Sir András Schiff recently completed the final leg of his U.S. tour, performing exclusively on the Bösendorfer 280 Vienna Concert grand piano. Check out his exclusive interview at Yamaha Artist Services New York!
I played on a couple of Bösendorfer (9 foot) - and it was a breath-taking experience to effortlessly achieve the most subtle different textures of touch. Outstanding qualty; I was in disbelief. Only the Fazioli came this close (from the individual pianos I tried) - and the Steinway a definite 2nd place to either B or F. (But I still love the Steinway).
I had the absolute pleasure of playing a bosendorfer imperial and I can honestly say that I fell deeply in love with it instantly. Its tone was everything I had dreamt and the action was the most superb and the easiest to play I have ever had the utmost pleasure of experiencing
Thank you Sir Andras Schiff for bringing the 280VC to New York's Carnegie Hall on April 3 and April 5. I attended the April 5th concert. Hearing this master play this glorious, magnificent instrument live was true bliss.
Note how each string has its own hitch pin. If one breaks in the heat of the moment, you still have 2 remaining to finish the gig. Not like Steinway's system where one hitch pin serves two speaking lengths of string. Even Bechstein stopped doing the individual hitch pin thing over a decade ago: Bosendorfer and August Forster are the only ones left.
I have played all kinds of pianos, Steinway, Bechstein, Marshall & Rose, Danemann, Stuart & Sons, even the worlds longest; the Alexander Piano. But the Bosendorfer Imperial Grand is the first on my shopping liszt.
The 280VC he's commenting on sounds quite different to the Imperial, however. I prefer the 280VC. There are many makes of pianos I like and I think they are all comparable, but all having unique signatures.
Well, for him they are probably tools to be used. And he is one of the few really big names in the classic music industry and probably makes good money. AND he lives in London and Italy and he cannot really take his Imperial with him in the airplane when he moves between his homes. Finally: He is Andras Schiff, he promotes them better than most. I would not be to astonished to hear that he did not really pay the list price.
I like this video where he says that a grand should not be 100% egale, the composers wrote for other pianos (should be another study) but Boesendorfer has much of those qualities. [...] a bridge to the past. Soundwise I find that it has the best quality of Boesendorfer, but somehow I hear more the registers on it. It is very important for the music I like to play, for example Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, that you have distinct ... eh, ... tonal qualities for the top, the middle and the bass on the piano. And it should not be absolutely even, and that's how, - the composers wrote like that; You have to have these levels of distinction, and I think that this piano has that: It has a wonderful action, and it is very easy and comfortable to play, but what I am really looking for is the sound. I think this is a singing instrument, and seems to be a contradiction in terms, for most people think that the piano is a percussion instrument! I beg to differ. All instruments try to imitate the human voice, and I think this piano does it on a very high level.
It is considered a percussion instrument because the mallets strike the strings when the Piano keys are depressed. A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck. Percussion instruments are most commonly divided into two classes: Pitched percussion instruments, which produce notes with an identifiable pitch, and unpitched percussion instruments, which produce notes or sounds without an identifiable pitch. Percussion instruments may play not only rhythm but also melody and harmony. Which is why it is called a percussion instrument. And I also think Bosendorfer makes the best sounding piano's on the planet. And I hope someday I get a chance to hear a prodigy play that instrument in person before I die.
What he meant was that yes, the piano is officially classified as a percussion instrument because of how it works mechanically. However, the composers whose music he likes to play treat the piano as a "singing" instrument, with more connected, legato melodies rather than the usual staccato, "percussive" quality.
I am glad you made it clear that the piano is a percussion instrument. When he said it was really a wind instrument I was turned off. I felt he was trying to be profound, but to me, he came off as being ridiculous. Oh, and I own a Bosendorfer 225. Nice instrument. It belongs to the feline family.
Wow, Amazing!! He well know composer's mind. But you need before play this pieace, You need listen to original Schubert song. "Der Wanderer" Schubert wrote 3 difference songs as same song titles. You can make more much emotions after listen to it.
I agree...Bosendorfer Imperial is tops, it was what I started on...never equaled, I play a restored 1883 Steinway A, which is a nice piano, but not up to this standard. Bosendorfer action is divine, the sound is divine. I must get one.
