Ramon Khalona:

>Badura-Skoda is an interesting man.  He has an extensive collection of
>pianos which he's said to maintain himself.  His wife, Eva, is a noted
>musicologist with various publications on Mozart to her credit.

Paul Badura-Skoda was the soloist in the first LP record I ever
bought--Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto--after being assured by someone
I trusted that there was no better performance.  I never regretted the
purchase, though I long ago wore it out.

When I was a student at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, both
Badura-Skodas had appointments there.  Before a (free) recital one evening
I witnessed Paul Badura-Skoda play a few bars on a concert grand that, to
my untrained ears sounded splendid but which, he told us, was just to
demonstrate that the piano was so wretchedly out of tune that he couldn't
possibly play on it.  So I left.  I head later that he found an acceptable
instrument and the recital went on.

Early in their careers Paul Barura-Skoda and Alfred Brendel seemed like
Viennese twins, with similar reputations and even repertoire.  I always
preferred Badura-Skoda's playing and have wondered why his career seemed
to fade while Brendel flourished.

Jim Tobin