SIr Andras Schiff has such a unique way of playing... every time I listen to him I hear music in its pure, most natural way. He definitely deserved the title " Sir" ;;;
It’s more than a year since my last comment, and this performance by Sir András Schiff remains my benchmark. Never ever in my long lifetime have I heard Beethoven’s No. 30 played like this. To me, it is like heaven would be if one believed in such a place or state of being.
The three sontas no 30, 31and 32 is a gift from heaven to Beethoven. Or is it gift from Beethoven to heaven? And here in no. 30 Andras Schiff plays so well and easy that I melt a little bit.
I have the great fortune to spend three years to attend Schiff’s Beethoven piano sonata cycle ! They were performed at Davis Symphony Hall in San Francisco. On the fourth year, he played Bach and that’s where he told us when playing Bach, he doesn’t use the pedals.
"Davies" Symphony Hall. I actually played alto sax on that same stage several hours before Schiff played some Bach (I think it was the French Suites). I was in a 100+ member wind ensemble consisting of amateur musicians drawn by recommendations from the greater SF Bay Area. This was just part of a special community outreach program called “Play Out, Davies!” for woodwind & brass ensembles, string orchestras, choral ensembles, and small instrumental ensembles. The agenda for the huge wind ensemble had us breaking into sections and later rehearsed as a group, playing Grainger's Irish Tune from County Derry, William Walton's Crown Imperial (a coronation march), and a Rodgers and Hammerstein medley. The multitalented Donato Cabrera rehearsed and conducted the group. The sax section was blessed to have a sectional with Kevin Stewart from CSU San Jose, and later with David Henderson of U. of the Pacific (and original member of the San Francisco Sax Quartet). On my way into the building, I passed by Schiff's office door (he was an artist in residence at the time). Chills. Never met the man. Haven't ever seen him in person. But I'm not sure if I'll ever shake the feeling of significance in coincidence, however tangential my connection with him was in point of fact.
when i first heard the 1st movement, i didn't appreciate much. the musical serenity, which I demonstrate by naturality of continuance in music was found to be faulty in my ears. But as I go on, i realised that such judgement was premature. This is a legendary performance
The last three sonatas are like living beings. Rather than the performer playing them, they seem to play the performer - the performer who will allow him/herself to be played, that is. Schiff yields himself totally to the sonata. Schiff is in the hands of the sonata. Quite the equal of Kempff and Solomon, who brought it to me when a teenager long ago.
Michael T. Lam : Hello again. Yes, I think we do understand the late sonatas better as we grow older, but then I think it does also depend on the individual. You may remember Schiff suggesting that one should perhaps wait until older before performing them. He seems to have studied them for very many years before recording and performing. Have you seen his DVD made at the Royal Academy of Music, London? “Beethoven The Last Three Piano Sonatas”? It is in The Masterclass Media Foundation series, and IMHO it is brilliant. I bought it online from Presto Music.
@@quaver1239 Thank you for your reply! Yes indeed, I remember Schiff saying that. I guess I should do a similar thing (start looking at them early, and wait until I have the maturity to perform in public). I haven't seen that DVD - thank you so much for bringing it up! I should check it out some time. 👍
This is the best performance of No. 30 I have ever heard. Schiff appears relaxed and happy, enjoying his inner world of music. The way he leans back a lot of the time is beautiful. Ashkenazy hunches over the keyboard, his tension palpable, and it ruins his performance of this sonata. András Schiff calls to our hearts with his obvious love and enjoyment. A happier musician I have never encountered.
I think Schiff really relates to this intimate sonata on a very profound personal level. In the lectures he referred to the variations as "the most beautiful movement Beethoven ever wrote; but it's very subjective, everyone can have a favourite movement, and mine is this."
@@quaver1239 No problem! I believe the lectures were taken off youtube but can still be found online: wigmore-hall.org.uk/podcasts/andras-schiff-beethoven-lecture-recitals
Michael T. Lam : Thank you for this. I was very disappointed when they disappeared from UA-cam, and feel really happy now - have only just this minute read your comment! Many thanks. Have just watched and listened again to Schiff play No. 30, and was amazed to find tears running down my cheeks. Extraordinary man and musician, because this is not just “playing the piano”, is it?
