Season Preview: Sir András Schiff

Sir András Schiff has distinguished himself throughout the course of an exceptional international career that has spanned over 40 years. He is universally esteemed as a pianist, conductor, pedagogue and lecturer. “An undisputed master of the German repertory,” (The New Yorker), Sir András has been focusing his exquisite interpretations of German master composers, featuring works by Schubert, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart and Mendelssohn during the past seasons. Over the past two seasons, Sir András Schiff appeared as both conductor and soloist with the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle Symphony Orchestras.

During his highly anticipated 2019-2020 North American fall tour, Sir András Schiff conducts and plays with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, pairing concerti by Bach, Beethoven and Haydn with Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn and Bartók’s colorful Dance Suite. In addition to the orchestral appearances, he is joined by violinist Yuuko Shiokawa for an all-Mozart sonata program at New York’s 92nd Street Y. The fall tour concludes with a solo recital in Toronto, Canada, featuring a rich and imaginative program of selected works by Beethoven and Schumann.

“But so successful was the evening that the critic can only throw up his hands, wish you had been there, and quote Ira Gershwin's endearing tombstone inscription: 'Words Fail Me.'” — The New York Times

2019 North American Fall Tour

Sunday, October 13, at 3 PM
Kaufmann Concert Hall, 92nd Street Y
New York, NY

With Yuuko Shiokawa, violin

All-Mozart Sonata Program

Sonata No. 27 in G Major, K. 379/373a
Sonata No. 32 in B-flat Major, K. 454
Sonata No. 21 in E Minor, K. 304
Sonata No. 35 in A Major, K. 526

Thursday, October. 17 at 8 PM
Friday, October 18 at 1:30 PM
Saturday, October 19 at 8 PM

Symphony Hall
301 Massachusetts Ave, Boston, MA 02115

Boston Symphony Orchestra
Sir András Schiff, Conduct & Play

Bach: Concerto in D minor for three pianos, BWV 1063
Beethoven: Concerto No. 1
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn, op. 56a
Bartók: Dance Suite, Sz. 77

Wednesday, October 23 at 8 PM
Thursday, October 24 at 8 PM
La Maison Symphonique
1600 St Urbain St, Montreal, QC H2X 0S1, Canada

Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
Sir András Schiff, Conduct & Play

Haydn: Piano Concerto in D major, Hob.XVIII:11
Beethoven: Piano Concerto no. 2 in B-flat major, op. 19
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Haydn, op. 56a
Bartók: Dance Suite, Sz. 77

Saturday, October 26 at 8 PM
Koerner Hall
273 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, Canada

Beethoven: Sonata No.12 in A-flat Major, Op. 26
Schumann: Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp Minor Op. 11
Schumann: Fantasy in C Major Op. 17
Beethoven: Sonata No. 21 in C Major Op. 53 "Waldstein”

Since 2004, Sir Andras has performed complete cycles of the 32 Beethoven Sonatas worldwide and recorded the cycle live for ECM Records. As the 2019-2020 season celebrates Beethoven’s 250th anniversary, Sir András returns to North America in spring 2020 with two thoughtfully selected all-Beethoven recital programs, presenting a musical biography of the composer.

An exclusive ECM recording Artist, his recordings of works by Schubert, Schumann, Janáček, Beethoven and Bach have been released to the highest of critical acclaim. His newest all-Schubert recording, released in April 2019, features on the composer’s two late sonatas, Four Impromptus D899 and Drei Klavierstücke D946. The Gramophone opined, “In Schubert Schiff has a claim to be considered sovereign among today’s players, carrying forward the reading and interpretation of him into areas that others have not fully explored.”

ALL BEETHOVEN PROGRAM (I)

Piano Sonata No. 12 in A flat major, Op. 26
Piano Sonata No. 13 in E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight"
Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28

ALL BEETHOVEN PROGRAM (II)

Piano Sonata in F sharp major, Op 78
Piano Sonata No. 25 in G major, Op. 79
Piano Sonata No. 26 in E flat major, "Les Adieux", Op. 81a
Piano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90
Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101

2020 North American Spring Recital Tour

Mar. 22 / Vancouver, BC / Chan Centre for the Performing Arts / Goldberg Variations

Mar. 24 / Vancouver, BC / Vancouver Playhouse / Beethoven program II

Mar. 26 / San Francisco, CA / Herbst Theatre / All Beethoven I

Mar. 29 / Chicago, IL / Chicago Symphony Center / All Beethoven I

Mar. 31/ Chicago, IL / Chicago Symphony Center / All Beethoven II

Apr. 2 / New York, NY/ Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall / All Beethoven I

Apr. 5 / New York, NY / Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall / All Beethoven II