# Alfred Brendel



## Albert7

I really have enjoyed Alfred Brendel's performances when I was younger as a kid. I heard his piano sonatas on cassette tapes way back in the day.

I hope as I am returning back to classical music collecting that I can procure some more of his recordings. What do peeps here think of him?


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## ScipioAfricanus

I love him for schubert and Mozart, but hate him for beethoven


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## Iggy

Why do you dislike his Beethoven Scipio? So far I've only heard Brendel's take on Beethoven's bagatelles and a couple of the Sonata's.


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## JACE

I like Brendel's Haydn very much. I'd recommend this CD:










I've also really enjoyed Brendel's LvB Piano Concertos with Haitink & the LPO. But I haven't heard his take on Beethoven's piano sonatas.


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## Albert7

I just picked up Brendel's digital Beethoven piano sonatas/concertos on Decca to add to my Voxbox set of Mozart piano concertos .


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## TurnaboutVox

I think generally he'd be considered one of the foremost Beethoven interpreters of the last 50 years, Albert, but as with most musicians he has his fans and his detractors (some others on TC, for instance). I like his cool, neutral, even 'intellectual' take on the music, an attempt to let the music speak for itself as much as possible, Brendel has said, which some people dislike or consider pretentious (but having said that, he has been a passionate and brilliant interpreter of the early sonatas, giving them the 'impetus of youth', especially in his 1960s cycle on Turnabout Vox.)

I grew up wth his Beethoven recordings and have all three piano sonata cycles, his Bagatelles and the Diabelli Variations - I love them.

I love his Haydn, Schubert, Liszt and Busoni too (live, I've never seen a recording). I haven't heard his Mozart sonatas.


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## realdealblues

I have most everything Brendel has recorded. I liked him for a while, then I disliked him for a while, now I enjoy him again.

Of his Beethoven Piano Sonata cycles I like his 70's cycle the best. His early set on Vox he hadn't really come into his own and his later digital cycle he became to "fussy" for lack of a better term.

His Mozart Piano Concertos with Neville Marriner are excellent. His Schubert, both 70's and 80's digital recordings are very good. Haydn, Liszt and various other composers are all worth hearing as a different take. He's not overly romantic and he's not overly mechanical. I don't know that he's my first choice for any particular work, but he is usually a viable option for another viewpoint.


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## Bulldog

Brendel's my main man for Haydn and exceptional in Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, etc.


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## aajj

Brendel is among my favorites for Mozart's concertos and, with a few individual exceptions, my absolute favorite for Schubert's sonatas. I first discovered Schubert's Sonata No. 14, D784 through Brendel's Live in Salzburg disc and I am forever grateful.


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## PetrB

TurnaboutVox said:


> .... I like his cool, neutral, even 'intellectual' take on the music, an attempt to let the music speak for itself as much as possible.


I also very much generally most appreciate the 'getting out of the way and letting the music speak' approach. Some mistake this for a complete absence of any personality in the performer and performance, which is of course actually just not possible... and I think this is where some differ, wanting more of an assertive and charismatic performer behind the wheel. I had commented on his Mozart piano concerti recordings that I like them exactly because they sound like "no one is there," which leaves us only -- Mozart talking to us.

His Diabelli Variations are excellent, the only Beethoven solo piano (or Beethoven anything) I have listened to in many years. Beethoven will never, I think, be downgraded to a lesser than seriously great composer, while personally, I've been quite done with him for some time now.

Known as a Liszt specialist, of which I am not at all a fan, he was magnificent in Mozart, and those later performances of Schubert's impromptus and sonatas are of the highest water... it is as if no one is there but Schubert, and the playing, with every stylistic trait one could want and hope for in that music, ebb and flow of tempi (perfect and never overdone slight rubato) the way the music breathes, really are as if he is merely breathing the music.

Beneath this energy of being non-assuming, a deeply canny musical intelligence and energy have gone into perfectly rendering the large structure, and the least micro details as well. I don't exactly think this is a performer who is not there, but one who is completely dedicated to the score, and who very consistently brings that to the fore.

So, I think rather highly of Brendel


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## Ajayay

I'm not a fan, sadly. I find him so dry, although I confess that his rather academic essays do occasionally show a sparkle of wit and humour. 

Having said that, I think his recording of the Liszt transcription of the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor is brilliant, precisely because it is unaffected and super clear. He doesn't pull it about, he just plays the thing with terrific accuracy and aplomb. Not sure I have heard anyone do it better. But when I compare him to Lhevinne, Rubinstein, Friedman, well there's no comparison really in my mind. 

