Alfred Brendel.

[Megan]

SAD NEWS: ALFRED BRENDEL DIED TODAY

RIP
Norman Lebrecht

June 17, 2025

The great pianist died peacefully this morning.

He was 94.

Brendel was born in a Czech town, raised in Zagreb, educated in Graz and sidelined in Vienna.

A rush of Mozart and Beethoven recordings that he made in the late 1950s for the cheapo label Vox caught the attention of bigger fish and he moved to London to cover the entire classical repertoire for Philips. Possibly his greatest achievement was to retrieve the entire piano output, long neglected, of Franz Schubert.

[Peter]

I shall always have a soft spot for Brendel as I grew up listening to his recordings of the Beethoven sonatas. Interesting sign of the times that I could see no mention of his passing in the mainstream news!

[Megan]

I feel so privileged to have seen him perform Beethoven's 4th piano concerto at the Royal Festival Hall, London. We had a great seat so we could see watch hands play. I was captivated.

[Chris]

RIP

He was perhaps my favorite pianist, and I was privileged to attend one of the last concerts he gave the USA, where played Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. I will always treasure that memory, as well as the many recordings he made that are in my collection.

[Michael]

Very sad to hear of Alfred Brendel's death. He was my favourite pianist and, through him, I got to know all the Beethoven sonatas mainly through the Vox recordings which I gathered slowly in the late 60s. I envy you, Chris, that you got to see him perform live.

[Enrique]

Hi Michael, glad that you posted. Why do you not post more frequently in the BRS?

[Peter]

An interesting tribute to Brendel by Ben Laude.

[Michael]

Hi Michael, glad that you posted. Why do you not post more frequently in the BRS?

I don't do much online lately, Enrique. And for a good while, I had problems accessing the BRS until I got a new computer.
I do keep an eye on the forum though!

[Enrique]

I see. Good to know your new computer allows to post here.