Around the Music Festival

Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel passed away on the 17th at his home in London. He was 94 years old. He was one of the greatest pianists of the postwar era, renowned for his wide repertoire ranging from classical to the Second Viennese School, and completed three complete recordings of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. He was also known as an outstanding theorist, writer, poet, and educator.

He was born in Vízeburg, in what was then Czechoslovakia. He grew up in a wealthy family of hotel owners and moved with his family to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, when he was a child.

However, World War II broke out during his adolescence. In 1943, he entered the Graz Conservatory in Austria, but ended up learning piano almost entirely on his own.

In 1947, he entered the Vienna Conservatory to obtain a music teaching qualification, and in 1948, he held his first recital in Graz.

In 1949, he won fourth place in the Busoni International Competition and made his concert debut in Vienna. He frequently participated in Edwin Fischer’s master classes, which had a significant influence on him.

At the age of 21, he made his recording debut with works such as Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 5. In the late 1950s, his recordings of Mozart and Beethoven for the US label Vox attracted attention, and in the 1960s, he became the first pianist to record Beethoven’s complete piano works, launching his international career.

He went on to perform with renowned conductors and orchestras around the world, captivating audiences with his performances, which were praised for their intellectual rigor and poetic inspiration.

In 1969, he signed an exclusive contract with the world-renowned label Philips. In 1971, at the age of 40, he moved to London.

He has left behind numerous masterpieces as an artist representing the Philips label, and his recordings which from his Vox label days amount to 149 CDs.

In addition to performing with orchestras and as a soloist, he has also performed with many vocalists such as Hermann Prey, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Matthias Goerne, and has been highly acclaimed for his performances of German Lied.

With Beethoven and Schubert at its core, his repertoire was extremely broad. He was praised for bringing out the humorous elements in Haydn’s music, and for highlighting the most innovative aspects of Liszt’s compositions, which tend to be overshadowed by their technical brilliance. He brought decisive innovation to the interpretation of composers and influenced many pianists.

He made his debut at Carnegie Hall in January 1973. In 1983, he became the second pianist after Arthur Schnabel in 1936 to perform Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas, attracting widespread attention. He has performed the complete sonatas again in 1993 and has appeared at Carnegie Hall 81 times since his debut.

He retired in 2008, performing as soloist in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 9 with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Charles Mackerras on December 18.

He was awarded the honorary knighthood of the Order of the British Empire（KBE） in 1998 and has received numerous international awards.

PHOTO：Decca