Pianist András Schiff receives Cross of Honour and Bösendorfer Ring

On June 11, pianist and conductor Sir András Schiff was honoured twice following his concert at the Musikverein. State Secretary for the Arts and Culture Andrea Mayer awarded him the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art First Class. Bösendorfer Managing Director Sabine Grubmüller presented the 70-year-old, who holds Hungarian, Austrian, and British citizenship, with the Bösendorfer Ring.

Musikverein director Stephan Pauly praised Schiff as "one of the central, style-defining pianists of our time," noting his contributions through over 80 concerts spanning nearly five decades. Schiff's performances of works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Bartók have left a significant mark on the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde's history.

The Bösendorfer Ring, first awarded in 1953 to pianist Wilhelm Backhaus and later to Paul Badura-Skoda in 1978, now has Schiff as its new bearer.