Expect the best of the greats when Sir András Schiff and ‘family’ perform in Hong Kong
- Knighted maestro and his chamber orchestra to play Mozart, Beethoven and Bach in Hong Kong
Pianist and conductor Sir András Schiff seems to enjoy a good joke. His spirited approach to music is apparent in the chamber orchestra he founded, Cappella Andrea Barca.
The ensemble was named after a little-known peasant who turned the pages for Mozart as he played. He went on to become a musician and compose an important Tuscan opera called La Ribollita Bruciata, which translates as The Burned Ribollita, named after a traditional Italian soup of bread, beans and vegetables.
Many websites recount the facts of the musician’s life. The problem is, he is entirely fictional.
“When I founded this ensemble 20 years ago, we needed a name. So I translated my own name into Italian. András is Andrea and Schiff in German means ‘ship’ or ‘boat’, which is ‘barca’ in Italian,” he says.
“I then wrote an amusing fictive story about this character who has been Mozart’s page-turner. It's all a joke but some people believe every word of it.”
I wrote an amusing fictive story about this character who has been Mozart’s page-turner. It's all a joke but some people believe every word of it
Cappella Andrea Barca, which performs two concerts at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in November, is a group of globally successful soloists and chamber musicians not tied to any particular orchestra. Schiff hand-picks the musicians and together they function more like a fraternity, or family, than a traditional orchestra. András Schiff
“We are not run by the union so if a rehearsal is five minutes longer, it’s not a problem. We’re like a larger family,” he says.
While his approach to the orchestra may be less formal, “we take music extremely seriously”.
Schiff describes Cappella Andrea Barca as a chamber music ensemble of excellent soloists, but above all chamber musicians. “In chamber music, everyone is equally important and musicians are actually listening to each other, not just watching the gestures of the conductor,” he says.
We are not run by the union so if a rehearsal is five minutes longer, it’s not a problem. We’re like a larger family
“There are many string quartet players in this orchestra and playing the string quartet is the pinnacle of making music. There’s no place for the egotist. The ensemble is based on friendship, understanding, equality and equal ideals – aesthetic, musical and human.”
Schiff created Cappella Andrea Barca in 1999 for a performance of Mozart’s complete piano concertos at Mozartwoche, or Mozart Week, held annually in Salzburg, Austria. The ensemble has gradually widened their scope, touring numerous world cities and classical music festivals.
There are many string quartet players in this orchestra and playing the string quartet is the pinnacle of making music
In their upcoming Hong Kong performances, the ensemble will cover Mozart, as well as Beethoven and Bach.
“Life is too short for second-rate music,” he says. “We try to play the best pieces of the greatest composers: Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and so on. To explain why they are great is as futile as trying to explain the sunset or the movements of the ocean.”
The November 15 performance begins with Bach’s Ricercar a 6 (from The Musical Offering, BWV 1079). Schiff describes Bach as “liberating” and playing the compositions as “refreshment for the body, soul, and mind”. This work is seen as one of the most significant piano compositions.
“It's most probably a keyboard piece but we don’t know that with certainty. It works perfectly well with strings, too,” he says.
The ensemble will also play Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 in C, K. 551, “Jupiter” and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, “Emperor Concerto”.
On November 16, Cappella Andrea Barca perform Mozart’s Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543, and two of Beethoven’s piano concertos, No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19 and No. 4 in G, Op. 58.
It's most probably a keyboard piece but we don’t know that with certainty. It works perfectly well with strings, too
For Schiff, the artists that inspire the most admiration are those who combine wisdom with child-like innocence. Quoting Austrian-American classical pianist and composer Artur Schnabel – who often said “Mozart is too easy for children and too difficult for adults” – Schiff has stated that “very talented children can give wonderful Mozart performances, and old men can do it – it's very difficult when you're in between”.
Schiff has been drawn to the wonder of music since childhood. Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1953, he started piano lessons aged five. He continued to study music at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest, with pianists Pál Kadosa, Ferenc Rados, and, most influentially, György Kurtág. He then moved to London, studying under English pianist, conductor and composer George Malcolm.
Schiff has worked with most of the major international orchestras and conductors, winning important awards. He took home a Grammy and Gramophone Award in 1990, and the prestigious Bartók Prize in 1991. In 2006, he was granted honorary membership of Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany, for his complete recording of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. He has won the International Mozarteum Foundation’s Golden Mozart Medaille, Germany’s Great Cross of Merit with Star, and the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal. He was knighted by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth for services to music in 2014.
Music academies in Budapest, Detmold and Munich have Schiff as an honorary professor and he is a special supernumerary fellow of Balliol College, Oxford University. Last year he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Music in London.
He currently works mainly as a conductor and piano soloist. In recent years his Bach has become an annual highlight of the BBC Proms, while he regularly performs at the Verbier, Salzburg and Baden-Baden festivals; Wigmore Hall in London, Wiener Musikverein and Philharmonie de Paris; on tour in North America and Asia; and in Vicenza, Italy, where he curates a festival at the Teatro Olimpico. In addition to performing with Cappella Andrea Barca, he also works annually with the Philharmonia Orchestra based in London and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
Life is too short for second-rate music
Schiff’s last visit to Hong Kong was in 2008 for the Hong Kong Arts Festival. In the interim, he has been knighted and anointed “the uncrowned king of Austro-German piano music” by critic William Lau. At the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in November, audiences will have the chance to experience this great first-hand.
