Latest news with #GrazConservatory
Saudi Gazette
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Saudi Gazette
Pianist Alfred Brendel dies aged 94
LONDON — Alfred Brendel, who was considered one of the world's most accomplished pianists, has died at the age of 94. His representatives confirmed the composer and poet died peacefully in London surrounded by his loved ones on Tuesday. Most critics have acknowledged him as one of the foremost interpreters of the works of Beethoven. A statement from his spokesman added that Brendel would "be remembered and celebrated with deep gratitude by his family — partner Maria Majno, Irene Brendel, his children, Doris, Adrian, Sophie and Katharina, and his four grandchildren." The musician was also known as an acclaimed essayist and poet, with an irrepressible sense of humor. He often cited his first musical memory as "winding up a gramophone playing opera records, and trying to sing along to it".Alfred Brendel was born on 5 Jul 1931 in Wiesenberg in northern Moravia (now the Czech Republic). He attributed his somewhat absurd view of the world to his experiences moving around with his parents in war-torn many successful musicians, none of his family were musical and he had no particular talent for the art when he was a he took piano lessons in then Yugoslavia and went to study at the Graz Conservatory in in Lucerne, he took master classes with Edwin Fischer, the musician credited by Brendel with having the most enduring influence on him, and teaching him to play passionately within the bounds of this formal training ended at 16 and, apart from attending further master classes and listening to other pianists, he explored the possibilities of the piano on his own."A teacher can be too influential," he once said. "Being self-taught, I learned to distrust anything I hadn't figured out myself."He made his public performing debut at Graz in 1948, aged 17, and won the prestigious Concorso Busoni prize in Italy the following a Liszt specialist, Brendel extended his repertoire to include the music of mainly central European composers, but purposely avoided modern preferred to chart his own process of creativity and power of interpretation by always concentrating on the works of his favorite classical career took him to concert platforms across the world, but he decided in 1971 to make his home in recorded Beethoven's Piano Concertos four times, lastly with the Viennese Philharmonic Orchestra in performance was under the guiding baton of Sir Simon Rattle, with whom Brendel shared a longstanding, prodigious musical was made a KBE in1989, although his Austrian passport meant it was an honorary title.A comparative latecomer to the international stage, the full stature of Brendel's talent only became apparent at the age of playing was distinguished by its emotional intensity within the disciplines of the musical framework, and by his apparent empathy with the composers' later life, back trouble hampered his performances of more titanic pieces, but he explained that this enabled him to enjoy more fully the richness of the less physically demanding work of Bach and Schumann, as well as his favourite always returned to his "beloved Beethoven", for whom "his admiration grew by the day, if not the hour".Brendel listed his hobbies in Who's Who as "unintentional humour and the collection of kitsch".Visitors to his north London home were often surprised by the quirky pictures and ornaments, as well as the skeletal hand that popped out of the grand piano when they raised the first book of essays, Musical Thoughts and Afterthoughts, published in 1976, contained allusions to his musical work, but was not limited by 1998, the publication of his book of poetry, One Finger Too Many, shared his good humor and his fascination with all things was awarded the Herbert von Karajan music prize for lifetime achievement in December 2008 in Baden-Baden, southern that month he made his final appearance on the concert platform in Vienna, where he was the soloist for Mozart's Piano Concerto no was voted one of the 100 greatest cultural moments of the decade by The Daily afterward, he suffered an acute hearing loss, according to German state broadcaster DW, and was only able to hear distorted his latter years, he still travelled to give lectures and readings and held masterclasses for young musicians.A man whose determinedly narrow musical repertoire allowed him to seek perfection at the piano, Alfred Brendel's written work displayed a mind of much wider-ranging the evening jacket of the disciplined concert artist lay an irreverent commentator on the absurdity of the world, who saw laughter as the distinguishing feature of humanity. — BBC
News18
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News18
Alfred Brendel, World-Famous Pianist Known For Beethoven, Dies At 94
Born in Wiesenberg, northern Moravia (now in the Czech Republic), on January 5, 1931, Brendel's formal education in music began in Zagreb with Sofia Dezelic, continued at the Graz Conservatory under Ludovika von Kaan, and included composition studies with Artur Michl. But even that path was interrupted as he and his mother were forced to flee during the Russian invasion in World War II. At 17, encouraged by his teacher to forge his own path, Brendel gave his debut recital in Graz in 1948. 'When I turned 16, my piano teacher told me I should now continue on my own and give a first public recital," he later recalled in a post-retirement lecture. 'I should also audition for the great Swiss pianist Edwin Fischer, which I did the following year. Three of his masterclasses that I attended during the Lucerne festivals made an impact that lasts to this day." While Brendel was especially celebrated for his Beethoven, he recorded the complete 32 sonatas three separate times and performed them in an unforgettable month-long Carnegie Hall residency in 1983, his interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Haydn, and Liszt also earned deep admiration. The Associated Press once wrote of his performances, 'With winks to the audience and demonstrative hand movements, he has a playful manner that offsets his serious, contemplative interpretations." His final public performance took place with the Vienna Philharmonic in 2008 at the Musikverein, a poetic closing note to a career that spanned over 60 years. Reflecting on his artistic journey, he said, 'I was a young person who in the early 20s did not think I have to achieve something within five years but I thought I would like to be able to do certain things when I'm 50. And when I was 50 I said to myself I have actually done most of the things I want to do." Beyond the stage, Brendel carved a parallel life as a thinker and writer. His passion for literature culminated in books like Cursing Bagels, a collection of poetry. 'I used to live a double life," he told Verbier in 2012. 'I'm also a literary person lecturing, giving readings of my poems and teaching." Brendel had lived in London since 1971. Despite receiving 10 Grammy nominations, he never took home the trophy.
