Alfred Brendel – Unpublished Live and Radio Performances 1968–2001
Encyclopedia
Alfred Brendel – Unpublished Live and Radio Performances 1968–2001 is a 2-CD compilation album of solo piano
music selected by the performer Alfred Brendel
. The album was released in 2007 and features music by the composers Ludwig van Beethoven
, Frédéric Chopin
, Felix Mendelssohn
, and Ferruccio Busoni
.
. He points out that these selections do not represent career highlights, such as Brendel's recordings of Mozart and Schubert, rather they are "performances of music close to the artist’s heart that contain the spontaneity and warmth of the live music-making experience." He goes on to say that no one else plays the Diabelli Variations
better than Brendel, and that this performance, "if a shade lower in temperature and energy than the 1988 studio version, is richer and more dynamically pointed." Regarding the Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 28
, Op. 101: "I share the common criticism of Brendel that he can be too cool emotionally, but you could not ascribe that character to this jubilant performance. Here is Brendel at his glorious best, which is to say, about as good as it gets." He goes on to give the Mendelssohn
Variations very high marks, and of the Busoni he says Brendel "finds the slithering dark corners of this fascinating material."
The album was also reviewed by Bryce Morrison in the Gramophone. Morrison says "here is Brendel at his greatest" presenting "the ultimate or definitive musical statement." He gives very high praise to the Beethoven Diabelli Variations and the Op. 101 Sonata, and says Brendel "declares his love of Busoni's austere genius in every bar of Elegies Nos. 3 and 6
while Mendelssohn's Variations sérieuses are given with unflagging musical energy." He goes on to say that Chopin's Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante is "a delicious surprise, the Andante played with the most simple and refined eloquence, the Polonaise given with a gentle and idiosyncratic charm – the reverse of other more superficial, show-stopping performances."
recordings.
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
music selected by the performer Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel KBE is an Austrian pianist, born in Czechoslovakia and a resident of the United Kingdom. He is also a poet and author.-Biography:...
. The album was released in 2007 and features music by the composers Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, and Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
.
Critical reception
This album was reviewed by Peter Burwasser in FanfareFanfare Magazine
Fanfare is a magazine devoted to reviewing classical music performance and recordings.Fanfare's contributors have a range of expertise from the medieval to contemporary work...
. He points out that these selections do not represent career highlights, such as Brendel's recordings of Mozart and Schubert, rather they are "performances of music close to the artist’s heart that contain the spontaneity and warmth of the live music-making experience." He goes on to say that no one else plays the Diabelli Variations
Diabelli Variations
The 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120, commonly known as the Diabelli Variations, is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli...
better than Brendel, and that this performance, "if a shade lower in temperature and energy than the 1988 studio version, is richer and more dynamically pointed." Regarding the Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 28
Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann. This piano sonata runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four movements:...
, Op. 101: "I share the common criticism of Brendel that he can be too cool emotionally, but you could not ascribe that character to this jubilant performance. Here is Brendel at his glorious best, which is to say, about as good as it gets." He goes on to give the Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn
Mendelson is a Polish/German Jewish family name, meaning "son of Mendel", Mendel being a Yiddish diminutive of the Hebrew given name Menahem, meaning "consoling" or "one who consoles".Mendelssohn is the surname of a number of people:...
Variations very high marks, and of the Busoni he says Brendel "finds the slithering dark corners of this fascinating material."
The album was also reviewed by Bryce Morrison in the Gramophone. Morrison says "here is Brendel at his greatest" presenting "the ultimate or definitive musical statement." He gives very high praise to the Beethoven Diabelli Variations and the Op. 101 Sonata, and says Brendel "declares his love of Busoni's austere genius in every bar of Elegies Nos. 3 and 6
Elegies (Busoni)
Elegies by the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni is a set of solo piano pieces which can be played as a cycle or separately. Initially published in 1908 with six pieces, it was subsequently expanded to seven by the addition of the Berceuse...
while Mendelssohn's Variations sérieuses are given with unflagging musical energy." He goes on to say that Chopin's Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante is "a delicious surprise, the Andante played with the most simple and refined eloquence, the Polonaise given with a gentle and idiosyncratic charm – the reverse of other more superficial, show-stopping performances."
