Born in Budapest in 1953 Sir András Schiff began piano lessons at the age of five with Elisabeth Vadász. He subsequently continued his studies at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Pál Kadosa, György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados, and with George Malcolm in London.

An important part of his activity are piano recitals, where he is particularly drawn to cyclical programmes; accordingly, he has focussed especially on piano works by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann and Bartók. Since the pandemic, the artist no longer announces the programmes for his recitals in advance: He chooses the works for the concert evening to suit the instrument and the hall during the pre-rehearsal in the hall.

Having performed with the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, it became increasingly important to him to perform the piano concertos of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven under his own direction. In 1999 he founded the Cappella Andrea Barca for this purpose. In 2018 he accepted the role of Associate Artist with the Orchestra of the Age Enlightenment, which met his growing interest in performing on period keyboard instruments.

The support of young musicians is important to him. He teaches piano and chamber music at Kronberg Academy and the Barenboim-Said Academy and gives frequent masterclasses. In 2014, he founded the mentoring programme »Building Bridges«, which provides targeted and sustainable support for talented young pianists.

For 15 years, Sir András Schiff was an exclusive artist on the Decca label. Sir András Schiff has been recording exclusively for the ECM label since 1998: The live recordings of all of Ludwig van Beethoven’s piano sonatas from the Zurich Tonhalle received the highest honours.

In 2017 his book »Music Comes Out of Silence« with essays and conversations with the feature writer Martin Meyer was published.

In spring 2011 Sir András Schiff attracted attention because of his opposition to the alarming political developments in Hungary and, in view of the ensuing attacks on him from some Hungarian Nationalists, decided not to perform again in his home country. In March 2025 he has also cancelled all further planned appearances in the United States in protest against the policies of Donald Trump and his supporters.

András Schiff has received numerous international prizes and honours. Amongst others, he was made an honorary member of the Beethoven House in Bonn for his exceptional work as a Beethoven interpreter in 2006. In 2014, he was made a Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to music. In 2025, Sir András Schiff was awarded the Praemium Imperiale, the most prestigious international art prize. It is presented annually by the Japan Art Association and is considered the ›Nobel Prize of the Arts‹.