ANDRÁS SCHIFF AND FRIENDS 26 – 28 March 2021
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Publishing Credits Publisher © Lucerne Festival Foundation Photo cover © Nicolas Brodard This program was published in December 2020 and is subject to alteration without prior notice. Printed prices are subject to change.
Š Manuela Jans/Lucerne Festival
András Schiff … … on Bach
The life of a musician without Bach seems like that of an actor without Shakespeare. Many people consider it a mortal sin to play Bach on a modern piano. This guild of “pharisees and scribes” pleads exclusively for the clavichord or harpsichord. And they also claim that the piano music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert are supposed to be incomparably more enjoyable on the fortepianos of their times. And what are we allowed to play on a Steinway made in 1990? Maybe Elliott Carter? Fortunately, this understanding of authenticity has not yet degenerated into a decree. Bach’s manuscripts provide only sparse information on aspects of interpretation, such as tempo, dynamics, phrasing, structure, and ornamentation. Obviously, at that time it was not considered necessary to put every detail in writing. The performers filled in any gaps in the notation according to their own musical understanding and taste. Bach himself is said never to have played a single work twice in the same way. Bach’s text is sacrosanct, but it gives us the freedom to choose and to make certain decisions ourselves. The purity of Bach’s polyphony and counterpoint requires clear and distinct execution. In this respect, pianists must be aware of the mortal enemy in the form of the sustaining right pedal. This device is beneficial and wonderful, even an essential element of 19th- and 20th-century piano music; however, this invention is not compatible with Bach’s music. At most, his music tolerates its extremely sparing and careful use.
… on Schubert Schubert’s music is the most human I know, and also the most personal. His modesty and humility touch me deeply. In Vienna, he lived in the shadow of Beethoven, whom he never dared to approach. And yet in his short life he found his very own musical language. Schubert is a composer for the human voice through and through, not only in his 600 magnificent lieder; his instrumental works are also reminiscent of songs without words. Schubert, like all real musicians, is universal. At the same time, a good deal of what is Viennese exists in his music. When I imagine how Schubert spoke, I hear an Austrian-tinged German. Schubert was often sentimentalized and played down during the Biedermeier era (and afterward as well). One could hardly have guessed what dark forces, what deep chasms are hidden in his music. … on Mozart Mozart’s music is a gift to humanity – but have we really earned it? “Too easy for children, too difficult for adults,” was Artur Schnabel’s verdict on Mozart’s piano works. Even a musical child can play a Mozart sonata well and perhaps even beautifully. There are not too many notes here, only as many as necessary. For a child, everything seems natural: melody, harmony, and rhythm are in perfect balance. Later, however, you begin to think about the music and to discover its complexity. It then becomes no longer as simple as it first seemed, and with horror you realize that you can no longer play Mozart with natural innocence. Paradise lost … With a lot of luck, you find your way back in old age. The 99-year-old pianist Mieczysław Horszowski amazed us with Mozart interpretations in which he combined childlike purity with the wisdom of experience.
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A WEEKEND WITH ANDRÁS SCHIFF AND FRIENDS
“Music has essentially to do with the spirit, with the spiritual. And it comes from the soul. This differentiates humans from animals. Some birds make wonderful music. But the difference can perhaps be understood through a comparison. When swallows build a nest, it’s certainly something we admire, yet at the same time, we would not call it high art or architecture. What differentiates the Cathedral of Florence from a swallow’s nest? The deliberate intent to create a work of spirit and soul. And so there is also a fundamental difference between the song of the nightingale and Bach’s Art of the Fugue.” András Schiff
Among the most prominent faces at Lucerne Festival, the pianist Sir András Schiff has gifted us with one unforgettable experience after another since 1990 – in other words, for more than three decades. He is also one of the most versatile musicians in his profession, inspiring music lovers as a soloist, chamber virtuoso, and conductor: a musician without boundaries, which is exactly how he will present himself during his musical weekend in the spring of 2021. Together with his ensemble Cappella Andrea Barca, which comprises instrumentalists he has assembled into a top-class orchestra, he will perform keyboard concertos by Wolfgang Amadé Mozart and Johann Sebastian Bach. His approach to these works celebrates the lofty art of making music together as equals, for Schiff rejects the notion of an autocratic conductor and sees these compositions as extended chamber music. He does not think he has to wield a baton to interpret them. What matters is that the performers listen to each other, that they breathe and phrase together – in such a way that the music sounds like it’s being played by a single entity, all of a piece. On the opening evening, meanwhile, Schiff will focus on Franz Schubert, the third of his triumvirate of favorite composers, by taking on the role of lieder accompanist for a “Schubertiade.”
Fri 26.3. 19.30 KKL Luzern, Concert Hall
SCHUBERTIADE
CHF 120/90/60 Event no. 211101
Ema Nikolovska soprano Jakob Pejcic, Markus Miesenberger, and David Jagodic tenors Clemens Kölbl and Georg Klimbacher baritones Yves Brühwiler and Robert Holl basses Hariolf Schlichtig and Yuuko Shiokawa viola Rafael Rosenfeld and Xenia Jankovic cello Brita Bürgschwendtner double-bass Sir András Schiff piano and musical direction
Franz Schubert Selected lieder, duets, and part-songs
This concert has no
intermission and will end at about 20.45.
