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Friday, September 22, 2023, 8.00 pm
-
Czech Philharmonic
- Sir András Schiff conductor, piano
Ticket prices
1990 – 790 Kč
Gallery
Programme
Johann Sebastian Bach: Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor, BWV 1052Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 27 in B flat Major, K. 595Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, Op. 55 ‘Eroica’Pianist András Schiff starts each day with a rendition of Bach, and in his own words, it is different every time. Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach will be the first piece performed at the concert by this originally Hungarian virtuoso. As well as playing the piano, he will be conducting the Czech Philharmonic.
For quite some time now, Sir András Schiff has needed no introduction among the music-loving public. Two years ago, as the Dvořák Prague festival’s Artist-in-Residence, he enthralled audiences as a pianist and conductor of the first Czech orchestra. However, his performance this year, despite having the same line-up, will be different – just as Bach’s music is different each time it is played . Over the course of one evening, he will perform two piano concertos: Bach’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Mozart’s Concerto No. 27 in B flat Major. To conclude the evening, he will be conducting Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E flat Major, as known as the Eroica.
Schiff argues that music and politics are inextricably linked, even though these pieces were written by composers who have long been dead. The heroic symphony begins with a military fanfare motif, reminiscent of a call to arms. However, the funeral march in the second movement serves to reminds us that an egoistic obsession with unlimited power can also lead to great downfalls.
Partner concert of the Golden Prague International Television Festival
General media partner
- Dress code: dark suit
- End of concert: 10:15 pm
Artists
Czech Philharmonic
The Czech Philharmonic is the foremost Czech orchestra and has long held a place among the most esteemed representatives of Czech culture on the international scene. The beginning of its rich history is linked to the name of Antonín Dvořák, who on 4 January 1896 conducted the ensemble’s inaugural concert. Although the orchestra performs a broad range of the core international repertoire, it is sought out most often for its superb interpretations of the classics by the great Czech composers in a tradition built up by great conductors (Talich, Kubelík, Ančerl, Neumann, and Bělohlávek). In 2008 the prestigious magazine Gramophone ranked it among the twenty best orchestras of the world. One of the orchestra’s most important recent projects has recording Tchaikovsky’s complete orchestral works for the Decca Label with Semyon Bychkov conducting. Since the inception of the Dvořák Prague Festival, the Czech Philharmonic has been its resident orchestra, and since 2018 it has been a holder of the Antonín Dvořák Prize for promoting and popularising Czech classical music abroad and in the Czech Republic.
Sir András Schiff
Sir András Schiff was born in Budapest in 1953. He received his first piano lessons at the age of five by Elisabeth Vadász. He later continued his studies at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Prof. Pál Kadosa, György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados and with George Malcolm in London.
Piano recitals are an important part of his activity, especially the cyclical performances of the piano works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartók. Since 2004, Sir András Schiff has performed the complete cycle of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas in chronological order in more than 20 cities. Their live recordings from the Zurich Tonhalle on CD (ECM) received the highest awards.
For his recording “Ghost Variations” with works by Robert Schumann (ECM), Sir András Schiff received the International Classical Music Award 2012 in the category Solo Instrument. Recording of the year. A duo CD together with his wife Yuuko Shiokawa (violin) with works by J. S. Bach, F. Busoni and L. van Beethoven was released in autumn 2017 and a recording with piano works by F. Schubert in 2019.
His most recent recordings are from the last two years: A chamber music edition in collaboration with clarinettist and composer Jörg Widmann includes the two clarinet sonatas op. 120 by J. Brahms as well as the Intermezzi for piano composed by J. Widmann and dedicated to Sir András Schiff. The latest recording with a recording of the two piano concertos by J. Brahms on a Blüthner piano with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment was released in 2021.
In 2017 his book “Music Comes from Silence”, essays and conversations with Martin Meyer, was published by Bärenreiter and Henschel.
Sir András Schiff performs with most of the internationally important orchestras and conductors. One of his main focuses is on performances of the piano concertos of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven under his direction. In 1999 he founded his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca, which he works with closely as conductor and soloist, as he does with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Sir András Schiff has been a passionate chamber musician since his early youth. From 1989 to 1998 he directed the Musiktage Mondsee, a chamber music festival that received high international recognition. Together with Heinz Holliger, he held the artistic direction of the Ittinger Pfingstkonzerte at Kartause Ittingen, Switzerland, from 1995 to 2013. Since 1998, the concert series Omaggio a Palladio has been held at the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza under the direction of Sir András Schiff.
In the spring of 2011 Mr Schiff attracted attention because of his opposition to the alarming political development in Hungary and in view of the ensuing attacks on him from some Hungarian Nationalists, decided not to perform again in his home country. Sir András Schiff has been awarded several international prizes. He was recognised for his exceptional standing as a Beethoven interpreter in June 2006 by being elected an honorary member of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. In September 2008 Sir András Schiff received the Wigmore Hall Medal for his 30 years of musical activity. Sir András Schiff is also the recipient of the 2011 Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau. In January 2012, the artist was awarded the Golden Mozart Medal of the International Mozarteum Foundation. The following June, he received the “Order pour le mérite for Sciences and Arts”. In the same year he was appointed as an honorary member of the Wiener Konzerthaus and as a Special Supernumerary Fellow of Balliol College (Oxford, UK). Sir András Schiff was awarded the Grosse Verdienstkreuz mit Stern of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2012. In December 2013, he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society in London for his outstanding musical work, the highest award of this society. In July 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Leeds and in March 2018 by His Royal Highness Prince Charles as President of the Royal College of Music.
In June 2014, he was appointed Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music. Since December 2014, Sir András Schiff has been an honorary citizen of the city of Vicenza and he is the laureate of the Antonín Dvořák Prize 2021. In June 2022, Sir András Schiff was awarded the Bach Medal of the City of Leipzig as “one of the most important Bach interpreters of our time”.
Rudolfinum, Dvořák Hall
The Rudolfinum is one of the most important Neo-Renaissance edifices in the Czech Republic. In its conception as a multi-purpose cultural centre it was quite unique in Europe at the time of its construction. Based on a joint design by two outstanding Czech architects, Josef Zítek and Josef Schultz, a magnificent building was erected serving for concerts, as a gallery, and as a museum. The grand opening on 7 February 1885 was attended by Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria, in whose honour the structure was named. In 1896 the very first concert of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra took place in the Rudolfinum's main concert hall, under the baton of the composer Antonín Dvořák whose name was later bestowed on the hall.
