Alfred Brendel plays Schubert

Read About This Recording

Though Alfred Brendel's repertoire exhibits both admirable depth and scope, perhaps his most enduring monuments will be his Beethoven piano works. His keyboard mastery is a byword for perfection, profundity, self-effacement and textual illumination.

During the 1960s, he became the first pianist ever to record the entire piano works of Beethoven on the Vox label — a set which, in the opinion of one critic, contains "some of the finest Beethoven ever recorded." These landmark recordings brought him critical attention and identified him to the public.

A perfect complement to the Beethoven cycle is an album of Alfred Brendel playing the works of Schubert. The generous three-CD set features the most popular piano works by Schubert including the impromptus, moments musicaux, four-hand piano music (with Evelyne Crochet) and the famous "Wanderer Fantasy," Schubert's most technically demanding composition for the piano. Schubert himself said "the devil may play it," in reference to his own inability to do so properly. Franz Liszt, who was fascinated by the "Wanderer Fantasy," transcribed it for piano and orchestra (S.366). Brendel is joined by the Vienna Volksoper Orchestra, conducted by Michael Gielen.

Alfred Brendel has become the quintessential interpreter of early Romantic music (particularly Beethoven and Schubert) and this worthwhile Vox set gives the listener a chance to hear the young Brendel at the beginning of his illustrious career, offering us a portent of things to come of the man who has been viewed as a self-appointed guardian of the "classical" heritage.

—Terrence London

Quotes

"He was at his best: relaxed, sensitive and spontaneous. Mr. Brendel captured the music's fantastical elements in his vibrant yet lucidly structured performance." —The New York Times

Contents

Impromptus for Piano, Op. 90 (D.899); Moments Musicaux, Op. 94 (D.780); Three Pieces, Op. Posth. (D.946); Fantasia in F Minor for Piano Four-Hands, Op. 103 (D.940); Allegro in A Minor for Piano Four-Hands, Op. 144 (D.947) Lebensstürme; Grand Duo Sonata in C for Piano Four-Hands, Op. 140 (D.812); Fantasy in C, Op. 15 (D.760) Wanderer; Impromptus, Op. 142 (D.935); Schubert-Liszt: Fantasy in C for Piano & Orchestra.

Alfred Brendel, Piano; Evelyne Crochet, Second Piano; Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper; Michael Gielen, Conductor.