Paul Badura-Skoda: 6 October 1927 - 25 September 2019

[Gurn Blanston]

My absolute favorite pianist. 91, 2 weeks shy of 92. So much to say about him, so little of it matters now. Rest in peace, along with my other favorite musician, Anner Bijlsma. Can't believe my #1 & 2 favorite musicians have passed within just a few short weeks of each other. Feels even worse than when Frans Brüggen and Christopher Hogwood did the same thing in 2014! 

[Brian]

Oh man. Sad to hear - but what an extraordinary and long legacy, and he kept active right up until the end too. Have to admire that (and maybe envy a little).

Will listen to some PBS tomorrow, along with the nearly exactly half-his-age Dina Ugorskaja.

[North Star]

And just 5 months after his duo partner Jörg Demus died. What a career and life, though - over 60 years between his earliest and latest commercial recordings.

(Pianists are just dropping like flies now, it seems - three posts in 18 hours.)

[Todd]

A real bummer of a day to visit the site.  Too much sad news.

[Ken B]

Sad news. I guess I will dig out his Schubert tomorrow. I have little of him solo, but a fair bit where he is playing chamber music.

[Holden]

You can go one better as apparently PBS is still alive and kicking. This is fake news and PBS sent an e-mail to his good friend Albert Frantz stating that he is indeed alive and well. You can view this on Mark Ainley's 'The Piano Files' FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/ThePianoFilesWithMarkAinley/photos/a.10151977735029674/10157743203594674/?type=3&eid=ARB7DF27GMh_kVFQIzfy1sFtSmCWNY6r_Lmzid6IEPSSREmqpjOFk-WMruFkHXI5EX1T-a5P8QRa1LTq&__tn__=EEHH-R

It reminds me of Mark Twain's "The report of my death has been greatly exaggerated!"

[Gurn Blanston]

You can go one better as apparently PBS is still alive and kicking. This is fake news and PBS sent an e-mail to his good friend Albert Frantz stating that he is indeed alive and well. You can view this on Mark Ainley's 'The Piano Files' FB page.

https://www.facebook.com/ThePianoFilesWithMarkAinley/photos/a.10151977735029674/10157743203594674/?type=3&eid=ARB7DF27GMh_kVFQIzfy1sFtSmCWNY6r_Lmzid6IEPSSREmqpjOFk-WMruFkHXI5EX1T-a5P8QRa1LTq&__tn__=EEHH-R

It reminds me of Mark Twain's "The report of my death has been greatly exaggerated!"

That IS good news, although his long-term illness appears to be worse. I am delighted to be wrong in this case, although he is one of the people whom you would least expect fake news to be spread.

[Marc]

I don't even have that many recordings by him, but they were all very good imho.
Weird to read about his passing, because I had been thinking about him this week, after I re-read some chapters in the (Dutch) Eduard van Beinum biography. Van Beinum and Badura-Skoda exchanged some letters in the 1950s about 'how to play 18th century music in a more authentic way'.

I still hope that Badura-Skoda's fortepiano Beethoven set will be re-released sometime. I don't have it and, from what I read on the world wide web, I understand it's a very good one. I already like his modern piano set very much.

May he rest in peace.

[North Star]

I don't even have that many recordings by him, but they were all very good imho.
Weird to read about his passing, because I had been thinking about him this week, after I re-read some chapters in the (Dutch) Eduard van Beinum biography. Van Beinum and Badura-Skoda exchanged some letters in the 1950s about 'how to play 18th century music in a more authentic way'.

I still hope that Badura-Skoda's fortepiano Beethoven set will be re-released sometime. I don't have it and, from what I read on the world wide web, I understand it's a very good one. I already like his modern piano set very much.

May he rest in peace.

I see you didn't notice the latest developments.  0:)

[Marc]

I see you didn't notice the latest developments.  0:)

You just beat me to a rectification. But, again, it took me about 5 minutes to log in, and then I saw your post.
Earlier this afternoon, when it took me even longer to enter the site, I just read the first post of this thread and reacted immediately.
Lazy me. Apologies.

Still: I really do hope his fortepiano Beethoven set will be re-released in due time.

[Mandryka]

Still: I really do hope his fortepiano Beethoven set will be re-released in due time.

The Mozart set is for me even more special, though this may be a reflection of my attitude to the music as much as anything else. I enjoy Mozart's piano sonatas more than Beethoven's.  One thing I appreciate about Badura Skoda is the physicality of the performances, in the sense that he tries to use the characteristics of the piano, all the asperities, to enhance the music, rather than to smooth things over, hide things.

I think that Paul Badura Skoda is one of the most interesting pianists on record.

[Irons]

Fabulous pianist possessing great versatility. I particularly treasure two LPs of Haydn sonatas with him playing a Johann Schantz pianoforte circa 1790.

[North Star]

Now it seems to be real.
https://www.diepresse.com/5696324/paul-badura-skoda-huter-der-wiener-musiziertradition-ist-tot

[Gurn Blanston]

Now it seems to be real.
https://www.diepresse.com/5696324/paul-badura-skoda-huter-der-wiener-musiziertradition-ist-tot

*sigh*.   When I was looking for the earlier information I discovered how ill he has been and it seemed inevitable this day would arrive soon. So it goes... RIP, Master.

[André]

I've had this 2013 recital on my wish list for over a month now. Some of Mozart's greatest minor key works. Maybe it was premonitory 

[Gurn Blanston]

I've had this 2013 recital on my wish list for over a month now. Some of Mozart's greatest minor key works. Maybe it was premonitory 

That looks very tempting. I have the complete sonatas, but I think this is a newer effort, and the other works always have the greatest appeal too. Très bien....

[JBS]

I've had this 2013 recital on my wish list for over a month now. Some of Mozart's greatest minor key works. Maybe it was premonitory 

If you don't have the CD in which he partners with Jorg Demus in Mozart, which is a sort of companion to that CD, you should also get that.

[Gurn Blanston]

If you don't have the CD in which he partners with Jorg Demus in Mozart, which is a sort of companion to that CD, you should also get that.

Absolutely. Very nice recital that was, too. When I was buying this one tonight, the review talked about a series of 3 disks on Gramola, which I assumed to be this one, the Demus one, and one other. But I couldn't seem to locate the one other, so am curious about it. Guess I'll have to hunt it down tomorrow. All of the works on this disk are also in the complete sonatas box, I am looking forward to comparing the work of the 87 year old PBS with the 30 years younger man in his prime.

[JBS]

Absolutely. Very nice recital that was, too. When I was buying this one tonight, the review talked about a series of 3 disks on Gramola, which I assumed to be this one, the Demus one, and one other. But I couldn't seem to locate the one other, so am curious about it. Guess I'll have to hunt it down tomorrow. All of the works on this disk are also in the complete sonatas box, I am looking forward to comparing the work of the 87 year old PBS with the 30 years younger man in his prime.

There's a CD of Mozart sonatas, one of Mozart concertos, one of "Viennese dances", one of Schubert piano trios, and a couple of PBS in concert from two or three decades ago (one with Demus, btw).

Type "Badura Skoda Gramola" into the Amazon search box.

[pjme]

https://www.youtube.com/v/DWs1qw91Nhk

https://www.youtube.com/v/2YUnLMlGFkk