I do quite like him as a person though. He seems healthily uncomplicated and not quite as bonkers as most pianists seem to be!


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## Albert7

Ajayay said:


> I'm not a fan, sadly. I find him so dry, although I confess that his rather academic essays do occasionally show a sparkle of wit and humour.
> 
> Having said that, I think his recording of the Liszt transcription of the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor is brilliant, precisely because it is unaffected and super clear. He doesn't pull it about, he just plays the thing with terrific accuracy and aplomb. Not sure I have heard anyone do it better. But when I compare him to Lhevinne, Rubinstein, Friedman, well there's no comparison really in my mind.
> 
> I do quite like him as a person though. He seems healthily uncomplicated and not quite as bonkers as most pianists seem to be!


No worries... I can see why you think that his playing can be slightly dry. However it is refreshing upon getting a chance to really understand where he is coming from. He was good buddies with Walter Klien and I heard their Mozart piano concertos. Such glory there.


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## Heliogabo

Liszt could be a dry piano composer but, in my opinion, Brendel´s performances of his music are plein of musicality. You should try his Annés de Pelerinage, for instance.


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## Albert7

Yes and I really like the elegance of his Mozart recordings quite a bit. They have a transparency which is hard to beat. I think of Perahia as his heir.


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## Bruce

Everything I've heard of Brendel's sounds just fine. There are other recordings of certain works I prefer, but not to the point of disliking Brendel's interpretations. I have heard many criticize his Beethoven sonata cycles, and perhaps with some justification. But I don't find the dry, intellectual approach which is sometimes evident in these recordings to be discouraging. 

I'll confirm what others have said about his Schubert and Mozart Concerti, though.


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## padraic

realdealblues said:


> His Mozart Piano Concertos with Neville Marriner are excellent.


Been listening to those on Spotify and I am in total agreement.


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## Mal

I quite like some of his Mozart Piano Concertos, but he's far from the last word in these. I haven't listened to many others, but Perahia and Anda often put in better performances, and I'm sure others are likely to. I just listened to his later set of Beethoven bagatelles on Phillips and dislike it intensely! So serious and dry, and (bah!) I actually bought the CD, now being sold...


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## Pugg

Mal said:


> I quite like some of his Mozart Piano Concertos, but he's far from the last word in these. I haven't listened to many others, but Perahia and Anda often put in better performances, and I'm sure others are likely to. I just listened to his later set of Beethoven bagatelles on Phillips and dislike it intensely! So serious and dry, and (bah!) I actually bought the CD, now being sold...


Others will be disagreeing with you.


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## Animal the Drummer

Ajayay said:


> I'm not a fan, sadly. I find him so dry, although I confess that his rather academic essays do occasionally show a sparkle of wit and humour.
> 
> Having said that, I think his recording of the Liszt transcription of the sextet from Lucia di Lammermoor is brilliant, precisely because it is unaffected and super clear. He doesn't pull it about, he just plays the thing with terrific accuracy and aplomb. Not sure I have heard anyone do it better. But when I compare him to Lhevinne, Rubinstein, Friedman, well there's no comparison really in my mind.
> 
> I do quite like him as a person though. He seems healthily uncomplicated and not quite as bonkers as most pianists seem to be!


How interesting. I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum altogether, in that I enjoy the objectivity of Brendel's performing style but find the rather studied quirkiness of his writings and interviews somewhat off-putting at times. Incidentally one or two professional musicians of my acquaintance have told me that, when Brendel was still active on the concert circuit, it was he who had a bit of a bonkers reputation - other pianists used to dread being the next performer to play pianos on which Brendel had just performed, because his rather odd tuning preferences often meant quite a lot of work on the pianos in question would be needed to return them to a "normal" state.


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## premont

Animal the Drummer said:


> ... because his [Brendel's] rather odd tuning preferences often meant quite a lot of work on the pianos in question would be needed to return them to a "normal" state.


What would "normal" state be? 
The Holy Equal Tuning, I suppose.


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## Pugg

​A real treasure having this.


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## Animal the Drummer

premont said:


> What would "normal" state be?
> The Holy Equal Tuning, I suppose.


I asked that question myself. My informants weren't sure, but it seemed that Brendel invariably asked tuners to make the piano sound brighter somehow. Whether that meant tuning the pianos slightly sharp or not I don't know, nor did they, but apparently it was rarely to the taste of piano soloist colleagues of his.