I think Maestro Schiff is the most intellectual and accomplished pianist of our time. A real student of the gamer. What I lament is the disappearance of his marvelous series of lectures on the Beethoven sonatas. I can no longer find them anywhere on UA-cam. Can anyone enlighten me?
Espetacular interpretação. Schiff tem um toque tao leve e claro que podemos ouvir cada nota executada individualmente, mesmo com acordes cheios. Perfeito!
Roxanne M : You do know that this piano is a Steinway, not a Bösendorfer? He played this recital in Japan on a Steinway. But I agree with you that the Bösendorfer is a wonderful instrument that travels with him when that is feasible.
Bruce Gauthier : I think I agree. In his performances for an audience there is always an extra “something.” Reading his recently published book, Music Comes out of Silence, I fully realised that András Schiff was born to be a musician who performs so as to share his love and understanding of music with the world.
very possibly the same trolls who terrorize poetry websites and "dislike" all the transcendent beauty in the universe. this is a performance for the ages.
Did Schiff study with Emil Gilels or Svjatoslav Richter? That would have been logical, since he was born in communist Hungary. In Soviet Union the level of piano music was ultimate: in the 40's, 50's and 60's Gilels and Richter premiered compositions of Prokofjev and Shostakovich.
No I don't believe he did, I know he studied with someone from the UK (I can't remember his name) but I think he played period instruments as well and taught Schiff a lot about ornamentation of music of that era, and probably lots more. There is an interesting interview with him if you type in 'Schiff castaway' it'll come up 👍🏻
Yes, sounds like something straight out of a harpsichord concerto, doesn’t it? Beethoven, like many other composers, got obsessed with Bach’s music in his later years. Hence all the fugues and heavily polyphonic writing.
C'est une très belle version mais celles de Sviatoslav Richter du 22/01/1972 (coffret Brilliant classics) me semble inégalée tout à la fois plus maitrisée, intériorisée, plus naturellement chantante et expressive ainsi que celle de Rudolf Serkin du 8/6/1976 (Columbia Sony Legends classics)
A Romain SERS:Je suis tout à fait d'accord avec vous.Mais je pense aux 3 sonates op 109 110 111 par Richter à Leipzig en Nov 1963 sont inégalables.C'est un récital légendaire.Personne ne l'égalera.
It is indescribable how powerful the return of the theme is at the end. It made me burst into tears.
That moment--where the trills slowly fade away and the theme comes back in--is one of my favorite moments in all of Beethoven's music.
@@timward2762:36
SIr Andras Schiff has such a unique way of playing... every time I listen to him I hear music in its pure, most natural way. He definitely deserved the title " Sir" ;;;
I thought other people could play Beethoven until I heard Schiff. He's level of comprehension of the music is so far above anyone else.
This is my favourite recording of this piece that I've ever heard. Just unbelievable.
No argument here. I agree.
It’s more than a year since my last comment, and this performance by Sir András Schiff remains my benchmark. Never ever in my long lifetime have I heard Beethoven’s No. 30 played like this. To me, it is like heaven would be if one believed in such a place or state of being.
After a number of years and many pianists, this remains the performance of Opus 109 that I love most.
The three sontas no 30, 31and 32 is a gift from heaven to Beethoven. Or is it gift from Beethoven to heaven? And here in no. 30 Andras Schiff plays so well and easy that I melt a little bit.
👍 👍
O. C.
I melt a lot bit 🙂.
I have a third suggestion - Beethoven put them into the consciousness of anyone willing to listen.
Why leave out 29?
00:01
3:57
6:30
He didn't write it but we all know what he means 😁
Thanks
This is the best performance of no. 30 I’ve ever heard. Sir András seems so relaxed and happy playing it that it adds to our pleasure.
I have the great fortune to spend three years to attend Schiff’s Beethoven piano sonata cycle !
They were performed at Davis Symphony Hall in San Francisco. On the fourth year, he played Bach and that’s where he told us when playing Bach, he doesn’t use the pedals.
"Davies" Symphony Hall. I actually played alto sax on that same stage several hours before Schiff played some Bach (I think it was the French Suites).
