# Hank Drake's critic of Alfred Brendel



## staxomega

http://hankdrake.blogspot.com/2008/12/alfred-brendel-accountants-pianist.html

For me Hank Drake is one of _the _piano experts I consistently agree with and Brendel would be at the bottom of my list for most composers, still I think his essay could be worded far more diplomatically.


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## Triplets

staxomega said:


> http://hankdrake.blogspot.com/2008/12/alfred-brendel-accountants-pianist.html
> 
> For me Hank Drake is one of _the _piano experts I consistently agree with and Brendel would be at the bottom of my list for most composers, still I think his essay could be worded far more diplomatically.


I assume that you meant Pianist when you used "Composer".
I have never heard of Hank Drake, and this is now a 10 year old piece, but I will probably read more of his blog, because his style, while over the top and bombastic, is entertaining.
My first reaction to reading it was anger, but there is a fair amount of truth to his comments. Brendel's Chopin, for example, is best forgotten. And had I read this piece 20 years ago, I would have roundly applauded it. I have however had a sea change of heart

Brendel was pretty ubiquitous in my teens in the 70s when I was was omnivorously discovering Classical Music. I bought his Vox recordings because they were cheap and they were my first encounters with much of Beethoven's Piano Music. His Phillips recordings were coming out seemingly weekly and gradually I began to denigrate him. His smallish tone had a lot to do with it, particularly after I heard Horowitz and Rubinstein in Concert. He seemed a bit prissy and pedantic and I never bought any of his recordings except for the Liszt Sonata, which sounded like a sanitizing job on a piece that I didn't particularly love anyway. When he retired I yawned.
Gradually his Mozart and Haydn recordings becan to creep in to my consciousness, having stumbled across many of them while exploring Internet Radio. The Mozart PC series with Marriner is particularly fine. And I couldn't disagree with Drake more about his Schubert (I really don't care about the edit he makes in D.960). For me his Schubert is essential, a perfect picture of Despair contained within the velvet glove of Classicist Restraint.
I took the plunge a bought the big Brendel box and have to say that it's been A lot of pleasure, particularly his Beethoven.
His tone? Remember the movie "Sideways" and the Paul Giamatti character extolling the virtues of Pinot Noir? Brendel is the Pinot Noir of Pianists-not big and robusto but focused, pure, and always in balance. I am not always in the mood for Pinot Noir, and then there are different Pinots out there, but there is a place in the Cellar for Brendel


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## Bulldog

Mr. Drake may be an expert at playing the piano or analyzing musical scores, but he's only another guy when it comes to musical taste. I don't consider him wrong or right about Brendel; he's entitled to his opinions. My opinion is that Brendel is one of the pianistic giants of the 20th century, and Drake's feelings about him mean nothing to me.


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## staxomega

Triplets said:


> I assume that you meant Pianist when you used "Composer".
> I have never heard of Hank Drake, and this is now a 10 year old piece, but I will probably read more of his blog, because his style, while over the top and bombastic, is entertaining.
> My first reaction to reading it was anger, but there is a fair amount of truth to his comments. Brendel's Chopin, for example, is best forgotten. And had I read this piece 20 years ago, I would have roundly applauded it. I have however had a sea change of heart
> 
> Brendel was pretty ubiquitous in my teens in the 70s when I was was omnivorously discovering Classical Music. I bought his Vox recordings because they were cheap and they were my first encounters with much of Beethoven's Piano Music. His Phillips recordings were coming out seemingly weekly and gradually I began to denigrate him. His smallish tone had a lot to do with it, particularly after I heard Horowitz and Rubinstein in Concert. He seemed a bit prissy and pedantic and I never bought any of his recordings except for the Liszt Sonata, which sounded like a sanitizing job on a piece that I didn't particularly love anyway. When he retired I yawned.
> Gradually his Mozart and Haydn recordings becan to creep in to my consciousness, having stumbled across many of them while exploring Internet Radio. The Mozart PC series with Marriner is particularly fine. And I couldn't disagree with Drake more about his Schubert (I really don't care about the edit he makes in D.960). For me his Schubert is essential, a perfect picture of Despair contained within the velvet glove of Classicist Restraint.
> I took the plunge a bought the big Brendel box and have to say that it's been A lot of pleasure, particularly his Beethoven.
> His tone? Remember the movie "Sideways" and the Paul Giamatti character extolling the virtues of Pinot Noir? Brendel is the Pinot Noir of Pianists-not big and robusto but focused, pure, and always in balance. I am not always in the mood for Pinot Noir, and then there are different Pinots out there, but there is a place in the Cellar for Brendel


I meant composers, Brendel and Schubert (some Mozart piano concertos, he has the benefit of working with fantastic orchestras where some of my other favorite Mozart players weren't so fortunate) are the two composers I enjoy him with. I will check out his Haydn, another online acquaintance that has similar tastes as mine suggested I hear this.

I've been reading Hank Drake's writing for years and it's probably worth mentioning that he is a huge fan of Vladimir Horowitz (though he can still be objective and recognizes Horowitz's decline in his later years) so that will give you some idea of what his tastes lean towards.