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## pcnog11

Brendel set a standard for his Beethoven performances. He is such a low key performer but you can know a lot about a low key person based on how they interpret music of various composers.


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## Vaneyes

*Alfred Brendel Lectures at Wigmore*

http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=14205


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## lextune

Animal the Drummer said:


> I asked that question myself. My informants weren't sure, but it seemed that Brendel invariably asked tuners to make the piano sound brighter somehow. Whether that meant tuning the pianos slightly sharp or not I don't know, nor did they, but apparently it was rarely to the taste of piano soloist colleagues of his.


I doubt the pianos were tuned sharp, and even if they were, "fixing" them, would be as simple as tuning them. Which is done after, and before, every concert anyway.

If the piano seems too "bright" it is more likely that Maestro Brendel was having the hammers voiced up. (A much more time consuming endeavour to "fix).


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## lextune

As for Mr. Brendel's playing. He is a legend for a reason.

I love all three traversals he recorded of the Beethoven Sonatas, although I am partial to the middle set if pressed.

His Schubert, Haydn, and Mozart are also *mostly *wonderful. (His Schubert D.960 omits the 1st mvmt repeat!! Why?! Why?! Why??!! Removing the only forte in the entire movement [and the trill!], rendering it completely impotent). Nobody is perfect I suppose...

I am also a big fan of Brendel's Liszt. He treats him with the requisite seriousness, and applies his formidable powers of structure and form to the Hungarian great. The Sonata, the first two books of Annees de pelerinage, and several of the later pieces are all done brilliantly by Brendel.

One other recording that I am a big fan of is his version of Picture at an Exhibition. One does not normally think of Brendel when thinking of Russian music, but Moussorgsky benefits greatly from Brendel's approach. I highly recommend the recording, if you can find it.


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## Animal the Drummer

I have the LP, coupled with more Liszt, and yes, I agree it works very well in his hands. Other LPs which saw him successfully "cast against type" are recitals of Schumann (on Vanguard) and Bach (on Philips), both of which I enjoy. The Schumann Fantasy in C major is especially fine.


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## lextune

Yes! Much of Brendel's Schumann is also great.


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## tdc

Brendel, Schiff and Uchida are my top 3 pianists.


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## TurnaboutVox

I don't know if he ever recorded them but many years ago I attended a Brendel recital of some Busoini works (in a programme of Liszt, Haydn and Busoni). They were spellbinding. That started in me a fascination with Busoni (and Liszt) which has lasted to this day.


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## msr13

I love Brendel. I have been repeating his Beethoven Third with Rattle over and over this week. I just love it.


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## Triplets

I just received the big Brendel 'complete' Phillips box. Lots of pleasure ahead


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## msr13

Triplets said:


> I just received the big Brendel 'complete' Phillips box. Lots of pleasure ahead


That box set would surely keep me from focusing on work.


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## Animal the Drummer

msr13 said:


> I love Brendel. I have been repeating his Beethoven Third with Rattle over and over this week. I just love it.


They make a good team. As a general rule I'm not at all a Rattle fan, but Brendel's approach and his seem to me to combine well.


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## Triplets

msr13 said:


> That box set would surely keep me from focusing on work.


It is. Don't tell my employer


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## bigshot

Brendel is technically very good, but his interpretations are pretty bland and anonymous. I prefer performers who have something themselves to say. I'd rather have a dozen different individualistic recordings of a work than one "proper" one.


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## Pugg

Triplets said:


> It is. Don't tell my employer


Let's hope hope employer in not on this site


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## Triplets

bigshot said:


> Brendel is technically very good, but his interpretations are pretty bland and anonymous. I prefer performers who have something themselves to say. I'd rather have a dozen different individualistic recordings of a work than one "proper" one.


I used to think that, but have completely revised my opinion. His recordings of the last 3 Schubert Sonatas had me entranced, and
In Beethoven, what I had formerly regarded as middle of the road I now realize is really a deeply personal vision that respects the performance tradition of these works


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## chromatic owl

Triplets said:


> I used to think that, but have completely revised my opinion. His recordings of the last 3 Schubert Sonatas had me entranced, and
> In Beethoven, what I had formerly regarded as middle of the road I now realize is really a deeply personal vision that respects the performance tradition of these works


It surprises me every time when someone says he likes Brendel for his interpretations of Schubert. I find his recordings of the last three sonatas particularly insulting.


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## KenOC

Brendel is very convincing in the last Schubert sonatas, as is Richard Goode.