Franz Schubert is unquestionably one of the most important composers in the history of music. During his lifetime, however, hardly anyone would have asserted such a claim. When Schubert died in 1828, at only 31 years of age, a mere one-eighth of what he had composed had appeared in print. And since the art of lieder, of songwriting, is at the center of his oeuvre, with its more than 600 songs, he developed a reputation as a master of small forms and of domestic music. No wonder that Schubert’s works were at first heard primarily in private settings. In 1821, exactly 200 years ago, the first Schubertiades took place among his circle of friends: “Schubert himself would play and sing a lot of wonderful songs. Afterwards, punch would be drunk.” These convivial musical gatherings soon became a pattern and took the form of a permanent institution, which continued to be carried out even after Schubert’s death, featuring top-notch performers and taking place far beyond Vienna. To open his musical weekend, András Schiff will embark on a journey through time to take us to Schubert’s world and present his own Schubertiade together with his singer friends. While punch will not be offered, the most heavenly music will be served!
Sat 27.3. 11.00 KKL Luzern, Auditorium
ARTIST INTERVIEW
CHF 20 Event no. 211104
Sir András Schiff in conversation with Martin Meyer ca. 60’
Besides being an extraordinary musician, for many decades the pianist and conductor András Schiff has also offered clever and witty commentary on his profession. Few have articulated such comprehensive and probing ideas about what is involved in interpretation, how great works are structured, what their secrets consist of. Schiff has written in detail about this in his books and essays. Both areas of his engagement – as artist and thinker – are connected to each other in remarkably fascinating ways, positively reinforcing each other. Schiff’s intellectual and literary endeavors inform and inspire his playing, which in turn guides him back to the act of reflection. As a result, both theory and practice are thus always intimately and creatively interrelated for Schiff. In conversation with Martin Meyer, himself a very distinguished writer in the area of piano music, the focus will once again be on the art of finding and shaping the right tone, the true character, the spirit of the music – an art that is at once challenging and uplifting. This is especially the case with regard to the works that Schiff will perform during his musical Spring Weekend.
© Georg Anderhub /Lucerne Festival
Sat 27.3. 18.30 KKL Luzern, Concert Hall
MOZART CONCERTOS
CHF 220/190/150/110/70/30 Event no. 211102
Cappella Andrea Barca Sir András Schiff piano and
musical direction
Wolfgang Amadé Mozart Piano Concerto in E-flat major, K. 271 Jenamy ca. 33’
Piano Concerto in G major, K. 453 ca. 32’
This concert has no intermission
17.30 Introduction to the concert (in German) by Susanne Stähr KKL Luzern, Auditorium
When it comes to Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, András Schiff and the Cappella Andrea Barca are completely in their element. Schiff founded his “house orchestra” in 1999 with the goal of performing all of the composer’s piano concertos at the Salzburg Mozart Week. He has selected two of the most beautiful of these works for his Lucerne residency. First is the monumental E-flat major Concerto, K. 271, which the 21-year-old Mozart wrote for the French pianist Louise Victoire Jenamy. Since the Mozarts were not very precise about spelling this virtuosa’s name correctly, it appeared in the family correspondence as “Mad:me jenomè,” “Mad:me genomaj,” or, simply, “die jenomy.” Which ultimately resulted in the corrupted nickname that came into use for many years: the Jeunehomme Concerto. In fact, this work might also be seen as a self-portrait of the composer as a young man, for this music conveys a notably subjective and confessional quality. Seven years later, Mozart wrote the theatrically vivid and buoyant G major Concerto, K. 453 for his highly talented student Babette Ployer. The rondo theme that Mozart invented for its finale proved so catchy that even his pet bird, a starling, could easily whistle it.
Sun 28.3. 11.00 KKL Luzern, Concert Hall
BACH CONCERTOS
CHF 220/190/150/110/70/30 Event no. 211103
Cappella Andrea Barca Sir András Schiff piano and
musical direction
Johann Sebastian Bach Piano Concerto in D major, BWV 1054 ca. 16’
Piano Concerto in F minor, BWV 1056 ca. 10’
Piano Concerto in E major, BWV 1053 ca. 19’
Piano Concerto in D minor, BWV 1052 ca. 23’
This concert has no intermission
Johann Sebastian Bach: the name inevitably makes us think of passions and cantatas, of music that resounds with praise “for the glory of God alone.” But the “fifth evangelist,” as Albert Schweitzer once called this legendary composer, was hardly confined to church music. Starting in 1729, Bach used to perform chamber pieces and sometimes larger instrumental works every week with a group of private pupils, university students, so-called “town pipers,” and virtuosos he befriended – all in a Leipzig coffee house! Since he was a much-admired master of keyboard instruments, Bach invented a new genre that would soon take on unexpected importance: the piano concerto. For the closing concert of his musical weekend, András Schiff will take us on a journey to the roots of the genre while paying homage to the composer he considers “the greatest and most significant.” Indeed, Bach’s “piano” concertos offer all the heart could wish for: racing virtuosity and rhythmic drive, elaborate counterpoint and bold harmonies, not to mention ear-pleasing melodies and moments of tranquility. Only listen to the incomparable Largo from the F minor Concerto BWV 1056 for the epitome of musical bliss.