I was in a 100+ member wind ensemble consisting of amateur musicians drawn by recommendations from the greater SF Bay Area. This was just part of a special community outreach program called “Play Out, Davies!” for woodwind & brass ensembles, string orchestras, choral ensembles, and small instrumental ensembles. The agenda for the huge wind ensemble had us breaking into sections and later rehearsed as a group, playing Grainger's Irish Tune from County Derry, William Walton's Crown Imperial (a coronation march), and a Rodgers and Hammerstein medley. The multitalented Donato Cabrera rehearsed and conducted the group. The sax section was blessed to have a sectional with Kevin Stewart from CSU San Jose, and later with David Henderson of U. of the Pacific (and original member of the San Francisco Sax Quartet). On my way into the building, I passed by Schiff's office door (he was an artist in residence at the time). Chills. Never met the man. Haven't ever seen him in person. But I'm not sure if I'll ever shake the feeling of significance in coincidence, however tangential my connection with him was in point of fact.
when i first heard the 1st movement, i didn't appreciate much. the musical serenity, which I demonstrate by naturality of continuance in music was found to be faulty in my ears. But as I go on, i realised that such judgement was premature. This is a legendary performance
Now, this is a beautiful rendition of this sonata. Mr Schiff is so serene...
The last three sonatas are like living beings. Rather than the performer playing them, they seem to play the performer - the performer who will allow him/herself to be played, that is. Schiff yields himself totally to the sonata. Schiff is in the hands of the sonata. Quite the equal of Kempff and Solomon, who brought it to me when a teenager long ago.
Agreed! Fantastic and ambiguous pieces. Schiff brings all his fine judgement to bear on these late sonatas.
Is it true that you understand the late sonatas better when you are older? I am 22 right now and starting to learn some of them
Michael T. Lam : Hello again. Yes, I think we do understand the late sonatas better as we grow older, but then I think it does also depend on the individual. You may remember Schiff suggesting that one should perhaps wait until older before performing them. He seems to have studied them for very many years before recording and performing. Have you seen his DVD made at the Royal Academy of Music, London? “Beethoven The Last Three Piano Sonatas”? It is in The Masterclass Media Foundation series, and IMHO it is brilliant. I bought it online from Presto Music.
Andrew James : Entirely agree with you. You have said it beautifully. Thank you!
@@quaver1239 Thank you for your reply! Yes indeed, I remember Schiff saying that. I guess I should do a similar thing (start looking at them early, and wait until I have the maturity to perform in public). I haven't seen that DVD - thank you so much for bringing it up! I should check it out some time. 👍
This is the best performance of No. 30 I have ever heard. Schiff appears relaxed and happy, enjoying his inner world of music. The way he leans back a lot of the time is beautiful. Ashkenazy hunches over the keyboard, his tension palpable, and it ruins his performance of this sonata. András Schiff calls to our hearts with his obvious love and enjoyment. A happier musician I have never encountered.
I second that!
I think Schiff really relates to this intimate sonata on a very profound personal level. In the lectures he referred to the variations as "the most beautiful movement Beethoven ever wrote; but it's very subjective, everyone can have a favourite movement, and mine is this."
Michael T. Lam : Thank you for this, Michael. I’d forgotten what he said.
@@quaver1239 No problem!
I believe the lectures were taken off youtube but can still be found online:
wigmore-hall.org.uk/podcasts/andras-schiff-beethoven-lecture-recitals
Michael T. Lam : Thank you for this. I was very disappointed when they disappeared from UA-cam, and feel really happy now - have only just this minute read your comment! Many thanks. Have just watched and listened again to Schiff play No. 30, and was amazed to find tears running down my cheeks. Extraordinary man and musician, because this is not just “playing the piano”, is it?
Thank you. Every moment a gem.
Quelle intelligence de la musique!quel toucher magique !
Il incarne a lui tout seul tous les grands compositeurs passés
Magician work, bravo maestro, with love from New Jersey, USA.
I think Maestro Schiff is the most intellectual and accomplished pianist of our time. A real student of the gamer. What I lament is the disappearance of his marvelous series of lectures on the Beethoven sonatas. I can no longer find them anywhere on UA-cam. Can anyone enlighten me?
David G : They are still available on the Wigmore Hall website:
wigmore-hall.org.uk/podcasts/andrás-schiff-Beethoven-lecture-recitals
@@quaver1239 THANKS!
