Alfred Brendel 1931-2025

[Belgrove]

Sad news announcing the death of Alfred Brendel

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/17/celebrated-pianist-and-writer-alfred-brendel-dies-aged-94

His Beethoven and Schubert were a major part of my introduction to classical music. A passing of one of the greats of the piano repertoire. RIP

[Keraulophone]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjmmmrl4mz7o

Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Liszt, Haydn... certainly one of the finest exponents of the core repertoire. I was alerted by a Facebook post from Craig Sheppard, whose CFP recording of the Liszt Piano Sonata was a godsend while studying it as an A-level set work - Brendel's highly regarded recording on Philips was, sadly, out of my price range.

R.I.P.

[Roger Webb]

Sad news announcing the death of Alfred Brendel

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/jun/17/celebrated-pianist-and-writer-alfred-brendel-dies-aged-94

His Beethoven and Schubert were a major part of my introduction to classical music. A passing of one of the greats of the piano repertoire. RIP

Just heard this sad news on Radio 4 News...they're doing an appreciation very soon.

[CallMePaul]

I only saw Brendel live once, at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, playing the (Robert) Schumann concerto with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Sir Neville Marriner. I do, however, have a number of his recordings including his digital Schubert and Beethoven sets, plus Mozart recordings from his early career - concerti conducted by Paul Angerer on the Turnabout label and his first Diabelli Variations. While he will be remembered mainly for his recordings of the Viennese classics and Liszt, we should not forget that his early recording career included works by composers including Balakirev, Prokofiev and Chopin, as well as Musorgsky's Pictures from an Exhibition, which he retained in his repertory and re-recorded for Philips.

Alfred Brendel will remain as a towering presence among pianists as long as people play and listen to piano music - certainly one of the greats. RIP.

[Roger Webb]

Shame really, whilst the Radio 4 News managed to play a minute of the Schubert D960 at the end of their programme, the main BBC 1 6 o'clock TV news didn't mention him at all - they were preoccupied with the death of someone called Kim Woodburn (I'd never heard of her), who apparently went round to other people's houses and cleaned them, and this was absorbing enough for her to be filmed doing it! The BBC's priorities well up to their usual standard!

[french frank]

Apologies that in attempting to merge three threads before a fourth one was started, I seem to have lost posts by bluestateprommer and visualnickmos. I don't know how they could have disappeared completely.

[hmvman]

Have enjoyed his Beethoven and Mozart piano concertos recordings for many years. As CallMePaul says, one of the greats indeed.

R.I.P and thank you.

[pastoralguy]

Very sad news indeed. A truly great artist. I was lucky enough to hear him quite often with the (R)SNO including both Brahms concertos. I’d been listening to him play the Mozart piano concertos with the SCO and Mackerras recently and was reminded just how good he was.

RIP, Maestro.

[bluestateprommer]

Other tributes:

NYT:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/arts/music/alfred-brendel-dead.html

NPO Klassiek (with two archival solo recitals from the Concertgebouw):

https://www.npoklassiek.nl/klassiek/podium/64b88100-a5f8-444c-969c-9f375b4ba565/pianist-alfred-brendel-94-overleden

1983 Beethoven recital:

https://www.npoklassiek.nl/concerten/6764f4a7-409f-44a1-b206-4e1db36b54fc/alfred-brendel-speelt-beethoven

1987 Schubert recital:

https://www.npoklassiek.nl/concerten/484f1585-f957-4759-865d-fb0df2338a51/moments-musicaux-voor-piano-6-d-780-op-94-compleet

BR Klassik:

https://www.br-klassik.de/aktuell/news-kritik/alfred-brendel-pianist-gestorben-nachruf-100.html

A friend and I were fortunate enough to see AB's last recital in Chicago back in 2008. Sold out, of course, with extra chairs on stage for the overflow crowd.

For ff, no worries, easy to recreate the post (and remove a redundant link)

[Roger Webb]

I saw Brendel live several times over the years, most movingly at St. Georges, Brandon Hill, Bristol (recently discussed) on his farewell tour (2008)...I can't find the programme but I'm pretty sure in the first half he played Mozart K533, and in the second Schubert D960, and then for the encore, what else but the G flat Impromptu!

BTW Brendel received an honorary degree from Bristol, among the many from other Universities.

[Petrushka]

Brendel was my pianist of choice in the Viennese repertoire and I saw him many times, mostly at the Proms though the first time was in 1977 at a Halle concert in Manchester with James Loughran in which he played the Schumann concerto. His Mozart concerto cycle with Marriner is a mainstay of my CD collection.

RIP

[Maclintick]

I saw Brendel live several times over the years, most movingly at St. Georges, Brandon Hill, Bristol (recently discussed) on his farewell tour (2008)...I can't find the programme but I'm pretty sure in the first half he played Mozart K533, and in the second Schubert D960, and then for the encore, what else but the G flat Impromptu!.

That was also the last encore he played at his final Snape recital in that year. First heard him in the Grossen Saal of the Mozarteum in Salzburg in Jul' 1969, K.459 with the VPO under Dohnányi -- I still have the programme which says he played a Bösendorfer. His last Prom in 2004 was LVB "Emperor", also with Dohnányi, and the Philharmonia. Of that I remember that this most searching of musical intellects gave the Adagio un poco mosso with unaffected simplicity. One of the greats, certainly.

[Roger Webb]

I saw Brendel live several times over the years, most movingly at St. Georges, Brandon Hill, Bristol (recently discussed) on his farewell tour (2008)...I can't find the programme but I'm pretty sure in the first half he played Mozart K533, and in the second Schubert D960, and then for the encore, what else but the G flat Impromptu!

Just found it (4th Feb 2008), I was right, he played K533 in the first half along with Haydn, Andante con Vars. Hob XV11:6 and Beethoven Op.27/1, quite a long half. Second half as mentioned above.

I stapled the review from the Evening Post by Helen Reid to the programme (as was always my habit)......'Brendel's playing now has a spaciousness and emotional depth that makes him one of the greatest of his generation'.

[Barbirollians]

Very sad news - a favourite of my grandmother whose appreciation of his Beethoven Moonlight, Pathetique , Appassionata 1970s recording led me to add a great deal of his recordings to my collection - his Schumann Fantasy recording I played a lot during my degree revision - that Artists Choice collection I only recently caught up with - my favourite of all probably his digital Op 109,110 and 111 - transcendental spritual playing .

I recall a rewarding Bridgewater Hall recital not all that long before he retired - one of the most rapt audiences I have ever been a part of.

RIP and thank you so much Alfred Brendel .

[HighlandDougie]

A great loss. One somehow imagined that he might live forever. Hearing him playing Schubert D894 in the Chapel of the Royal Naval College was unforgettable. A wonderful ... musician, writer, wit, human being.