András Schiff “Bach Project No. 2” French Suites and French Overture 4/21/13

April 21, 2013

I still clearly remember Sir. Schiff’s epic concerts on Bach’s The Well-Tempered Clavier Books. 1 and 2 from the last October. This time, he came back to Disney Hall with Bach’s 6 French Suites and French Overture. He performed all 6 suites as a set in a first half. How can he keep that deep focus on the stage in front of a big audience?? He looked as if he was in his comfortable room playing by himself or for his friends. He was having a wonderful time playing Bach’s profound music. He brought great characters from each dance movement. As an extraordinary scholar, I believe he has studied those pieces over and over, but at the performance, he just has a great fun as if he is playing them for the first time. And here comes, his famous No-Pedal approach to Bach. If you are curious about his fingerings on Bach, you can look at Henle’s new Schiff edition on the Well-Tempered Clavier. He uses very interesting fingerings. After the concert, I visited him in the back stage. When I commented to him that he was having a wonderful time, he said he loves an acoustic and piano in Disney Hall. I totally agree with him. The last fall I had a great privilege to play for him, and I chose Bach’s French Overture. It was so fun and inspiring to hear him performing it. He has been and will be my musical mentor whom I respect deeply.