@@quaver1239 I went there and straight to this and it was absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much for the head's up and also to David G. Heavenly.
Yes !! Thank you thank you. More Schiff please 🙏 😄
Always so very considered, sensitively and beautifully executed ❤️
Profunda sensibilidad. Claridad y precision sin alardes.
Espetacular interpretação. Schiff tem um toque tao leve e claro que podemos ouvir cada nota executada individualmente, mesmo com acordes cheios. Perfeito!
Andras is one of the finest pianist alive today!
Melhor que no CD, é ouvir ao vivo! András Schiff, o Brasil lhe aguarda!
Love the third movement
Sublime!!
3rd movement 6:30
I love the sound of his Bösendorfer piano. I just wonder why more great pianists don’t play them.
Roxanne M : You do know that this piano is a Steinway, not a Bösendorfer? He played this recital in Japan on a Steinway. But I agree with you that the Bösendorfer is a wonderful instrument that travels with him when that is feasible.
@@quaver1239 , no, I didn’t know. Thanks for telling me. I guess he can make any piano sound like a Bösendorfer, and anything more.
@@RoxanneM- I agree! A most wonderful musician.
Andras Schiff is a master
Rised with the sound of W. Kempff I changend to this gifted and blessed Sir Andras Schiff ❤
Compositore Ludwig Van Beethoven lui scrisse compose pagine musicali per pianoforte bellissime meravigliose.
This video was recorded at Kioi Hall in Tokyo in February 2011. It is not 2013.
This performance is way better than his recording in ECM
I find his live recordings of Beethoven's sonatas better than his studio versions.
Bruce Gauthier : I think I agree. In his performances for an audience there is always an extra “something.” Reading his recently published book, Music Comes out of Silence, I fully realised that András Schiff was born to be a musician who performs so as to share his love and understanding of music with the world.
@@brucegauthier2003 those were also live recordings
Awesome ! 素晴らしい
E le altre 2 sonate, opus 110 e opus 111?
Una volta erano online!
Tutto il concerto.....live
The best Beethoven heard... Mr. Schiff
15:10 the feet knew what time it was
fugue time
lmao
No words
A truly wonderful performance. The Steinway is nice, but Schiff sounds even better playing his Bösendorfer.
12:39
3:57
6:30
4:30
The way he's listening to himself ....
1:20
12:10
0:04
can youtube delete the three people disliked this video?
very possibly the same trolls
who terrorize poetry websites
and "dislike" all the transcendent
beauty in the universe. this is a
performance for the ages.
@@fgiord8fgg they're like "meeehhh not fast enough!!!!"
Did Schiff study with Emil Gilels or Svjatoslav Richter? That would have been logical, since he was born in communist Hungary. In Soviet Union the level of piano music was ultimate: in the 40's, 50's and 60's Gilels and Richter premiered compositions of Prokofjev and Shostakovich.
No I don't believe he did, I know he studied with someone from the UK (I can't remember his name) but I think he played period instruments as well and taught Schiff a lot about ornamentation of music of that era, and probably lots more. There is an interesting interview with him if you type in 'Schiff castaway' it'll come up 👍🏻
4:53 Beethoven or Bach...
Yes, sounds like something straight out of a harpsichord concerto, doesn’t it? Beethoven, like many other composers, got obsessed with Bach’s music in his later years. Hence all the fugues and heavily polyphonic writing.
Great recording. I didn't know Andras Schiff was a priest though
C'est une très belle version mais celles de Sviatoslav Richter du 22/01/1972 (coffret Brilliant classics) me semble inégalée tout à la fois plus maitrisée, intériorisée, plus naturellement chantante et expressive ainsi que celle de Rudolf Serkin du 8/6/1976 (Columbia Sony Legends classics)
A Romain SERS:Je suis tout à fait d'accord avec vous.Mais je pense aux 3 sonates op 109 110 111 par Richter à Leipzig en Nov 1963 sont inégalables.C'est un récital légendaire.Personne ne l'égalera.
Don’t really know if it was the piano or Mister Schiff’s playing, but I find that something was too “harsh” in this interpretation.
I agree! I think it was the recording/post processing.
Yeah i think the piano is too bright and loud
There's a reason you're the bottom comment.
15:57