Home > Alfred Brendel

Brendel was born in Wiesenburg (now Loucná nad Desnou), Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) into a non-musical family. They moved to Zagreb when Brendel was six, and later to Graz. They lived there during World War II, towards the end of which the fourteen year old Brendel was sent to Yugoslavia to dig trenches. However, he caught frostbite and was taken to hospital. Throughout his childhood, Brendel had occasional piano lessons, but otherwise little formal music education.

After the war, Brendel composed music, as well as continuing to play the piano and paintThis article is about the painting of a surface for artistic reasons. Painting is also the utilitarian painting of objects and buildings, often done to provide a protective coating or for aesthetic reasons. One possible process for decorative painting of. He never had any more formal piano lessons, however, and although he did attend masterclasses with Edwin FischerEdwin Fischer ( October 6, 1886 January 24, 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is widely regarded as one of the great pianists of the 20th century, particularly in the traditional Germanic repertoire of such composers as Johann Sebastia and Eduard Steuermann , he is largely self-taught.

Brendel gave his first public recital in Graz at the age of seventeen. He called it "The Fugue In Piano Literature", and as well as fugalFor the use of the word in psychology see fugue state In music, a fugue is a type of piece written in counterpoint for several independent musical voices. A fugue begins with its subject (a brief musical theme) stated by one of the voices playing alone. works by Johann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach ( March 21, 1685 July 28, 1750) was a German composer and organist of the Baroque period, and is almost universally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. His works, noted for their intellectual depth, technical comma, Johannes BrahmsJohannes Brahms ( May 7, 1833 April 3, 1897) was a German composer of classical music. Brahms was considered by many to be the "successor" to Beethoven, and his first symphony was described by Hans von Bulow as "Beethoven's tenth symphony" (the nickname i and Franz LisztFranz Liszt ( October 22, 1811 July 31, 1886) was a virtuoso pianist and composer. Ferenc as the composer is often referred, is the Hungarian variant of his name, although he was aristocratically German speaking. He was also christened as Franciscus ., it included some of Brendel's own compositions. However, he gave up composing shortly after this to concentrate on the piano. In 1949 he won the Ferruccio BusoniDante Michaelangelo Benvenuto Ferruccio Busoni ( April 1, 1866 July 27, 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, music teacher and conductor. Biography Busoni was born in Empoli in Italy, the only child of two professional musicians: his German mother a pi Piano Competition in BolzanoBolzano ( Italian) or Bozen ( German) is a town in the Trentino-Upper Adige (It. Trentino-Alto Adige) region of Italy; its 2001 population was 94,989, and the area of the commune is 52. It is the capital of the mainly German speaking autonomous province o, Italy and moved to Vienna the following year. At the age of 21, he made his first record, Sergei Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 5. He went on to make a string of other records, including a complete set of the Beethoven piano sonatas.

Brendel recorded extensively for the Vox record label , but did not get a major recording contract until the 1970s, nor did he play much outside Austria. His breakthrough came after a recital of Beethoven at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, the day after which three major record labels called his agent. Around the same time he moved to London. Since then, he has recorded extensively, and his fame has grown.

Brendel is today seen as one of the most thoughtful interpreters of classical Germanic works by composers such as Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He plays relatively few 20th century works, but is closely associated with the piano concerto of Arnold Schoenberg. In recent years, however, he has stopped playing many of the most physically demanding pieces in the repertoire, such as the Hammerklavier Sonata of Beethoven, owing to problems with arthritis.

Brendel's playing is sometimes described as being analytic, and he has said that he believes the primary job of the pianist is to respect the composer's wishes without showing off himself, or adding his own spin on the music. "I am responsible to the composer, and particularly to the piece," he has said. As well as his old teacher, Edwin Fischer, he cites Alfred Cortot, Wilhelm Kempff, and the conductors Bruno Walter and Wilhelm Furtwängler as particular influences.

In recent years, Brendel has worked with young pianists such as Paul Lewis and Till Felner . He has also published poetry, which has been compared by Andrew Motion to Miroslav Holub in its style. He still lives in London.