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## bharbeke

Brendel definitely gets Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. I'd also like to praise his version of Schumann's piano concerto with Abbado and the London Symphony Orchestra.


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## Josquin13

I find Hank Drake's article interesting & provocative, and at times rather unfair and bitchy:

(1) He writes that Alfred Brendel is "allegedly a pianist"?--Even if you don't like Brendel's playing, c'mon, that's too harsh. Most musicians will admit that Brendel is a very accomplished pianist, even if they don't overly care for his style of playing or approach to music.

(2) "Brendel's Schubert Sonatas are not performed, or even played, as much as picked over, like an unappetizing meal."

Again, to suggest that Brendel's highly regarded Schubert isn't "even played" is extremely unfair. Besides, even Brendel has humbly admitted that Wilhelm Kempff was the better Schubert pianist (a comparison that Mr. Drake makes). I'd be most surprised if Mr. Drake can't additionally name a bunch of other notable pianists that don't play Schubert (or Beethoven) as well as Kempff either (although I personally prefer Brendel's early Philips Schubert to Kempff's DG cycle myself). Therefore, why does Mr. Drake have such a need to single out Brendel's Schubert, so ungraciously?

(3) "How ironic that someone who grunts so audibly during his playing should be so lacking any understanding of the vocal inspiration behind much of Chopin."

I heard Brendel perform three recitals in my life, at two different concert venues, and while I admit I couldn't afford to sit close to the stage (though one of the venues was fairly intimate), I don't recall any obtrusive grunting. Some rather distinctive facial expressions, yes, but no "grunts".

Setting that aside, I suspect that Brendel's approach to music is the opposite to the kinds of pianists that Hank Drake most likes & reveres--such as Horowitz, Rubinstein, etc.. I get that. It's a view I've heard before. I even agree that Brendel's style isn't especially well suited to everything that he played--such as the Chopin Polonaises Mr Drake speaks of, or maybe some of Brendel's more angular Schumann, or Brahms. Indeed I can't imagine any piano lover citing Brendel as one of their 'go-to' pianists for the music of Chopin. So, it seems a bit unfair that Mr. Drake has chosen to focus his argument on the anomaly of a single Chopin recording that Brendel made early in his career (possibly at the insistence of his record label at the time). Chopin isn't a composer that Brendel has ever been known for, and not surprisingly, he never recorded any more Chopin after that. Therefore, such criticism, while perhaps not invalid, doesn't seem very fair--at least, not to use it as an example in any summation of Brendel's merits as a pianist.

4) "At least the recordings spare us the visual impact of Brendel's stage manner - which is akin to observing someone in the throes of a painful bowel movement."

That's just mean.

5) "From his stylistically anachronous embellishments to Mozart concertos"

Mr. Drake also mentions that Brendel's playing lacks "sponteneity". That's a criticism of Brendel that I've encountered before. For me, Brendel is one of the few pianists of the latter part of the 20th century that actually could embellish or add ornament in a style that pianists of Mozart's day would have likely accepted. Granted, Brendel's Mozart playing probably wasn't 'historically informed', at least not to the degree that pianist Robert Levin's is, with Levin's more elaborate, improvisational approach to Mozart, and I suppose in that regard, Mr. Drake's comment is reasonable. But, at the same time, it should be pointed out that Brendel was part of a couple of generations of Mozart pianists that came before the period revival of the 1980s. And, among those "non-HIP" pianists, I don't think its a stretch to say that Brendel had the rare ability to make Mozart's Piano Concertos sound like he was creating the music on the spot. Indeed, I once saw Brendel play three Mozart Piano Concertos with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in a single evening, and he made the music sound so utterly fresh & new that I could have listened to him play all night (which is very rare for me). It was such wonderful Mozart playing. Granted, Brendel wasn't inventing cadenzas on the spot, or playing on a fortepiano, yet I don't see how Brendel's ornamentation in Mozart is any more "anachronous" than Alicia de Larrocha's, or any other highly esteemed Mozart pianist whose Mozart style was formed before the influence of the period movement of the 1980s.

Although I do realize that Brendel isn't 'spontaneous' in the same way that Mr. Drake likely finds his favorite pianists like Horowitz & Rubinstein to be spontaneous, as those two pianists were well known to take considerable liberties with the score. But, to me, altering a composer's wishes & intentions and changing the score to suit yourself is a different kind of 'spontaneity'. & personally, I'd rather listen to Brendel play the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert, & Haydn (& Bach), than Horowitz or Rubinstein.

6) "Later, I read Brendel's statement that the only "great" music was written within the Austro-German-Hungarian borders...
it was then that I realized that Brendel not only had a very limited musical culture, but also a narrow mind. Brendel's pretense is surpassed only by his arrogance. Or is it insecurity? The two often go hand in hand...

... one has to ask: Is Brendel racist?"

