Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)

Subject: Obit: Alfred Brendel
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 17 Jun 25 - 07:44 PM

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...

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: Joe Offer
Date: 17 Jun 25 - 08:03 PM

Wonderful pianist. Here's his YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEoe8-yD72f68GPVwBkwy1g

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Jun 25 - 10:00 PM

Vale concert pianist Alfred Brendel, who has died aged 94

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Jun 25 - 10:33 PM

Indeed, a marvelous musician. I have quite a few of his recordings, lots of Beethoven. I just looked - the 21 record boxed set of Beethoven is all performed by Brendel.

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: JennieG
Date: 17 Jun 25 - 11:50 PM

Way back when I was but a mere teenager I used to buy myself a ticket to an annual series of subscription concerts in my home town, and I remember seeing Alfred Brendel at one of them. He would have been in his early 30s at the time, a wonderful pianist.

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: DaveRo
Date: 18 Jun 25 - 02:24 AM

Alfred Brendel, Bravura Pianist Who Forged a Singular Path, Dies at 94[

Mr. Brendel was unusual among modern concert artists. He had not been a child prodigy, he lacked the phenomenal memory needed to maintain a large repertoire with ease, and he had relatively little formal training. But he was a hard and cheerfully patient worker.

There's hope for all of us.

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 18 Jun 25 - 07:57 AM

In later years, Brendel also recorded Lieder with no less than Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Schubert).
Versatile as well as accomplished.

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: GUEST,Steve Shaw
Date: 18 Jun 25 - 06:56 PM

Well, an odd thing about Brendel (great as he was in my not-so-humble opinion) is that he is often below the radar in classical music talk. I've just watched an interesting YouTube presented by Dave Hurwirtz of Classics Today who pursued that same theme about a year ago when Brendel was still alive. I always watch Dave's multifarious YouTubes with a somewhat sceptical eye (I find him to be a bit capricious and often a bit superficial), but something chimed with me with his Brendel one. It's true that Brendel is far less talked about than some of his stellar contemporaries. Oddly, despite my hero worship of him, I've just realised that I haven't got a single recording of his. I wondered why I'd never splashed the cash in that direction...

It could be that he stiffened up in the recording studio (don't we all...), losing that spontaneity and humour that is there in spades in his live performances. Whilst technically brilliant, his studio recordings can come across as a bit too serious, even a bit didactic. But we can bypass all that these days on YouTube by seeking out his live performances Chalk and cheese. It's good to seek out his live Diabelli Variations recordings. Which is what I'm inspired to right now!

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: GUEST,Steve again
Date: 19 Jun 25 - 05:03 AM

Grr. Full stop before "Chalk" and a third-last word "do." It was late!

Subject: RE: Obit: Pianist Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)
From: gillymor
Date: 19 Jun 25 - 06:22 AM

Back in the 70's he appeared on Dick Cavett occasionally, played a short piece and chatted with the host. I enjoyed his wit and impish sense of humor.