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## Animal the Drummer

chromatic owl said:


> It surprises me every time when someone says he likes Brendel for his interpretations of Schubert. I find his recordings of the last three sonatas particularly insulting.


I don't know what that means TBH. "Insulting" to whom?


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## Pugg

Animal the Drummer said:


> I don't know what that means TBH. "Insulting" to whom?


Not to me for one!
They are very good.


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## Forss

I fully agree with some of the previous contributions to this thread: Brendel's keenness in letting the piece speak for itself (to the utmost degree) is honourable, albeit a bit conservative.

In a work of art, chaos must shimmer through the veil of order. (Novalis) - This is, I think, Brendel's whole approach as a virtuoso pianist/interpreter of masterpieces. "Even if the feeling is both the beginning and the end of a performance," Brendel says, "it would not happen without the filter of the intellect. There has to be a co-operation between both."

Brendel has, as we can see, a _deep_ understanding of the relationship between feeling and intellect, and his brilliance lies, I think, precisely in not emphasizing too much on neither the one nor the other, making his interpretations both rich and balanced. His recordings (Decca) of, say, Beethoven and Schubert are wonderful beyond words!

Perhaps I really prefer Zimerman for his precision and sheer elegance on stage, especially for Beethoven's piano concertos, but considering his rather scarce discography, I choose Brendel for my recordings.


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## AfterHours

Brendel is one of the greatest pianists of all time at injecting palpable and intelligent thought between himself and the work at hand, into his key strokes and throughout the totality of a composition, which brings out a thoroughly evocative, sensitive phrasing and deep insight into the piece, the result of which can be quite profound. Occasionally, he overthinks and overstates the case to a loss of shape and/or to an intervention of optimum pace and momentum, but when he hits the mark (which happened aplenty) the results are extraordinarily communicative.


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## chromatic owl

Animal the Drummer said:


> I don't know what that means TBH. "Insulting" to whom?


Insulting to Schubert's music of course!


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## Vaneyes




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## flamencosketches

I managed to get a couple of Brendel's CDs used today, and I'm really enjoying them so far. First is a disc with the first three Beethoven sonatas that I got by accident. Honestly, he may be my favorite I've heard in these early sonatas. I've never liked nos. 2 and 3 much, but with him playing, I kind of do enjoy them. He plays it as straight and as cool as possible. Pure, Vienna classicism. His approach emphasizes Beethoven's sometimes under-appreciated talent for structure and symmetry. His voicing is also clear as a bell here.

I listened to a bit of a Haydn sonata with him on the piano and really enjoyed that too. I am looking to get his disc of 11 Haydn sonatas on Philips (he must have been an in-house pianist for them... so many Philips discs). I'm torn between that and Rudolf Buchbinder's complete Haydn sonatas set which is a much better deal, but I like Brendel's playing a bit more.

Finally, I got this:









I'm very excited to check it out, as these Concertos are almost all unfamiliar to me. Based on what I know of his style, I expect greatness from his Mozart.

I'm not 100% sold on his Schubert just yet.

Any fans here? Favorite recordings and performances?


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## KenOC

flamencosketches said:


> I managed to get a couple of Brendel's CDs used today, and I'm really enjoying them so far. First is a disc with the first three Beethoven sonatas that I got by accident. Honestly, he may be my favorite I've heard in these early sonatas. I've never liked nos. 2 and 3 much, but with him playing, I kind of do enjoy them.​


Brendel is Beethoven for grownups.  Give the last movement of Op. 2 No. 2 a try. It's one of my faves!


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## flamencosketches

KenOC said:


> Brendel is Beethoven for grownups.  Give the last movement of Op. 2 No. 2 a try. It's one of my faves!


I actually just finished listening to that whole sonata. The rondo was really good!

Definitely a big contrast from the Schnabel and Kempff that I normally enjoy very much in Beethoven, as well as Glenn Gould whose Beethoven sonatas I've been listening to a bit lately-I thought his approach might translate well in the opus 2 sonatas, but alas this was not the case (Gould is best in the middle sonatas, IMO).

So anyway, I may try and collect Brendel's Beethoven sonatas cycle piece by piece, the digital cycle he recorded for Philips in the '90s, I believe. Do you have some other favorites from this cycle? Based on what I know of his style, I'm afraid I'd enjoy him most in the early sonatas and less so in the middle and late. I can picture what his Hammerklavier might sound like, and I'm not sure that it's something I'd enjoy. But maybe, he is more versatile than I'm giving him credit for.


