BADURA-SKODA nearly made it to 92 - His Piano Quirks and Blazing Etude Work

"Missed it by...that much..." Paul Badura-Skoda would have turned 92 on October 6th. 

Many figured he would make it. After all, he was STILL gettin' it done at 91, doing concerts around the world. Below you'll find a complete performance from May of 2019. 

The Austrian piano genius (October 6 1927 – September 25, 2019) was one of the most prolific — and neglected classical recording artists. Anyone out there have a whole bunch of his records and CDs? I can't say that I have all that many, as I tended to look for the acknowledged masterful performances of Rubinstein, Horowitz and Richter. When I looked for alternate versions of a piece, or didn't have the bucks to spend, I filled out my collection with what was on the budget labels; a lot of Alfred Brendel, Earl Wild, and guy whose work was in mono and so kicked by Angel down to Seraphim or from RCA to Victrola.  

One of Badura-Skoda's labels was Westminster (some collectors of "deep groove" vinyl still pay a high price for that label's products). For his 90th birthday, a 20 CD box set of the master's 1951-1965 recordings was re-issued, some material re-mastered at Abbey Road. It's about $65. Likewise in price, is the Kleos 7 CD box set "Man and His Music." There are box sets of compete Mozart and Beethoven sonatas, and much more. He recorded well over 200 albums. Perhaps in some shoutbox or other, someone at this very moment is saying, "I am a poor man, I can not afford music, so does anyone want to look in their closets for a complete discography on Badura-Skoda via Zippyshare? Pretty please?" 

One of the prize quirks for collectors is "Schubert: The Complete Piano Sonatas on Period Instruments." 9 CD set. Why is this quirky? 

Because one of the more unusual things about Badura-Skoda is that he was not only concerned with the quality of stereo sound, but the difference between old vintage pianos and modern ones. He would often record the same piece of music on a piano that could've been played by Schubert himself, and on his favored Bosendorfer. 

Consider that a concert violinist lucky enough to own a Stradivarius -- would not switch in mid-concert to the best recently made violin, and play the same piece over again for connoisseurs to find the difference. Yet this pianist expected that there were people out there ready to hear the same interpretation of a sonata, but enjoy the differences in sound quality on pianos made centuries apart. 

Here's his last concert, May of 2019 

Badura-Skoda began his career in the late 40’s, and worked with some of the legendary German conductors, including Furtwangler and Von Karajan. As he prospered, his private collection of musical instruments grew. Not only did he seek out a vintage piano, but quite a few other keyboard instruments, even accordions. 

He was praised mostly for his interpretations of the standards: the concertos and sonatas of Mozart and Beethoven, as well as the works of Schubert and Chopin. Below, for those who really don't like classical music too much, is a very familiar Chopin work under three minutes: Etude #12 in C Minor. 

Heyyyyy Abbott & Costello fans, yes, this is the piano piece that Lou Costello pretended to play on one of their TV episodes. The comedy was in when Lou, seated with his hands on the keyes, would pretend to start and stop, as Bud incompetently manned the record player in the room next door. 

This is a VERY fast and powerful version of what is probably Chopin's most dramatic and showy piano piece. Few have the dexterity to pull this off, and most have to take it a bit slower. Or, they just figure Chopin meant it to be taken a bit slower.  Think Emerson or Wakeman could handle this? Think again.

Chopin Etude #12 in C Minor - listen online, download, no password or dodgy spyware-loaded website. No paypal demand or Rapidgator hypocrisy