For such a valuable piano, whoever raised the lid didn't know what they were doing, and even the artist didn't notice - the lid support is in the wrong hole - it should be at a 90-degree angle with the lid. The hole that it is in is designed for the short support. This is very risky, since the long support can come out of the outer hole, causing the lid to fall and possibly crack.
@@quaver1239 yeah, but they don’t intervene in Bösendorfer‘s style …and if ONLY in a way where Bösendorfer get’s an additional breath of fresh air (sound wise). This actually is one of the rare occasions in history where BOTH companies win. A match made in heaven so to speak
As a 1904 Bechstein owner who can't play to save his life, I always thought that any piano made a nice noise, even if a toddler is having a go at it. Unlike say, the fiddle, it's a bit difficult to make a horrible noise on a piano. Perhaps I should investigate the bagpipes ?
"And it should not be absolutely even" und das ist der springende Punkt. For my ears and taste also, it has to have these different Sections across the 88 or 97 keys. THAT is what i feel when i hear the Masters play the Bösendorfer Konzert-Flügel ;-) i hear the Character of the Past. Now, regarding Sir András' point of view that the Piano is not a Percussion Instrument, on the Surface it's probably not , but the Mechanics of it makes it a percussive Instrument. Or lets just say it is part of the Percussion/Rhythm Section family.
Ha1 ha1 ha! True. But what a price you are paying ! Nothing can replace a real, acoustic piano. If you are a true piano lover, you will, I'm sure, agree with me. Unfortunately, those of us who live in apartment buildings are forced to go for the so-called digital "pianos."
@@dazboot2966 Well said, Daz Boot. Olease see my latest video on Major Scles , in which I echo your sentiment !:) And thank you for watching my channel! :)
@Ashley Griffith hey ashley, if you turn on the subtitles those are literally the first three lines. by the way ":p" at the end of a comment means that it was meant to be taken in a lighthearted manner. :)
Bosendorfer grand pianos have rather a harsh sound. It's not delicate or refined at all. It may sound right when you play some classical and somehow "rigid" composers like Beethoven (I'm not saying he is not a genius...), but it's absolutely not appropriate for playing romantic repertoire. it's sounds really harsh! Nothing to do with much more sophisticated pianos like a Fazioli. Even Steinways are better (mainly New York models, as Hamburg versions really lack of color and power). We still can find great grand pianos in Germany but they are really very confidential (I really like August Forster).
@@klingstone he must certainly can't be serious? I went from Steinway Bay to Fazoli 278 to Bosendorfer 280 VC Bosendorfer beautiful sound romantic can be worked anyway, if you know how to play. Fazoli Steinway, much louder and harsher.
Bosendorfer is clearly really bad at marketing themselves... This guy sounds so boring and shows no signs of enthusiasm. Meanwhile Steinway already knew the game of monopoly and has marketed themselves so well that they've dominated the pro piano business like cancer. Whether or not they are that good is another debate. Bosendorfer has 2 options. 1. They can and should list all the things they are better than a Steinway and compete directly for the same market just like Pepsi was doing against Coke a decade ago with big marketing campaigns. 2. Just market themselves to a niche market for rich people. Making rich people thinking, knowing and believing that only Bosendorfer is the brand for the people who can afford it, while Steinway is only for concerts, schools and pros. They haven't done neither properly so far.
Justin Liu he’s an artist, not a marketing exec, and if one knows a thing or two about piano playing, which I strongly doubt you do, what he has to say is fascinating. You can fuck off with this shallow American bs
I like how you're supposedly not American yet your only reference for trying to insult someone mocking Americans is... more American stereotypes about "white trash". I studied the piano for 11 years, including at the conservatory in my native city of Moscow, even if subsequently I chose to pursue a different career in a different part of the world. But I do believe that you're a classical musician: I know that world well, and its lower tiers are populated by utter dullards who don't know any better than uncritically accepting capitalist frames of reference. It really takes a neoliberal subject - i.e. someone whose entire being is defined entirely by the logic of the market and consumerist capitalism - to watch an outstanding artist talking about what he appreciates about a piano manufacturer and say "this guy sounds so boring and shows no signs of enthusiasm".
