Andras Schiff in recital at S.F. Davies Hall (Feb. 15, 2015)

Pianist, Andras Schiff delivered an uneven performance at San Francisco's Davies Hall yesterday afternoon. Those who expected the pianist to play his signature Bach program were pleasantly surprised by Schiff's insertions of self-imposed Baroque style ornaments in Mozart's "Drawing Room" Sonata, K. 545.(in particular) As whimsical as it might have seemed, the "improvisation" was out…

Playing Bach on the piano: pedal or no pedal

Decisions, decisions about whether to pedal through Bach's ethereal Prelude no. 1 in C Major, BWV 846 (The Well-Tempered Clavier)

Angela Hewitt, pianist, plays J.S. Bach beautifully on a Fazioli

I must admit that when I journeyed to Piedmont Pianos before it moved out of downtown San Francisco, I wasn't taken by a huge, 10-foot plus Italian piano with extra keys that was the featured attraction. (The Giraffe piano at Peninsula in Palo Alto upstaged it) And the older, re-built Steinways on the S.F. premises…