Customer Reviews

Live in Salzburg 1960-1961

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Having listened to Alfred Brendel for a number of years on a number of recordings, I have come to the impression that ths pianist never sounds lilke he is enjoying himself more or displays his rumored sense of humor more than when he is playing Haydn. The C Major Sonata that is included here is an excellent example of this. Brendels phrasing and his lightness of touch make this music flow along with almost champagne giddiness. While Brendel plays both Haydn pieces on a concert grand and utilizes the pedal throughout, he still manages to convey the feeling of the earlier keyboard instruments without becoming too bogged down in period prissiness.

I was prepared to state, after listening to the Haydn, that Haydn might represent the summit of Brendel's work. Then the Schubert came. I have loved Brendel's Schubert for years and the inclusions here are up to his high standards. If I had not realized that I had not changed the disc, I would have thought that this pianist was different from the one who played the Haydn. It has been my experience that only the greatest of pianists are able to sound like different people when playing the music of different stylistic periods. In this case, both Brendels are exceptionally fine pianists. In particular, the Relique sonata may be the best version I have ever heard.

Finally, this disc includes a wonderful piece by Liszt, a composer I would not have otherwise associated philosophically with Brendel. but (at least on the basis of this recording) one that he plays very well, if not with the degree of bombast some pianists bring to the composer. If only this disc contained some of Brendel's Beethoven, it would be a desert island disc.

Alfred Brendel is a pianist who has made a career out of what many consider a narrow repertory. His specialties are Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt. Indeed, with the exception of the Schoenberg Piano Concerto a few other scattered pieces, these composers are pretty much the extent of his repertory. Yet within these parameters, which are not, after all, narrow, he has carved a position of pre-eminence that is virtually without rival in modern pianism.

This live album, recorded at the Salzburg Festival between 1981 and 1985, shows this pianist at the very height of his powers. The many sides of Brendel--playful and austere, expressive and reserved--are well represented here, as he plays works so close to his heart that he has made them his own. Indeed, the pianist himself chose these recordings, which says something about his own estimation of the performances.

Haydn's Variations in F-minor and Sonata in C are played with elegance and wit, and after hearing them, one is reminded of how rarely pianists play Haydn and what a pity that is. Brendel has championed Haydn for decades, and nowhere will you find more assured or definitive performances of these pieces than here.

Schubert's Sonata in A-minor and the unfinished Sonata in C demonstrate Brendel's deep affinity for the works of my favorite composer. Schubert's melancholy melodic sensibility is evident throughout both these works, and Brendel plays them with the understated passion they deserve, giving the lie to those who call him a cerebral, cold interpreter.

Finally, the Liszt transcription of the "Liebestod" from "Tristan" completes this album with a performance of overwhelming power and artistry. Brendel was playing Liszt at a time (the 1960s) when his music was considered the last word in shallow, showy superficiality, and this performance is an amazing display of both Liszt's talents as a transcriber and of Brendel's talents as a Liszt player. This is a piece that must be heard to be believed.

It is probably evident by now that I am a big Alfred Brendel fan, as well as lover of Haydn, Schubert, and (to a lesser extent) Liszt. But this magnificent recording speaks for itself, and I recommend it to everyone.

This review isn't addressed to Brendel's legion of fans or to those who already accept the critical consensus about his greatness. I belong to another sizable mass of listeners for whom he is too dry, austere, and reserved. The good news is that after hearing and rejecting dozens of Brendel recordings over the years, I find myself wn over by large parts of this live recital, which is a compilaiton of several recitals given at Salzburg in the early Eighties.

To begin at the end first, Brendel's handling of Liszt's transcription of the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde is wondrous. The piece contains every shallow keyboard effect one is tiresomely used to from Liszt, and yet in Brendel's hands, Isolde's death and transfiguration actually becomes moving and expressively genuine. It's one of the best things I've ever heard form him.

But so is the Haydn that opens the recital. both the set of variations and the C major sonata come across with wit, alertness, and personal expression--for once this isn't music for a toy piano. But the real test for me is the Schubert. Here we have two great sonatas that Brendel has recorded at least twice in the studio, and in both cases I missed the lyrical heart and romantic poingnancy of these works. Dry and detached are words I've applied to Brendel's Schubert, but they don't apply here. The A minor Sonata D. 784 has had great readings on disc from Kissin and Richter (just to name two of my favorites), and now Brendel joins them with equal mastery and feeling for the depth of this music.

In the two-movement C major Sonata D. 840 he's on the same plane of lyrical eloquence, handling Schubert's deceptively simple writing with real originality. Not a single rhythm is foursquare, no emotion is played for external effect. This is great playing by any standard and wholly redeems Brendel for this former non-believer. My only quibble is that the piano, though recorded well, is still a bit clangy at times (even so, Richter has been recorded on instruments that sound a lot worse).

This CD consists of recordings made during Alfred Brendel's recitals in Salzburg, Austria in 1981, 1984 and 1985. Without question, this may be his best live recording for Philips, surpassing in quality his mid 1990's recordings for his final Beethoven sonata cycle. Here we have an inspired set of performances chosen by Brendel himself, that show him at the peak of his form. All three works are splendid performances, played with much grace and refined technique. Perhaps the best is the Haydn sonata, but I also adored his playing of the Schubert and the Liszt transcription of the Wagner. This CD is certainly a definite must for those who greatly admire Brendel's thoughtful, graceful playing.

This CD contains live performances taken from his Salzburg recitals in 1981, 1984 and 1985. The selections are very nice, chosen by Brendel himself. His playing is in top form, and unlike a studio album, you will not be distracted by his singing and humming that he often does. But the sound is superb, just picking up the instrument and not the artist. Only complaint, a somewhat loud crashing noise can be heard in the middle of the first movement of the Schubert Sonata in A minor. Kinda sounds like a broom falling down onto a hard floor in an empty warehouse. My first thought when I heard it. Who knows what it is. But overall, a must buy for any Brendel fan and someone that likes quality playing and interpretation with the live atmosphere.