Expect the best of the greats when Sir András Schiff and ‘family’ perform in Hong Kong
- Knighted maestro and his chamber orchestra to play Mozart, Beethoven and Bach in Hong Kong
Pianist and conductor Sir András Schiff seems to enjoy a good joke. His spirited approach to music is apparent in the chamber orchestra he founded, Cappella Andrea Barca.
The ensemble was named after a little-known peasant who turned the pages for Mozart as he played. He went on to become a musician and compose an important Tuscan opera called La Ribollita Bruciata, which translates as The Burned Ribollita, named after a traditional Italian soup of bread, beans and vegetables.
Many websites recount the facts of the musician’s life. The problem is, he is entirely fictional.
“When I founded this ensemble 20 years ago, we needed a name. So I translated my own name into Italian. András is Andrea and Schiff in German means ‘ship’ or ‘boat’, which is ‘barca’ in Italian,” he says.
“I then wrote an amusing fictive story about this character who has been Mozart’s page-turner. It's all a joke but some people believe every word of it.”
I wrote an amusing fictive story about this character who has been Mozart’s page-turner. It's all a joke but some people believe every word of it
Cappella Andrea Barca, which performs two concerts at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre in November, is a group of globally successful soloists and chamber musicians not tied to any particular orchestra. Schiff hand-picks the musicians and together they function more like a fraternity, or family, than a traditional orchestra. András Schiff
