András Schiff Conductor and Piano
Haydn Piano Concerto in D major
Schubert Symphony No. 2
Mozart Piano Concerto No. 27
Program Notes
“Among current piano titans, András Schiff is the Zen master. He is both utterly relaxed and absolutely awake; taken together, those qualities add up to an unbreakable focus. He is tireless and seemingly infallible, and his playing is window-clear. Listening to Schiff play is like looking into a running stream and seeing all the colorful, round pebbles beneath the water” (San Jose Mercury).
Who better than this virtuoso to perform a pair of beloved piano classics? Mozart’s final piano concerto, No. 27, is a masterwork of dramatic interplay with the orchestra. Premiered in the year of Mozart’s death, it reflects both the sorrows of his life and his complete mastery of the concerto form, a brilliant flourish of a signature to a storied career.
Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D major, brimming with energy and charm, was written at a high point of his work and personal life. Then nearing 50 years old, he had gained control of his works from a major patron, which enabled him to profit from the publication of his scores; and he had started an affair with a 19-year-old mezzo-soprano. Schiff is acclaimed for his playing of Haydn, a showcase for his “infinitely varied touch, attack and articulation … exquisitely soft and refined passagework that sounded as if the keys were brushed with a feather, not struck with fingers” (Seattle Times).
Between these two works, the Orchestra shines in Schubert’s Second Symphony, written when he was still a teenager, its bold melodies, interspersed with intense drama, reflecting the passion and energy of a young man on the threshold of a lifetime of creating great music.