The Liceu Conservatory Foundation joins the music world in mourning the passing of the great Austrian interpreter and thinker
The death of the great pianist Alfred Brendel leaves the world without one of the most outstanding figures in piano performance of the past century. Brendel, born in 1931 in what was then Czechoslovakia and trained as a pianist in Austria, gave concerts all over the world and made numerous landmark recordings during a long career in which he was recognized as one of the leading specialists in the works of the Austro-German classical and romantic composers, such as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, and Liszt. Praised for his interpretive approach, both structurally and poetically, Brendel was not only a performer with a strong individuality that was nevertheless compatible with the utmost fidelity to the composer’s intentions, but also a humanist with an extensive published body of work: most especially in musical and analytical essays, but also with noteworthy forays into poetry.
All of this makes Brendel a model of the musician—perhaps now a rare type—who combines in a single, multifaceted personality the highest technical perfection with a concern for poetic expression and intellectual inquiry, in the truest sense of the word, around music, its content, and its meaning.
The Liceu Conservatory was fortunate enough to enjoy, on two occasions, the wisdom and wit of Alfred Brendel, as well as his sense of humor.
On February 3, 2012, the Conservatory Auditorium hosted an unforgettable event: the Casals Quartet held a public rehearsal of Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” quartet under the watchful eye and guidance of Alfred Brendel, before an audience that packed the hall and was able to experience a living, enriching, and exemplary demonstration of musical analysis, connected to performance at the very highest level.
A few years later, on December 1, 2016, Alfred Brendel honored the Conservatory with a return visit. On this occasion, he was presenting his book “On Music: Complete Essays and Lectures,” recently published by Acantilado Editorial. The Conservatory Library filled with students, teachers, and friends of the institution, who had the privilege of enjoying the warm presence and deeply insightful words of a truly unique musician and thinker.
On the occasion of this second visit, the Liceu Conservatory published an interview with the pianist, which may now be revisited as a tribute to this exceptional man who, with his passing, leaves the world bereft of a true legend of music. The educational and artistic community of the Liceu Conservatory can consider itself very fortunate to have known his thoughts firsthand.