Paul Badura-Skoda |

Paul Badura-Skoda

A versatile musician – soloist, ensemble player, conductor, teacher, researcher, writer – this is one of the leading representatives of the post-war generation of the Austrian pianistic school. Actually, it would not be entirely accurate to classify him unconditionally as an Austrian school: after all, after graduating from the Vienna Conservatory in the piano class of Professor Viola Tern (as well as in the conducting class), Badura-Skoda studied under the guidance of Edwin Fischer, whom he considers his main teacher. But still, Fischer’s romantic spirituality left a not too strong imprint on the performing appearance of Badur-Skoda; in addition, he is closely associated with Vienna, where he lives and works, with Vienna, which gave him the pianistic repertoire and what is commonly called auditory experience.

The concert activity of the pianist began in the 50s. Quite quickly, he established himself as an excellent connoisseur and subtle interpreter of the Viennese classics. Successful performances at several international competitions strengthened his reputation, opened the doors of concert halls for him, the stage of many festivals. Critics soon recognized him as a fine stylist, serious artistic intentions and impeccable taste, fidelity to the letter and spirit of the author’s text, and finally paid tribute to the ease and freedom of his game. But at the same time, the weak points of the young artist did not go unnoticed – the lack of a wide breathing of the phrase, some “learning”, excessive smoothness, pedantry. “He still plays with keys, not with sounds,” I. Kaiser noted in 1965.

Witnesses of the artist’s further creative growth were Soviet listeners. Badura-Skoda, starting from the 1968/69 season, regularly toured the USSR. He immediately attracted attention with the subtlety of nuance, stylistic flair, strong virtuosity. At the same time, his interpretation of Chopin seemed too free, sometimes unjustified by the music itself. Later, in 1973, pianist A. Ioheles noted in his review that Badura-Skoda “has grown into a mature artist with a pronounced individuality, whose focus is, first of all, on his native Viennese classics.” Indeed, even during the first two visits, from the extensive repertoire of Badur-Skoda, the sonatas of Haydn (C major) and Mozart (F major) were most remembered, and now the Schubert Sonata in C minor was recognized as the greatest success, where the pianist managed to shade the “strong-willed, Beethovenian Start”.

The pianist also left a good impression in the ensemble with David Oistrakh, with whom he performed at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. But of course, rising above the level of an ordinary accompanist, the pianist was inferior to the great violinist in depth, artistic significance and scale of the interpretation of Mozart’s sonatas.

Today, in the face of Badur-Skoda, we are presented with an artist, although of limited capabilities, but of a fairly wide range. The richest experience and encyclopedic knowledge, finally, stylistic flair help him master the most diverse layers of music. He says; “I approach the repertoire like an actor, a good interpreter approaches my roles; he must play the hero, not himself, present different characters with the same authenticity. And I must say that in most cases the artist succeeds, even when he turns to seemingly distant spheres. Recall that even at the dawn of his career – in 1951 – Badura-Skoda recorded concertos by Rimsky-Korsakov and Scriabin on records, and now he willingly plays the music of Chopin, Debussy, Ravel, Hindemith, Bartok, Frank Martin (the latter dedicated his Second Concerto to him for piano and orchestra). And Viennese classics and romance are still at the center of his creative interests – from Haydn and Mozart, through Beethoven and Schubert, to Schumann and Brahms. In Austria and abroad, the recordings of Beethoven’s sonatas made by him are very successful, and in the USA the album The Complete Collection of Schubert Sonatas Performed by Badur-Skoda, recorded by order of the RCA company, was highly appreciated. As for Mozart, his interpretation is still characterized by the desire for clarity of lines, transparency of texture, and embossed voice leading. Badura-Skoda performs not only most of Mozart’s solo compositions, but also many ensembles. Jörg Demus has been his constant partner for many years: they have recorded all Mozart’s compositions for two pianos and four hands on records. Their collaboration is not limited, however, to Mozart. In 1970, when Beethoven’s 200th anniversary was celebrated, friends broadcast a cycle of Beethoven’s sonatas on Austrian television, accompanying it with the most interesting commentaries. Badura-Skoda devoted two books to the problems of interpreting the music of Mozart and Beethoven, one of which was written jointly with his wife, and the other with Jörg Demus. In addition, he wrote numerous articles and studies on the Viennese classics and early music, editions of Mozart’s concertos, many of Schubert’s works (including the fantasy “Wanderer”), Schumann’s “Album for Youth”. In 1971, while in Moscow, he gave a meaningful lecture at the conservatory on the problems of interpreting early music. The reputation of Badur-Skoda as a connoisseur and performer of the Viennese classics is now very high – he is constantly invited to give lectures and conduct courses in performing arts not only in higher educational institutions in Austria, but also in the USA, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia and other countries.

Grigoriev L., Platek Ya., 1990