Alfred Brendel 1931–2025
The legendary pianist Alfred Brendel has died in London at the age of 94. Renowned for the intellectual depth, clarity and poetic insight of his interpretations, he leaves an indelible mark on the performance and understanding of Classical and Romantic piano repertoire.
Across a career spanning six decades, Brendel performed in major venues and festivals around the world, working with leading orchestras and conductors. He was closely associated with the music of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, but the breadth and depth of his range is demonstrated by two box sets: 35 CDs of Complete Vox, Turnabout and Vanguard Solo Recordings and 114 CDs of Complete Philips Recordings. He was the first pianist to record the complete piano works of Beethoven, and his advocacy brought the piano works of Haydn, Liszt, Schubert and Schoenberg into the canon.
A deeply intellectual and curious musician, Brendel wrote extensively about music, including A Pianist's A to Z and Alfred Brendel – Musical Thoughts and Afterthoughts, as well as poetry and general essays, with his books translated into many languages. He was awarded 23 honorary degrees from universities including Lisbon, Weimar, Cambridge, Oxford, Yale and The Juilliard School, and was one of only three pianists to be awarded honorary membership of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Brendel retired from the concert platform in 2008 – his final performance was Mozart's Piano Concerto in E flat major K271 in the Musikverein with Vienna Philharmonic and Charles Mackerras. He continued to pass his knowledge to future generations of musicians through masterclasses, readings and lectures. He was represented for much of his career by Thomas Hull and in recent years Maestro Arts continued to manage his speaking engagements.
Born in Wiesenberg, Moravia (now Czech Republic) in 1931, Brendel studied piano, composition and conducting in Zagreb and Graz, and gave his first recital aged 17, including works by JS Bach, Brahms and Liszt, as well as his own sonata.
