Sir András Schiff is world-renowned as a pianist, conductor, pedagogue and lecturer. Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1953, Sir András studied piano at the Liszt Ferenc Academy with Pal Kadosa, György Kurtág, and Ferenc Rados; and in London with George Malcolm.
He has performed cycles of complete Beethoven sonatas and the complete works of J.S. Bach, Haydn, Schubert and Bartók, which constitute an important part of his work. Having collaborated with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, he now focuses primarily on solo recital, play-conducting appearances, and exclusive conducting projects. He was one of Carnegie Hall’s Perspective Artists and in the 2022-2023 season was named Artist-In-Residence by the New York Philharmonic, with whom he performed nine concerts. His Bach has become an annual highlight at the BBC Proms, and he regularly performs at the Verbier, Salzburg and Baden-Baden Festivals.
He curates an annual festival in Vicenza at the Teatro Olimpico where he has performed with the Cappella Andrea Barca, a chamber orchestra consisting of international soloists, chamber musicians and friends with whom he has worked since 1999. He was made an honorary citizen of the city of Vicenza in 2014. Sir András enjoys close relationships with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. In 2018 he accepted the role of Associated Artist with the OAE, complementing his interest in performing on period keyboard instruments.
Since the pandemic, Sir András no longer announces the programs for his recitals in advance; he chooses the works for the concert evening to suit the instrument during the pre-rehearsal in the hall. He is particularly drawn to piano works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartók.
With a prolific discography, he established an exclusive relationship in 1997 with producer Manfred Eicher and ECM New Series. Highlights have included the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas recorded live from Zurich; solo recitals of Schubert, Schumann and Janáček; and J.S. Bach’s Partitas, Goldberg Variations, and Well-Tempered Clavier. His most recent release features Brahms and Schumann Violin Sonatas with Yuuko Shiokawa, released in late 2024. For 15 years, Sir András Schiff was an exclusive artist on the Decca label; a 78-disc edition was released in 2024 inhonor of his 70th birthday.
Sir András Schiff’s many honors include the Wigmore Hall Medal in London (2008), the International Mozarteum Foundation’s Golden Medal (2012), Germany’s Great Cross of Merit with Star (2012), the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gold Medal (2013), a Knighthood for Services to Music (2014) and a Doctorate from the Royal College of Music (2018). He was awarded the Jean Gimbel Lane Prize in Piano Performance from Northwestern University in 2021 as well as the Anton Dvořák Prize in Prague. In 2024, he received the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art as well as the Bösendorfer Ring. Sir András Schiff was awarded the 2025 Praemium Imperiale, the most prestigious international art prize for music, painting, sculpture, architecture theater and film. The prize is presented annually by the Japan Art Association and is considered the “Nobel Prize of the Arts”.
JULY 2026 AT THE REQUEST OF THE ARTIST – PLEASE DO NOT ALTER THIS BIOGRAPHY