Unfortunately, here is where the article takes a nasty bent--as it becomes an attack not on Brendel's pianism, but instead on Brendel's character & mind, as well as becoming a gross characterization of the repertory that Brendel has played as culturally limiting. Indeed, Mr. Drake suggests that Brendel is a racist. Yet, he provides no context for what Brendel supposedly said: that the only "great" music has come from within the "Austro-German-Hungarian borders". Nor does he provide any actual quote of what Brendel specifically said. So, to me, it comes off as hearsay, and personally, I'm skeptical. I doubt that Brendel would have ever used the words "Austro-German-Hungarian" with the words "only great music" in the same sentence, as Mr. Drake claims. It doesn't sound like Brendel, who has written extensively on music. So, I'm left wondering what it was that Brendel actually said?, which has caused Mr. Drake to attack him so severely, and suggest that Brendel is "narrow minded", "arrogant", of "a very limited musical culture", and a "racist" (with the obvious implication that Brendel is possibly a white "European" supremacist?--perhaps of the Nazi type?). Wow. That is vicious. Does Mr. Drake even know Alfred Brendel? Has he ever met the man? As I've never heard anyone ever say such things about Brendel over the past 35 years or so, and I've met musicians that have met Brendel and taken master classes with him. I therefore find myself very perplexed about Mr. Drake's motives here.

What I do remember Brendel saying is that despite the piano repertory for a concert pianist being so immense, there are basically only two performing traditions for a concert pianist--one tradition built on the piano works of Chopin and a few related minor composers, and the other, a far richer one, built on the works of the Central European composers from Hamburg to Vienna, from Bach to Schoenberg. Apart from those two traditions, Brendel said that there is little that is "new" to the standard piano repertory for the classical pianist, as the other repertory is mostly repetitive or imitative of the old. Surely, that is to some extent true for American classical pianists & pianism over the past 50 years or so, for the most part, despite that due to our cultural diversity as a country, American composers have sometimes adopted certain American musical idioms into their music--such as Jazz, Blues, and Folk music. Which doesn't necessarily prove Brendel is wrong. In fact, given the immense cultural diversity of this country, it actually suggests that he may be right.

But I don't see how these are "racist" comments. Rather, they seem to me to be an honest and accurate reflection on the life of a contemporary concert pianist over the past 75 years or so. If a classical pianist doesn't play music from one or both of the two traditions Brendel describes, they aren't going to have much of a career, or at least it will be a peripheral one (which was Brendel's point). Of course, there are a handful of pianists that have built modest careers by playing the music of mostly modern and contemporary composers, or new music, but I think--generally speaking--the majority of pianists today have built their careers by mostly playing the music from the two traditions that Brendel speaks of--both at school, in piano competitions, and later, if they have careers, on the professional concert stage. Surely, as a base or core, that is very far from a bad thing. Nor do I see it as culturally limiting either, but rather quite expanding. Though, yes, of course I'm all for a greater diversity in music. Therefore, I can't help but wonder whether Mr. Drake hasn't taken the content of this type of statement by Brendel-- about the standard piano repertory for concert pianists today--and in his own mind twisted it into some 'racist', elitist remark that the "only great music" in the world has come from within "the Austro-German-Hungarian" borders?

I also recall reading that Brendel said early on in his career that he had felt a need to limit his repertory, since he couldn't play everything (as is the case with all musicians): so, for example, he explained that he chose to play Liszt instead of Debussy. He added that he would have loved to play Debussy, as I recall, but that he felt he had to draw a line somewhere, and knew that he couldn't play both Liszt and Debussy. Does that sound like someone who believes no "great" music exists that wasn't written by "German-Austro-Hungarian composers"? It doesn't to me.

I also recall that Brendel once expressed a great admiration for the piano playing of the French pianist Samson François, defending François' inclusion in the "great pianists' CD series. Given that François is most notable for his playing of Ravel and Debussy (& Chopin), I suppose that would mean that when Brendel listens to François' recordings, he only listens to and likes François' recordings of the Austro-Hungarian-German repertory? Of course, that's ridiculous. I can't imagine Brendel saying, "Oh I love the piano playing of Samson François, except for when he plays the music by those awful French composers, who are so inferior to the great German-Austro-Hungarian composers." That would be absurd, wouldn't it? So, IMO, it's more likely that there is something terribly amiss with Mr. Drake's rather harsh assessment of the limitations in Brendel's character.

Drake also tells a story about how Brendel once turned a poster of the Asian (Viennese trained) pianist Mitsuko Uchida around at a private Viennese residence (at an event given in his honor?) without even entertaining the possibility, or likelihood, that Brendel considered the poster of Uchida to be inappropriate for the time and place (maybe she had priorly played a private concert there before him?), or that he may have done so partly with a sense of humor, or maybe he simply doesn't especially care for Uchida's playing (as some don't). In other words, there is a range of other possibilities about why Brendel may not have wanted the poster of Uchida on display, apart from the story that Mr. Drake has 'filled in' for us, that Brendel is a "racist" towards Asians.

Granted, I don't know Alfred Brendel, but I find all this especially difficult to buy when I consider the fact that Brendel has lived in urbane & culturally diverse London for much of his adult life, which seems an odd choice of residence for an Austrian that supposedly believes in the racial superiority of Germanic-Austro-Hungarians, as Mr. Drake imagines. I'm also reminded of Brendel's writings, where he expresses an intense passion for African art. Indeed I can remember photographs of Brendel on old Philips LP covers, sitting by his piano in the music room of his London house with various African tribal masks hung about him on the walls. Is that actually a portrait of a person with 'white supremacist" views? I seriously doubt it. Therefore, I can't help but see Mr. Drake's attack on Brendel's character as completely unfounded and unsupported by any real evidence, which suggests that it is to a degree malicious.

