Alfred Brendel: My Musical Life

[Belle]

A lecture about his life - as a substitute for an autobiography - but I'm not sure when this was. Probably about 2013, judging by his appearance. The comments below don't make it clearer either. He turned 93 last January.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msgJ4Fn8dTY

[Lance]

Alfred Brendel, a fabulous pianist. As one of his "followers" on recordings—and I have them all—I generally favored his "sound" more on his early recordings, particularly for the Vox label, and especially his Schubert. His complete Impromptus, Opp. 90/142, had gorgeous tonal properties very much like his teacher, the fabulous Edwin Fischer. His Philips recordings, now in a marvelous complete set on the Decca label [478 8827, 114 CDs, presented in 2017] offers much. Brendel, one of the great "classical period" pianists of the 20th century, though he played Romantic-period and contemporary. He was fastidious about his pianos, too! All of his Vox and Vanguard recordings were issued in a 35-CD set on the Brilliant label [93761]. A few other recordings came out after the release of his Philips/Decca recordings set. Have those two sets and you have a complete legacy of the pianist.

Brendel's books are wonderful, and include Music Sounded Out; Musical Thoughts and Afterthoughts; One Finger Too Many; and Pianists A-Z: A Piano Lover's Reader.

What a legacy the man is leaving at age 93! We should all be so lucky.

[Rach3]

I have several of his recordings, including mid-‘50s Vox not in very good sound, of studio recordings of “Pictures”, “Islamey” and “Petrushka”,as well as Prokofieff’s 5th PC !

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=O ... kuFfRl0h54

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=O ... jgMYSNsAB4

[Lance]

Agree, some of those earliest Vox recordings (some in mono) were not the best sound. But those Schubert Impromptus was among the best-sounding capturing the gorgeous sounds of his piano. Interpretively speaking, however, Brendel displayed his talents in a manner more convincing than his later recordings of the same repertoire.

I have several of his recordings, including mid-‘50s Vox not in very good sound, of studio recordings of “Pictures”, “Islamey” and “Petrushka”,as well as Prokofieff’s 5th PC !

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=O ... kuFfRl0h54

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=O ... jgMYSNsAB4

[Rach3]

Interpretively speaking, however, Brendel displayed his talents in a manner more convincing than his later recordings of the same repertoire.

I don’t have the Schubert, but consistent with your observation, his first Beethoven Opa. 110 and 111 also “better” to my ear than his later.

[Rach3]

... Prokofieff’s 5th PC !
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=O ... jgMYSNsAB4

From Pristine Classical:
"Born in 1931, Brendel had just turned 20 when he recorded the Prokofiev - an amazing achievement for a young man who had been sent to dig trenches in Yugoslavia at the age of 14 during the last days of the Second World War, and who took no further piano lessons after the age of 16."

From ABC:
"Brendel’s recording career began in 1951 when he was 20. He was invited by the NIXA label to play Prokofiev’s last piano concerto. "Neither myself nor, I believe, the Vienna Volksoper orchestra had played a note of Prokofiev before, but we bravely staggered through the piece in two sessions.”

[Danny]

A lecture about his life - as a substitute for an autobiography - but I'm not sure when this was. Probably about 2013, judging by his appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msgJ4Fn8dTY

Belle,

1) At 00:27 of the video, Brendel said he had lived in London for almost 50 years.

2) At 16:23 of the video, Brendel said he had lived in London since 1970.

This would mean that this lecture was given sometime around 2020.

[barney]

Brendel is a highly prolific recording artist, and I have well over 100 of his CDs. I find him entirely reliable, always thoughful, poetic and worth hearing.

[Belle]

A lecture about his life - as a substitute for an autobiography - but I'm not sure when this was. Probably about 2013, judging by his appearance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msgJ4Fn8dTY

Belle,

1) At 00:27 of the video, Brendel said he had lived in London for almost 50 years.

2) At 16:23 of the video, Brendel said he had lived in London since 1970.

This would mean that this lecture was given sometime around 2020.

Excellent deductive powers. I thought it was somewhere between 2018 and 2020.

[Belle]

Brendel is a highly prolific recording artist, and I have well over 100 of his CDs. I find him entirely reliable, always thoughful, poetic and worth hearing.

Brendel is quite the polymath; painter, poet and writer (on music). On top of that he's warm, with a good sense of humour. I attended a lecture of his on Liszt in 2011 in the Musikverein. The woman from Zurich sitting next to me (she'd flown in especially for the lecture) helpfully translated in whispers from time to time when my Swiss cheese German left me in the dark!!

He spoke about Liszt's "trinken und Cigar rauchen"!!

[barney]

He spoke about Liszt's "trinken und Cigar rauchen"!!

Love it!