Franz Schubert: Fortepiano András Schiff

• Franz Schubert (1810–1856): Ungarische Melodie in H-Moll, D. 817
• 1Ungarische Melodie in H-Moll, D. 81703:32
• Sonate in G-Dur, D. 894
• 2I. Molto moderato e cantabile15:51
• 3II. Andante07:11
• 4III. Menuett. Allegro moderato - Trio04:16
• 5IV. Allegretto09:02
• Moments musicaux, D. 780
• 6I. Moderato05:32
• 7II. Andantino05:37
• 8III. Allegro moderato poco rubato01:59
• 9IV. Moderato05:05
• 10V. Allegro vivace02:16
• 11VI. Allegretto06:49
• Allegretto in C-Moll, D. 915
• 12Allegretto in C-Moll, D. 91504:56
• Vier Impromptus, D. 935
• 13I. Allegro moderato10:43
• 14II. Allegretto05:59
• 15III. Andante semplice11:06
• 16IV. Allegro scherzando06:39
• Sonate in B-Dur, D. 960
• 17I. Molto moderato18:34
• 18II. Andante Sostenuto07:49
• 19III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace con delicatezza - Trio03:59
• 20IV. Allegro ma non troppo - Presto08:42
• Total Runtime02:25:37

Info for Franz Schubert: Fortepiano

András Schiff’s reputation as one of the great interpreters of the work of Franz Schubert is long-established. He has always maintained that Schubert’s music is amongst the most moving ever written. Schiff underlined the point on his ECM New Series album with the C Major fantasies at the end of the 1990s, and he does so again on this remarkable recording, on which two Schubert sonatas, the 'Musical Moments', four Impromptus (D 935), the 'Hungarian Melody' and an Allegretto are addressed on a period instrument, the fortepiano. András Schiff: 'My fortepiano was built by Franz Brodmann in Vienna in 1820. It is to me ideally suited to Schubert’s keyboard works Therre is something quintessentially Viennese in its timbre, its tender mellowness, its melancholic cantabilità. ... It is in the quiet and quietest moments when Schubert - like nobody else - touches our hearts.”

András Schiff, piano

As a young pianist, András Schiff earned wide esteem for his 1980s recordings of the major keyboard works of J.S. Bach; in recent years, as part of his long-term relationship with ECM, he has gone back to Bach as a sage veteran, earning even more acclaim for his New Series versions of the Goldberg Variations (2001) and the Six Partitas (2007), both intimate concert recordings. In August 2011, Schiff turned his focus to the 48 preludes and fugues of Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier, recording both Books I and II in the Auditorium Radiosvizzera Italiana, Lugano. The performance of these influential works sets new interpretive standards. For the recording, Schiff’s own Steinway was brought to Lugano, and the production beautifully captures a masterful player and his instrument of choice.

András Schiff, born in Budapest in 1953, puts a strong focus on cyclic performances of the important piano works by the masters from Bach to Bártok. His wide-ranging discography on ECM includes works by Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Janáček, among many others. One of Schiff's most ambitious projects to date, the complete Beethoven sonata cycle was performed in 20 major musical centers worldwide and recorded for ECM in concert at the Zürich Tonhalle. In 1999, Schiff created his own chamber orchestra, the Cappella Andrea Barca, which consists of international soloists, chamber musicians and friends. In addition to working annually with this orchestra, he conducts London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.

Booklet for Franz Schubert: Fortepiano