Alfred Brendel, Pianist Renowned for Refined Playing of Beethoven, Dies at Age 94

The Associated Press

10:39 JST, June 19, 2025

LONDON (AP) — Alfred Brendel, a pianist and poet renowned for his refined playing of Beethoven over a six-decade career, died Tuesday at his home in London. He was 94.

Brendel’s death was announced by the public relations agency Bolton & Quinn.

Born in what is now the Czech Republic, Brendel gave his first recital in Graz, Austria, in 1948 at age 17. His final concert was with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Musikverein on Dec. 18, 2008.

“I grew up in a family that was not musically inclined, not artistically inclined and not intellectual, so I had to find out a lot of things for myself,” he said in a 2012 interview for the Verbier Festival. “I was a young person who in the early 20s did not think I have to achieve something within five years but I thought I would like to be able to do certain things when I’m 50. And when I was 50 I said to myself I have actually done most of the things I want to do.”

Brendel also was praised for his interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Liszt and Haydn. He recorded the 32 Beethoven piano sonatas three times, and he played them over a month at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1983, among 77 recitals in 11 cities during the 1982-83 season. He repeated the sonatas again at Carnegie over three seasons in the 1990s.

“With winks to the audience and demonstrative hand movements, he has a playful manner that offsets his serious, contemplative interpretations,” The Associated Press wrote during the 1990s cycle.

Born on Jan. 5, 1931, in Wiesenberg, northern Moravia, Brendel studied piano in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, with Sofia Dezelic and then at the Graz Conservatory with Ludovika von Kaan. He also took composition lessons with Artur Michl. His studies were interrupted when he and his mother fled as the Russian army invaded during World War II.

“When I turned 16, my piano teacher told me I should now continue on my own and give a first public recital,” he recalled during a lecture after his retirement. “I should also audition for the great Swiss pianist Edwin Fischer, which I did the following year. Three of his masterclasses that I attended during the Lucerne festivals made an impact that lasts to this day. I also met Eduard Steuermann, the pupil of Busoni and Schoenberg. Apart from these encounters, I studied on my own.”

Brendel had lived in London since 1971. He received 10 Grammy nominations without winning. He wrote several books, including a collection of poems called “Cursing Bagels.”

“I used to live a double life,” he said in a 2012 interview with the Verbier Festival. “I’m also a literary person lecturing, giving readings of my poems and teaching.”