Yet, despite Mr. Drake's dislike of Brendel's pianism, or however inaccurately his attack on Brendel's character may be, I have nothing against Hank Drake. On the contrary, he writes excellent reviews on Amazon, and when I've chatted with him, he's always been cordial and friendly and very knowledgable. So, I think the truth here is that Mr. Drake simply has a gigantic love and passion for the kinds of pianists and pianism that Alfred Brendel doesn't represent, which I can both respect & admire--even though Brendel's pianism has meant a good deal me in my life. So, once again we're back to different strokes for different folks. I only wish Mr. Drake had left it at that.

The following are a selection of what I believe to be some of Brendel's best recordings:

https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Italian...519426219&sr=1-1&keywords=alfred+brendel+bach
https://www.amazon.com/Haydn-Piano-...pID=5114elZpJyL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
https://www.amazon.de/Mozart-Klavie...9426018&sr=8-3&keywords=brendel+spielt+mozart
https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-spie...94&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=brendel+spelt+mozart
https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-Spie...1-3-fkmr2&keywords=brendel+schubert+eloquence
https://www.amazon.de/Brendel-spiel...26071&sr=8-1&keywords=brendel+liszt+eloquence
https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pi...D=51%2BXLEnalhL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


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## Larkenfield

I did not care for the spiteful, small-minded Drake article without his having any sense of gratitude for when he did enjoy Brendel when he was younger. I heard Brendel live in Los Angeles and was not disappointed, his Beethoven and Schubert that I felt were so beautifully classically proportioned in keeping with the spirit of the composers. But I believe it could be argued that his emotional range is a little bit narrower than a number of other pianists who have a wider repertoire-and importantly, to his credit, he knew this. He stops playing Chopin because he felt he wasn't personally adapted to it, that it made too many inward demands and adjustments, or words to that effect. Though in this long journey through music, he covered quite a bit of ground and recorded others, such as Schumann, Liszt, Mussorgsky. You get the idea. But he recorded some amazing Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven-and I think the classical era fitted him best and he grew to understand this and came to focus on it. So the self-knowledge he had is something I respect as well as his recordings, and he made the music he loved come alive, almost as if he had lived during that period. The Drake kind of spitefulness in the name of art is something that I continue to find ugly and repellent no matter where it's found. On a brighter note, here's Brendel in his own words after his retirement:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/17/alfred-brendel-fiona-maddocks-interview


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## staxomega

Josquin13 said:


> I find Hank Drake's article interesting & provocative, and at times rather unfair and bitchy:
> 
> (1) He writes that Alfred Brendel is "allegedly a pianist"?--Even if you don't like Brendel's playing, c'mon, that's too harsh. Most musicians will admit that Brendel is a very accomplished pianist, even if they don't overly care for his style of playing or approach to music.
> 
> (2) "Brendel's Schubert Sonatas are not performed, or even played, as much as picked over, like an unappetizing meal."
> 
> Again, to suggest that Brendel's highly regarded Schubert isn't "even played" is extremely unfair. Besides, even Brendel has humbly admitted that Wilhelm Kempff was the better Schubert pianist (a comparison that Mr. Drake makes). I'd be most surprised if Mr. Drake can't additionally name a bunch of other notable pianists that don't play Schubert (or Beethoven) as well as Kempff either (although I personally prefer Brendel's early Philips Schubert to Kempff's DG cycle myself). Therefore, why does Mr. Drake have such a need to single out Brendel's Schubert, so ungraciously?
> 
> (3) "How ironic that someone who grunts so audibly during his playing should be so lacking any understanding of the vocal inspiration behind much of Chopin."
> 
> I heard Brendel perform three recitals in my life, at two different concert venues, and while I admit I couldn't afford to sit close to the stage (though one of the venues was fairly intimate), I don't recall any obtrusive grunting. Some rather distinctive facial expressions, yes, but no "grunts".
> 
> Setting that aside, I suspect that Brendel's approach to music is the opposite to the kinds of pianists that Hank Drake most likes & reveres--such as Horowitz, Rubinstein, etc.. I get that. It's a view I've heard before. I even agree that Brendel's style isn't especially well suited to everything that he played--such as the Chopin Polonaises Mr Drake speaks of, or maybe some of Brendel's more angular Schumann, or Brahms. Indeed I can't imagine any piano lover citing Brendel as one of their 'go-to' pianists for the music of Chopin. So, it seems a bit unfair that Mr. Drake has chosen to focus his argument on the anomaly of a single Chopin recording that Brendel made early in his career (possibly at the insistence of his record label at the time). Chopin isn't a composer that Brendel has ever been known for, and not surprisingly, he never recorded any more Chopin after that. Therefore, such criticism, while perhaps not invalid, doesn't seem very fair--at least, not to use it as an example in any summation of Brendel's merits as a pianist.
> 
> 4) "At least the recordings spare us the visual impact of Brendel's stage manner - which is akin to observing someone in the throes of a painful bowel movement."
> 
> That's just mean.
> 
> 5) "From his stylistically anachronous embellishments to Mozart concertos"
> 
> Mr. Drake also mentions that Brendel's playing lacks "sponteneity". That's a criticism of Brendel that I've encountered before. For me, Brendel is one of the few pianists of the latter part of the 20th century that actually could embellish or add ornament in a style that pianists of Mozart's day would have likely accepted. Granted, Brendel's Mozart playing probably wasn't 'historically informed', at least not to the degree that pianist Robert Levin's is, with Levin's more elaborate, improvisational approach to Mozart, and I suppose in that regard, Mr. Drake's comment is reasonable. But, at the same time, it should be pointed out that Brendel was part of a couple of generations of Mozart pianists that came before the period revival of the 1980s. And, among those "non-HIP" pianists, I don't think its a stretch to say that Brendel had the rare ability to make Mozart's Piano Concertos sound like he was creating the music on the spot. Indeed, I once saw Brendel play three Mozart Piano Concertos with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in a single evening, and he made the music sound so utterly fresh & new that I could have listened to him play all night (which is very rare for me). It was such wonderful Mozart playing. Granted, Brendel wasn't inventing cadenzas on the spot, or playing on a fortepiano, yet I don't see how Brendel's ornamentation in Mozart is any more "anachronous" than Alicia de Larrocha's, or any other highly esteemed Mozart pianist whose Mozart style was formed before the influence of the period movement of the 1980s.
> 
> Although I do realize that Brendel isn't 'spontaneous' in the same way that Mr. Drake likely finds his favorite pianists like Horowitz & Rubinstein to be spontaneous, as those two pianists were well known to take considerable liberties with the score. But, to me, altering a composer's wishes & intentions and changing the score to suit yourself is a different kind of 'spontaneity'. & personally, I'd rather listen to Brendel play the music of Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Schubert, & Haydn (& Bach), than Horowitz or Rubinstein.
> 
> 6) "Later, I read Brendel's statement that the only "great" music was written within the Austro-German-Hungarian borders...
> it was then that I realized that Brendel not only had a very limited musical culture, but also a narrow mind. Brendel's pretense is surpassed only by his arrogance. Or is it insecurity? The two often go hand in hand...
> 
> ... one has to ask: Is Brendel racist?"
> 
> Unfortunately, here is where the article takes a nasty bent--as it becomes an attack not on Brendel's pianism, but instead on Brendel's character & mind, as well as becoming a gross characterization of the repertory that Brendel has played as culturally limiting. Indeed, Mr. Drake suggests that Brendel is a racist. Yet, he provides no context for what Brendel supposedly said: that the only "great" music has come from within the "Austro-German-Hungarian borders". Nor does he provide any actual quote of what Brendel specifically said. So, to me, it comes off as hearsay, and personally, I'm skeptical. I doubt that Brendel would have ever used the words "Austro-German-Hungarian" with the words "only great music" in the same sentence, as Mr. Drake claims. It doesn't sound like Brendel, who has written extensively on music. So, I'm left wondering what it was that Brendel actually said?, which has caused Mr. Drake to attack him so severely, and suggest that Brendel is "narrow minded", "arrogant", of "a very limited musical culture", and a "racist" (with the obvious implication that Brendel is possibly a white "European" supremacist?--perhaps of the Nazi type?). Wow. That is vicious. Does Mr. Drake even know Alfred Brendel? Has he ever met the man? As I've never heard anyone ever say such things about Brendel over the past 35 years or so, and I've met musicians that have met Brendel and taken master classes with him. I therefore find myself very perplexed about Mr. Drake's motives here.
> 
