Alfred has died aged 94. To me, he's a hero and is surely one of the greatest classical pianists of all time. He lived in England for over half his life and he loved British culture. He was a man of great humour and erudition he was an expert on the great architecture of the past and present. He wore his supreme musicianship very lightly. He was a great advocate of Beethoven and Schubert, among many others, and, thankfully, we live in an age in which we can easily access his great performances (which is what I've been doing all evening on YouTube: so far, I've seen and heard a stellar performance of the Emperor Concerto, a set of four Schubert Impromptus and a transcendent account of Beethoven's last piano sonata).

We saw him on the South Bank in London a number of times in the 70s, and his live performances always had that spirit, spontaneity and humour, qualities possibly a bit more elusive when he was in the recording studio.

He was a big part of my musical upbringing. I loved him and am so sad he's gone. A glass will be raised...