Paul Badura-Skoda

Paul Badura-Skoda (born 6 October 1927, Vienna) is an Austrian pianist.

A student of Edwin Fischer, Badura-Skoda first rose to prominence by winning first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he performed with distinguished conductors like Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan; over his long career, he has recorded with conductors like Hans Knappertsbusch, Hermann Scherchen, and Georg Szell. Along with his contemporaries Friedrich Gulda and Jörg Demus, he was part of the so-called "Viennese Troika".

He is best known for his performances of works by Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, but has an extensive repertoire including many works of Chopin and Ravel. Badura-Skoda is well known for his performances on historical instruments, and owns several (his recording of the complete piano sonatas of Schubert is on five instruments from his private collection). A prolific recording artist, Badura-Skoda's over 200 records include many "duplicates" made to highlight the sound of different pianos: in a 2013 record, he recorded Schubert's last sonata three times on instruments from the 1820s, 1920s, and early 2000s (having already recorded the piece several times before); his box set of the complete piano sonatas of Beethoven similarly includes three different versions of the "Hammerklavier" Sonata. Indeed, he is the only pianist to have not only recorded the complete piano sonatas of Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, but to have done so on both historic and modern instruments.

His frequent collaborations with Demus include several duet recordings and performances, and a book on the interpretation of Beethoven's piano sonatas. Badura-Skoda also collaborated with Frank Martin, producing editions and recordings of his music, and several articles on it.

Badura-Skoda is also well known for his musical scholarship, often along with his wife Eva Badura-Skoda. The Badura-Skodas edited one of the volumes of Mozart's piano concertos for the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (Serie V/Werkgruppe 15/Band 5, consisting of K. 453, 456, and 459). They also produced books on the interpretation of the piano music of Mozart and the keyboard music of Bach, which have been translated into several languages.

Honours and awards

• Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class (1976)
• Bösendorfer ring1978
• Knight of the Legion of Honour (1993)
• Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1997)
• Gold Medal for Service to the City of Vienna (2007)
• Grand Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria (2006)
• Honoris causa doctorate from Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim (2006)
• Honoris causa doctorate from Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2010)
• Honoris causa doctorate from Academy of Music in Kraków (2013)

External links

• Paul Badura-Skoda's Homepage. The information above is largely adapted from the biography given on this homepage.
• CDs of Badura-Skoda released by label GENUIN
• Hear Paul Badura-Skoda in concert from WGBH Radio Boston
• Interview with Paul Badura-Skoda by Bruce Duffie, March 7, 1989
• Birthday Congratulations
• Paul Badura-Skoda's Master Class in Villa Medici Giulini, Briosco (MB), Italy
• David Dubal interview with Paul Badura-Skoda on YouTube, WNCN-FM, 26-Mar-1982
• Paul and Eva Badura-Skoda on concert tour of Southern Africa through Hans Adler.[1]