> What I do remember Brendel saying is that despite the piano repertory for a concert pianist being so immense, there are basically only two performing traditions for a concert pianist--one tradition built on the piano works of Chopin and a few related minor composers, and the other, a far richer one, built on the works of the Central European composers from Hamburg to Vienna, from Bach to Schoenberg. Apart from those two traditions, Brendel said that there is little that is "new" to the standard piano repertory for the classical pianist, as the other repertory is mostly repetitive or imitative of the old. Surely, that is to some extent true for American classical pianists & pianism over the past 50 years or so, for the most part, despite that due to our cultural diversity as a country, American composers have sometimes adopted certain American musical idioms into their music--such as Jazz, Blues, and Folk music. Which doesn't necessarily prove Brendel is wrong. In fact, given the immense cultural diversity of this country, it actually suggests that he may be right.
> 
> But I don't see how these are "racist" comments. Rather, they seem to me to be an honest and accurate reflection on the life of a contemporary concert pianist over the past 75 years or so. If a classical pianist doesn't play music from one or both of the two traditions Brendel describes, they aren't going to have much of a career, or at least it will be a peripheral one (which was Brendel's point). Of course, there are a handful of pianists that have built modest careers by playing the music of mostly modern and contemporary composers, or new music, but I think--generally speaking--the majority of pianists today have built their careers by mostly playing the music from the two traditions that Brendel speaks of--both at school, in piano competitions, and later, if they have careers, on the professional concert stage. Surely, as a base or core, that is very far from a bad thing. Nor do I see it as culturally limiting either, but rather quite expanding. Though, yes, of course I'm all for a greater diversity in music. Therefore, I can't help but wonder whether Mr. Drake hasn't taken the content of this type of statement by Brendel-- about the standard piano repertory for concert pianists today--and in his own mind twisted it into some 'racist', elitist remark that the "only great music" in the world has come from within "the Austro-German-Hungarian" borders?
> 
> I also recall reading that Brendel said early on in his career that he had felt a need to limit his repertory, since he couldn't play everything (as is the case with all musicians): so, for example, he explained that he chose to play Liszt instead of Debussy. He added that he would have loved to play Debussy, as I recall, but that he felt he had to draw a line somewhere, and knew that he couldn't play both Liszt and Debussy. Does that sound like someone who believes no "great" music exists that wasn't written by "German-Austro-Hungarian composers"? It doesn't to me.
> 
> I also recall that Brendel once expressed a great admiration for the piano playing of the French pianist Samson François, defending François' inclusion in the "great pianists' CD series. Given that François is most notable for his playing of Ravel and Debussy (& Chopin), I suppose that would mean that when Brendel listens to François' recordings, he only listens to and likes François' recordings of the Austro-Hungarian-German repertory? Of course, that's ridiculous. I can't imagine Brendel saying, "Oh I love the piano playing of Samson François, except for when he plays the music by those awful French composers, who are so inferior to the great German-Austro-Hungarian composers." That would be absurd, wouldn't it? So, IMO, it's more likely that there is something terribly amiss with Mr. Drake's rather harsh assessment of the limitations in Brendel's character.
> 
> Drake also tells a story about how Brendel once turned a poster of the Asian (Viennese trained) pianist Mitsuko Uchida around at a private Viennese residence (at an event given in his honor?) without even entertaining the possibility, or likelihood, that Brendel considered the poster of Uchida to be inappropriate for the time and place (maybe she had priorly played a private concert there before him?), or that he may have done so partly with a sense of humor, or maybe he simply doesn't especially care for Uchida's playing (as some don't). In other words, there is a range of other possibilities about why Brendel may not have wanted the poster of Uchida on display, apart from the story that Mr. Drake has 'filled in' for us, that Brendel is a "racist" towards Asians.
> 
> Granted, I don't know Alfred Brendel, but I find all this especially difficult to buy when I consider the fact that Brendel has lived in urbane & culturally diverse London for much of his adult life, which seems an odd choice of residence for an Austrian that supposedly believes in the racial superiority of Germanic-Austro-Hungarians, as Mr. Drake imagines. I'm also reminded of Brendel's writings, where he expresses an intense passion for African art. Indeed I can remember photographs of Brendel on old Philips LP covers, sitting by his piano in the music room of his London house with various African tribal masks hung about him on the walls. Is that actually a portrait of a person with 'white supremacist" views? I seriously doubt it. Therefore, I can't help but see Mr. Drake's attack on Brendel's character as completely unfounded and unsupported by any real evidence, which suggests that it is to a degree malicious.
> 
> Yet, despite Mr. Drake's dislike of Brendel's pianism, or however inaccurately his attack on Brendel's character may be, I have nothing against Hank Drake. On the contrary, he writes excellent reviews on Amazon, and when I've chatted with him, he's always been cordial and friendly and very knowledgable. So, I think the truth here is that Mr. Drake simply has a gigantic love and passion for the kinds of pianists and pianism that Alfred Brendel doesn't represent, which I can both respect & admire--even though Brendel's pianism has meant a good deal me in my life. So, once again we're back to different strokes for different folks. I only wish Mr. Drake had left it at that.
> 
> The following are a selection of what I believe to be some of Brendel's best recordings:
> 
> https://www.amazon.com/Bach-Italian...519426219&sr=1-1&keywords=alfred+brendel+bach
> https://www.amazon.com/Haydn-Piano-...pID=5114elZpJyL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch
> https://www.amazon.de/Mozart-Klavie...9426018&sr=8-3&keywords=brendel+spielt+mozart
> https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-spie...94&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=brendel+spelt+mozart
> https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-Spie...1-3-fkmr2&keywords=brendel+schubert+eloquence
> https://www.amazon.de/Brendel-spiel...26071&sr=8-1&keywords=brendel+liszt+eloquence
> https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Pi...D=51%2BXLEnalhL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch


Truly insightful post that I'd expect from you, this is the type of discourse I was hoping for! I will try and digest and address it, there are definitely some inconsistencies in his essay and one that stood out after you mentioned it is Brendel's grunting, as Mr Drake has written very positively about Rudolf Serkin who grunted and hummed quite loudly on record.

Just so it doesn't come off like I'm some Brendel hater (I really just enjoy Mr Drake's opinions), I did order the huge Brendel Philips box before posting this thread, and look forward to hearing many of the recordings I haven't heard before.


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## staxomega

Larkenfield said:


> I did not care for the spiteful, small-minded Drake article without his having any sense of gratitude for when he did enjoy Brendel when he was younger. I heard Brendel live in Los Angeles and was not disappointed, his Beethoven and Schubert that I felt were so beautifully classically proportioned in keeping with the spirit of the composers. But I believe it could be argued that his emotional range is a little bit narrower than a number of other pianists who have a wider repertoire-and importantly, to his credit, he knew this. He stops playing Chopin because he felt he wasn't personally adapted to it, that it made too many inward demands and adjustments, or words to that effect. Though in this long journey through music, he covered quite a bit of ground and recorded others, such as Schumann, Liszt, Mussorgsky. You get the idea. But he recorded some amazing Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven-and I think the classical era fitted him best and he grew to understand this and came to focus on it. So the self-knowledge he had is something I respect as well as his recordings, and he made the music he loved come alive, almost as if he had lived during that period. The Drake kind of spitefulness in the name of art is something that I continue to find ugly and repellent no matter where it's found. On a brighter note, here's Brendel in his own words after his retirement:
> 
> https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/music/2010/oct/17/alfred-brendel-fiona-maddocks-interview


I would agree the classical era suited him best. I do not rate his Philips analog era recording of the Beethoven cycle too highly, IMHO it's too light and if I want that style I feel Gulda has more to say about the music and Kempff's mono cycle is much more lyrical. His earlier Vox cycle is slightly better.

I have read others say he was fabulous in concert, but was not captured as well on his recordings. Fortunately there is plenty of live music on the Philips box I ordered.


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## Josquin13

Yes, I usually enjoy Mr. Drake's opinions too. He just has a strong dislike of everything to do with Alfred Brendel. Or, maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day. We are none of us always at our best. Plus, I think he was trying to be funny with parts of his article. However, humor that comes at another person's expense is difficult to make work, as it can so easily become more ridiculing and mean-spirited than it is funny, at least to others.

Although I'm not surprised that Mr. Drake doesn't similarly pick on pianist Rudolf Serkin. He must feel that Serkin earned the right to 'grunt and hum', as much as he wanted to. & I would agree--in my estimation, there's not a living pianist today that even gets close to Serkin's Beethoven at its best.

I hope you'll enjoy the big Brendel box set. I would have bought it, except that I already own much of its contents. I also hope the remasters are first rate. The reason I predominantly linked to AMSI (ambient surround sound imaging) issues in my post above (from Universal's Eloquence series) is because they're often, in my opinion, superior sound-wise to the remasters of the non-digital Decca & Phillips reissues that I've heard, at least, for the most part (except for Pentatone's hybrid SACDs & "Remastered Classics" series, & the Heritage label, which are excellent too). In my opinion, AMSI seems to work exceptionally well for 1960s & 70s vintage analogue recordings. For example, the AMSI box set of Brendel's earlier Philips Schubert cycle is remarkably well remastered & offers all the warmth of my old Brendel Schubert LPs, as are the two Mozart AMSI box sets, while the Liszt AMSI set is maybe a bit less so.

However, I'm probably a lot more sensitive to CD sound remasters than most, as I owned most of these recordings on LP, and know how good they once sounded on a higher end stereo system. Others might find me overly picky (ridiculously so) when it comes to remasters (& I plead guilty). Nor am I trying to dissuade anyone from purchasing the big Brendel box. It's likely a wonderful set.

I think Lark is spot on in his assessment of Brendel's pianism, that is, regarding his core repertory. I attended Brendel's final recital at Carnegie Hall, and he played Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven--the core classical repertory. Surprisingly, I was expecting to like Brendel's Mozart and Haydn the most that night, but as it turned out, it was his Beethoven that most impressed me. It was incredibly beautiful that night.

One Beethoven work that I think Brendel plays exceptionally well is the Diabelli Variations. He recorded it a bunch of times (first with Vox, and then three times with Philips, if memory serves). The live 2001 concert recording may be the best of the group, at least Brendel thinks so:

https://www.amazon.com/Alfred-Brend...eywords=brendel+beethoven+diabelli+variations

I've also liked Brendel's earlier live recording on Philips, that is special too:

https://www.amazon.com/Alfred-Brend...1-1&keywords=brendel+beethoven+great+pianists

I also think that Brendel's Liszt tends to get underrated. He had a direct link back to Liszt through his teacher, Edwin Fischer, who like Claudio Arrau, had studied with Liszt's favorite last pupil, Martin Krause. Personally, I don't enjoy pianists that turn Liszt's piano music into an overwrought, loud, showy display of virtuosity. Therefore, I greatly appreciate the quieter, more thoughtful approach that Brendel takes to Liszt, as he turns this music into something far more interesting & listenable, IMO. I'm not sure pianists today always realize that the "loud and fast" school of Liszt playing, as often typified by the "big virtuosos" of the 20th century, isn't what Liszt taught (in fact, he intensely disliked showy displays of virtuosity), nor is it how Liszt played his own music, as the remembrances & playing of his students fully attest to. Nor is it what Martin Krause taught either, according to Arrau.


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## Captainnumber36

I think Brendel is my favorite pianist of all time.