Track listing
All tracks are BBC RadioBBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
recordings.
| Compact Disc 1(475 8323) | 55:46 | |||
| Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of... : |
||||
| 33 Variations in C major on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120 Diabelli Variations The 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, Op. 120, commonly known as the Diabelli Variations, is a set of variations for the piano written between 1819 and 1823 by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli... |
||||
| 1. | Tema: Vivace – Variation 1: Alla marcia maestoso | 2:36 | ||
| 2. | Variation 2: Poco allegro | 0:57 | ||
| 3. | Variation 3: L'istesso tempo | 1:21 | ||
| 4. | Variation 4: Un poco più vivace | 1:05 | ||
| 5. | Variation 5: Allegro vivace | 0:58 | ||
| 6. | Variation 6: Allegro ma non troppo e serioso | 1:55 | ||
| 7. | Variation 7: Un poco più allegro | 1:22 | ||
| 8. | Variation 8: Poco vivace | 1:47 | ||
| 9. | Variation 9: Allegro pesante e risoluto | 1:43 | ||
| 10. | Variation 10: Presto | 0:43 | ||
| 11. | Variation 11: Allegretto | 1:10 | ||
| 12. | Variation 12: Un poco più moto | 0:54 | ||
| 13. | Variation 13: Vivace | 1:02 | ||
| 14. | Variation 14: Grave e maestoso | 4:17 | ||
| 15. | Variation 15: Presto scherzando | 0:37 | ||
| 16. | Variation 16: Allegro | 1:03 | ||
| 17. | Variation 17: Allegro | 1:12 | ||
| 18. | Variation 18: Poco moderato | 2:00 | ||
| 19. | Variation 19: Presto | 0:56 | ||
| 20. | Variation 20: Andante | 2:07 | ||
| 21. | Variation 21: Allegro con brio – Meno allegro | 1:14 | ||
| 22. | Variation 22: Allegro molto (alla "Notte e giorno faticar" di Mozart) | 0:54 | ||
| 23. | Variation 23: Allegro assai | 0:49 | ||
| 24. | Variation 24: Fughetta: Andante | 3:29 | ||
| 25. | Variation 25: Allegro | 0:44 | ||
| 26. | Variation 26: Piacevole | 1:08 | ||
| 27. | Variation 27: Vivace | 1:01 | ||
| 28. | Variation 28: Allegro | 1:01 | ||
| 29. | Variation 29: Adagio ma non troppo | 1:17 | ||
| 30. | Variation 30: Andante, sempre cantabile | 2:05 | ||
| 31. | Variation 31: Largo, molto espressivo | 4:44 | ||
| 32. | Variation 32: Fuga: Allegro | 3:03 | ||
| 33. | Variation 33: Tempo di minuetto moderato | 4:32 | ||
| (Recorded live: Royal Festival Hall Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected... , London; 30 May 2001) |
||||
| Compact Disc 2(475 8324) | 57:52 | |||
| Frédéric Chopin Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano".... : |
||||
| 1. | Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op. 22 | 13:50 | ||
| (Recorded: BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... , London; 13 May 1968) |
||||
| Felix Mendelssohn Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text... : |
||||
| 2. | Variations sérieuses, Op. 54 | 10:50 | ||
| (Recorded live: Royal Festival Hall, London; 25 March 1990) | ||||
| Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:... : |
||||
| Elegien Elegies (Busoni) Elegies by the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni is a set of solo piano pieces which can be played as a cycle or separately. Initially published in 1908 with six pieces, it was subsequently expanded to seven by the addition of the Berceuse... (1908) BV 249 |
||||
| 3. | No. 3: Meine Seele bangt und hofft zu dir (Moderato, un pò maestoso) | 7:17 | ||
| 4. | No. 6: Erscheinung (Andante amoroso) | 4:49 | ||
| (Recorded live: Royal Festival Hall, London; 22 October 1997) | ||||
| Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of... : |
||||
| Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101 Piano Sonata No. 28 (Beethoven) Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 28 in A major, Op. 101, was written in 1816 and was dedicated to the pianist Baroness Dorothea Ertmann. This piano sonata runs for about 20 minutes and consists of four movements:... |
||||
| 5. | I. | Etwas lebhaft, und mit der innigsten Empfindung. (Allegretto, ma non troppo con intimissimo sentimento) |
3:49 | |
| 6. | II. | Lebhaft. Marschmäßig (Vivace alla marcia) |
6:10 | |
| 7. | III. | Langsam und sehnsuchtsvoll (Adagio ma non troppo, con affetto) |
10:58 | |
| (Recorded live: Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue located inside the International Convention Centre in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by the Queen in June 1991, although had been opened on April 15, 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hosts around 270 events... ; 26 November 1992) |
||||
See also
- Alfred Brendel discographyAlfred Brendel discographyThe pianist, Alfred Brendel KBE was a recording artist for more than half a century, from his first record of Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 5 at the age of 21, to his farewell concerts in 2008, recorded in Hanover and Vienna. He has recorded with only three record companies: Vox Records, DECCA...
- Great Pianists of the 20th Century - Alfred Brendel III
External links
- Alfred Brendels official web site. Accessed 20 November 2009.