Alfred Brendel- The End of an Era.

[Basil]

DULL!!!

Right, that's it.

Graham, outside, NOW!




Seriously, aren't there times when you'd prefer something a little more thoughtful and measured rather than having the music blasted at you?

 

[Cheese]

I reminded my friend that I'd given him Pollini's recording of the same work, which we then played.

Let's not forget folks that Mr Brendel is not supposed to beat every single other pianist at every job - no one suggested that.

I also own Pollini's [vinyl] box set of the last sonatas, it's worth its weight in gold and I don't think it's been bettered since. But Brendel has at least released the whole cycle, we're still waiting for Pollini, and the latter can sound dull too - in Schubert's D960 for instance. I've listened to it twice I think.

 

[Gerontius]

I heard a broadcast interview once where Brendel was asked why he did not play certain composers' works. He replied that there were some whose music he did not much like. I think Rachmaninov was one of those. Then there were others whose music he loved, but to do them justice would require such specialisation that he would never have time to study them properly. Chopin was one of those.

In short, he was a perfectionist in many ways and would not perform anything that fell short of his high standards. Personally I do not like everything he has recorded, for example he has (IMO) a habit of pushing Mozart and Schubert beyond their limits, but he is a great interpreter of Beethoven (especially the late sonatas).