András Schiff: Haydn, Schubert and Mozart

Programme

Spend an evening in the presence of classical music royalty, as Sir András Schiff play-directs and conducts a trio of Classical masterpieces.

András Schiff’s devoted fans will turn out for whatever he decides to play or conduct, and this evening they’re in for not one treat but three. Schiff performs two of the finest concertos of the late 1700s. Haydn’s, the epitome of Classical elegance and expression, features a lively Hungarian-style finale. Mozart’s explores deeper emotional territory, the lullaby-like melody of its slow movement leading to a masterly set of variations. Schiff directs the orchestra from the keyboard, as Mozart and Haydn themselves would have done.

Between the two, Schiff swaps the piano for the podium, conducting the two surviving movements of Schubert’s tantalizingly unfinished Symphony No. 8. A critic at its premiere gave this irresistible description: ‘a sweet stream of melodies… so crystal-clear that you can see every pebble on the bottom. And everywhere the same warmth, the same golden sunshine that makes buds grow!’