Alfred Brendel, 1931-2025

[Renauda]

R.I.P. maestro.

Not my favourite pianist by any means. I found his interpretations of Beethoven and Liszt pretty dry and academic. His Mozart and Haydn recordings were however among the best out there. He was also a fine musicologist. He was certainly there up along with the likes of Wilhelm Kempf, as a highly respected musician and latter half twentieth century pianist.

[jon-nyc]

I saw him I believe the last year he was touring. He was done with the big Beethoven sonatas by then, played Mozart and Haydn instead.

[Klaus]

I believe his deserved nickname is Brendull.

[kluurs]

@Klaus said in Alfred Brendel, 1931-2025:

I believe his deserved nickname is Brendull.

He didn't start out that way. I liked his recordings of Beethoven early in his career. His Schubert was decent, and I enjoyed his Haydn. His later recordings of Beethoven I found less engaging though technically fine. Some of his last recordings seemed to be a bit more heartfelt than that huge expanse in the middle of his career. Nearly everything he did could e bettered by other performers.

[Doctor Phibes]

Tough crowd.

I rather suspect that my obituary will also include the phrase 'Nearly everything he did could be bettered by others', at least if it's written by anybody who actually knows me.

[jon-nyc]

He was humble about his success.

[Horace]

Link to video

[Renauda]

@Horace

Interesting presentation. Beehoves me to listen again to some of Brendel’s recordings of Beethoven. Not sure about Liszt though - I remain convinced that he never “got” Liszt the same way as did the likes of Horowitz, Arrau, Cziffra, Ogden, Wild, Bolet and Argerich.

[jon-nyc]

I did a search in my email on his name to see if I could find the ticket receipt to see when I saw him.

What came up instead was me emailing a friend saying that Brendel’s LvB Cm variations were my favorite interpretation.

[jon-nyc]

@Renauda

I agree, having listened to his Bm sonata last night.

[Renauda]

@jon-nyc

Had to listen to Brendel’s recording of Liszt’s B minor Sonata recording during an undergrad Music History course. The prof, a vocal disparager of Liszt and his music, loved the recording and praised it to no end in class. At the time I had already owned two recordings (still have the vinyls) of the sonata - Arrau’s and Argerich’s.

The word “trite” best describes Brendel’s interpretation in comparison to Arrau and, at the time, a very youthful, Martha Argerich.

[jon-nyc]

It was better than I could ever do but not particularly inspiring.

[kluurs]

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1BZy16Tb62/?mibextid=wwXIfr

[jon-nyc]

I listened to him and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau perform Schubert's Winterreise tonight. Fabulous.

[jon-nyc]

Listening to his Schubert Impromptus.

Sublime.