Sir András Schiff is known worldwide as a pianist, conductor, pedagogue, and lecturer. Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1953, Sir András studied piano at the Liszt Ferenc Academy with Pál Kadosa, György Kurtág, and Ferenc Rados, and in London with George Malcom.
He has performed the complete Beethoven sonata cycles, as well as projects that include the complete works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Schubert, and Bartok, which constitute an important part of his work. Having collaborated with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, he now focuses primarily on solo recitals, performances as a conductor, and exclusive conducting projects. His Bach has become an annual highlight at the BBC Proms, and he performs regularly at the Verbier, Salzburg, and Baden-Baden festivals, as well as at Wigmore Hall.
Vicenza is the home of Cappella Andrea Barca, his own chamber orchestra composed of international soloists, chamber musicians, and friends, founded in 1999.
Sir András enjoys a close relationship with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In 2018, he accepted the role of Associate Artist with the OAE, complementing his interest in playing with period keyboard instruments.
With a prolific discography, he established an exclusive relationship in 1997 with producer Manfred Eicher and ECM New Series. His most outstanding recordings include the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas, recorded live from Zurich, solo recitals of Schubert, Schumann, and Janáček, as well as the Partitas of J.S. Bach, Goldberg Variations, and The Well-Tempered Clavier. His most recent album includes the two Brahms piano concertos, using a Blüthner piano, with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (ECM 2021).
In 2017, his book “Music Comes from Silence,” essays and conversations with Martin Meyer, was published by Bärenreiter and Henschel.
Among the distinctions he has received are the Gold Medal of the International Mozarteum Foundation (2012), the Grand Cross of Merit with Star of Germany (2012), the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society (2013), HM Queen Elizabeth II granted him the title of Knight of the British Empire, for Services to Music (2014), and a Doctorate from the Royal College of Music (2018). He received the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in piano performance in 2021 from the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. In June 2022, Sir András Schiff received the Bach Medal from the city of Leipzig, as “one of the greatest Bach interpreters of our time.”