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## Pugg

Captainnumber36 said:


> I think Brendel is my favorite pianist of all time.


High in my top 10 also.


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## Marc

Quote from the blog article: _If Godowsky was the pianist's pianist, Horowitz the virtuoso's virtuoso, and Rubinstein the Cavalier, then Brendel was the Accountant's pianist._

Accountants do important work, and after their important work, like every other music lover, they deserve to listen to their pianist, too.


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## DavidA

staxomega said:


> http://hankdrake.blogspot.com/2008/12/alfred-brendel-accountants-pianist.html
> 
> For me Hank Drake is one of _the _*piano experts* I consistently agree with and Brendel would be at the bottom of my list for *most composers*, still I think his essay could be worded far more diplomatically.


Can I just suggest that in my opinion Brendel is a pianist not composer. As to 'expert' I am reminded of the definition of Ex-pert as a 'has been (ex) who holds forth (spurt)'. I must confess that the Brendel he describes is not the one I hear on the recordings I have of him. I am reminded of Beecham's saying that 'musicologists are people who can read music not hear it'. Mr Drake obviously falls into that category.


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## Marc

DavidA said:


> [...]I must confess that the Brendel he describes is not the one I hear on the recordings I have of him. I am reminded of Beecham's saying that 'musicologists are people who can read music not hear it'. Mr Drake obviously falls into that category.


Beecham's quote is, IMHO, a rather miserable generalization. But, in a way, it's good fun.

Still, this Hank Drake is certainly not a musicologist, or even an 'expert'. In this so-called essay mr. Drake talks about Brendel with at least a 'tad' of useless resentment. I mean, sentences like _Brendel's recordings are ideal for those who want to prove their own attachment to "culture" to their friends. Here's the intellectual man on the CD cover (you can see he's intellectual because he wears glasses) playing snob repertoire_ is an example of completely brainless ranting.

The only cultural snob is mr. Drake himself. 
He's just another example of projection, I guess.


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## staxomega

DavidA said:


> *Can I just suggest that in my opinion Brendel is a pianist not composer*. As to 'expert' I am reminded of the definition of Ex-pert as a 'has been (ex) who holds forth (spurt)'. I must confess that the Brendel he describes is not the one I hear on the recordings I have of him. I am reminded of Beecham's saying that 'musicologists are people who can read music not hear it'. Mr Drake obviously falls into that category.


See my post 4 where I clarified the part bolded, I meant that among composer's music Brendel would rank fairly low.

I've been reading Hank Drake's writing for years, I would strongly disagree that he can't hear music. Besides Jed Distler he is the critic I find most consistent. Yes, he can be abrasive, and who knows some of this might be projection. I do not know the man, but from his blog writings he is homosexual with a Latino partner and they have faced some struggles living in the midwest.

I've since spent plenty of time listening to the big Philips box of his recordings.

edit:
Just so this isn't all about Hank Drake, I should say what my preferences are for the composer's that Brendel recorded-

Beethoven- R. Serkin, Richter, Arrau, Annie Fischer, Gilels, Schnabel, Gulda (earlier sonatas only)
Mozart- Lili Kraus, Ingrid Haebler, Gulda, Fazil Say, Horszowski
Schubert - R. Serkin, Richter, Kempff (I must agree with Josquin13 that the live Brendel is very good)
Schumann - Horszowski, Arrau, Richter, Horowitz
Haydn- very much enjoyed the Brendel on this box, I will be picking these up separately after selling the box
Liszt- Bolet, Cziffra, Arrau


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## GSHAPIROY

Alfred Brendel is one of my favorite Mozart performers. His performances of the Piano Concerto in E-Flat Major, K. 449 (with Marriner/ASMF) and the Quintet for Piano and Winds K. 452 are unmatched as far as I have found so far. His Schubert is good too, but often overpedaled.

Recently, when I went looking for a good recording of Schumann's Oboe Romances op. 94, I couldn't find one until I came across his (with Holliger)...


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## Larkenfield

staxomega said:


> http://hankdrake.blogspot.com/2008/12/alfred-brendel-accountants-pianist.html
> 
> For me, Hank Drake is one of _the _piano experts I consistently agree with and Brendel would be at the bottom of my list for most composers, still I think his essay could be worded far more diplomatically.


 Couldn't agree less with "Hank Drake," whoever he is, and he seems to be a very spiteful young man. I've heard marvelous Schubert and Beethoven from Brendel. He is a class act through and through. That is what makes him special with Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven, a dedicated classicist if there ever was one and I was lucky enough to hear Brendel _live_. Kempe was great but hardly the only one you could play these composers well. I would have considered the source before ever posting anything by "Drake".


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## DavidA

Larkenfield said:


> Couldn't agree less with "Hank Drake," whoever he is, and he seems to be a very spiteful young man. I've heard marvelous Schubert and Beethoven from Brendel. He is a class act through and through. That is what makes him special with Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, and Beethoven, a dedicated classicist if there ever was one and I was lucky enough to hear Brendel _live_.


there are some people who never lose an opportunity to be a plonker. Maybe Mr Drake is one of them


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