and soloist. In 1999, Mr. Schiff created his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca, which consists of international soloists, chamber musicians, and close 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.

Mr. Schiff has established a prolific discography, including recordings for London/Decca (1981-1994), Teldec (1994-1997) and, since 1997, ECM New Series. Recordings for ECM include the complete solo piano music of Beethoven and Janácek, a solo disc of Schumann piano pieces, the Bach Partitas and his second recording of the Bach Goldberg Variations. He has received several international recording awards, including two Grammy Awards for "Best Classical Instrumental Soloist (Without Orchestra)" for the Bach English Suites, and "Best Vocal Recording" for Schubert's Schwanengesang with tenor Peter Schreier, and was nominated for "Best Classical Album (Without Orchestra)" for the second volume of his Complete Beethoven Sonata recordings for ECM. An all-Schumann disc is expected this fall. 

Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives
Now in its 13th season, Carnegie Hall’s Perspectives series is an artistic initiative in which select musicians are invited to explore their own musical individuality and create their own personal concert series through collaborations with other musicians and ensembles.  

Previous Perspectives artists have included conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim; conductors Pierre Boulez, James Levine, Michael Tilson Thomas, and David Robertson; violinists Gidon Kremer and Christian Tetzlaff; cellist Yo-Yo Ma; pianists Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Emanuel Ax, Maurizio Pollini, Peter Serkin, and Mitsuko Uchida; soprano Dawn Upshaw; bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff; the Emerson String Quartet; the Kronos Quartet; Senegalese vocalist Youssou N’Dour; Brazilian singer-songwriter Caetano Veloso; Indian classical tabla player Zakir Hussain; experimental rocker David Byrne; and singer/songwriter James Taylor. This March 2012, L’Arpeggiata will be the first early music ensemble to present a Perspectives series.  

Program Information
Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall
ANDRÁS SCHIFF MASTER CLASS

Alexandra Dariescu, Piano
Zoltán Fejérvári, Piano
Yuval Gilad, Piano
Naomi Kudo, Piano
Roman Rabinovich, Piano

Repertoire to be selected from:
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Partita No. 1 in B-flat Major, BWV 825
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH French Overture in B Minor, BWV 831
BÉLA BARTÓK Three Burlesques
BÉLA BARTÓK Suite for Piano, Op. 14
BÉLA BARTÓK Piano Sonata
BÉLA BARTÓK Out of Doors

Professional Training Workshops are made possible, in part, by Mr. and Mrs. Nicola Bulgari and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.

Tickets: $15
____________________________________

Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
Weill Recital Hall
ANDRÁS SCHIFF YOUNG ARTISTS CONCERT
Alexandra Dariescu, Piano
Zoltán Fejérvári, Piano
Yuval Gilad, Piano
Naomi Kudo, Piano
Roman Rabinovich, Piano

Repertoire to be selected from:
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH English Suite No. 3 in G Minor, BWV 808
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH English Suite No. 5 in E Minor, BWV 810
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Partita No. 1 in B Minor, BWV 1002
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH French Overture in B Minor, BWV 831
BÉLA BARTÓK Three Burlesques
BÉLA BARTÓK Suite for Piano, Op. 14
BÉLA BARTÓK Piano Sonata
BÉLA BARTÓK Out of Doors

Professional Training Workshops are made possible, in part, by Mr. and Mrs. Nicola Bulgari and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.