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## KenOC

Brendel became well-known for his original Beethoven cycle on Vox, which is still floating around. The sound quality varies more than a bit.

I believe he did one analog cycle for Philips, and a few years later a digital cycle. I don't have either ready at hand but seem to remember preferring the Philips analog cycle (by a narrow margin).

Richard Goode plays the music in much the same way, as does Paul Lewis in a more recently-recorded cycle. These are all first-rate Beethovenists! Buchbinder is another, though probably not as well known. His cycle was recorded live, without splicing. I very much like it.

I say, get 'em all! Oh, and don't forget Andras Schiff. And Annie Fischer. And... :lol:


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## Larkenfield

flamencosketches said:


> I actually just finished listening to that whole sonata. The rondo was really good!
> 
> Definitely a big contrast from the Schnabel and Kempff that I normally enjoy very much in Beethoven, as well as Glenn Gould whose Beethoven sonatas I've been listening to a bit lately-I thought his approach might translate well in the opus 2 sonatas, but alas this was not the case (Gould is best in the middle sonatas, IMO).
> 
> So anyway, I may try and collect Brendel's Beethoven sonatas cycle piece by piece, the digital cycle he recorded for Philips in the '90s, I believe. Do you have some other favorites from this cycle? Based on what I know of his style, I'm afraid I'd enjoy him most in the early sonatas and less so in the middle and late. I can picture what his Hammerklavier might sound like, and I'm not sure that it's something I'd enjoy. But maybe, he is more versatile than I'm giving him credit for.


 Brendel is one of the great Schubert interpreters too, especially on a sunny day.


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## flamencosketches

I love Schiff, he's one of my favorite pianists, but yet I do not like his Beethoven. It's strange. Annie Fischer has long been on my list to check out.

Not familiar with Good, Lewis, or Buchbinder in Beethoven, but as I alluded to in another post I do like the latter pianist's Haydn. 

Despite my recent appreciation for Brendel, I always say that I am not in the market for another Beethoven sonata cycle, such is my satisfaction with Schnabel and Kempff, and being that it would be extremely hard to top either. My recent purchase of the Glenn Gould Beethoven sonata cycle, which I had high hopes for, kind of proved this. I found most of it really disappointing. As I said, I got this Brendel disc on accident but yet I have been enjoying it. It will probably take another accident for me to discover the next great Beethoven pianist :lol:


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## Itullian

I'm a Brendel fan. I have practically everything he's done.

I recommend his:
Haydn set
Beethoven Philips analog set
Mozart sonatas and concertos
Schubert analog Philips
Beethoven piano concertos with Levine
Liszt selections
off the top of my head


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## flamencosketches

^Not as fond of his Digital Beethoven set? I too prefer analog sound 9 times out of 10, but I think the sound on the opus 2 sonatas CD that I have is damn good. His playing is damn near perfect too.


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## Itullian

flamencosketches said:


> ^Not as fond of his Digital Beethoven set? I too prefer analog sound 9 times out of 10, but I think the sound on the opus 2 sonatas CD that I have is damn good. His playing is damn near perfect too.


I have that set too.
I could have chosen that.
Go with that if you liked it.


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## Rogerx

*Special tribute to the Master who having his birtday today.*










Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931)


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## Guest




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## Triplets

Rogerx said:


> Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931)


I have played this set quite a bit. Lots of interesting finds


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## Rogerx

Triplets said:


> I have played this set quite a bit. Lots of interesting finds


If you are a devoted fan like I am you love the set, others may find it a bit to much perhaps.


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## Josquin13

If the complete Philips box set is too much money, or OOP & impossible to find at a reasonable price, I'd strongly recommend the Brendel box sets that were issued as part of Universal's Eloquence series (not to be confused with the Australian Eloquence label), which were at one point fantastic discount bargains in the $18 to $25 range, for each--EDIT: actually, I see they've gone up in price a bit, like everything else--and, come in superb AMSI remasters, or Ambient Surround Sound Imaging, which remind me of my old Brendel Philips LPs played on a very good sound system.

The series includes individual box sets of Brendel's Philips recordings of Mozart Piano Sonatas, Mozart Piano Concertos (the Marriner ASMF cycle), Schubert's solo piano music, his 1st analogue Beethoven Piano Sonata 1-32 cycle, as well as his (underrated, IMO) Liszt recordings for Philips (but none of his Haydn):

https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-spie...5&sprefix=brendel+spielt+mozrt,aps,104&sr=8-2
https://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Die-K...5&sprefix=brendel+spielt+mozrt,aps,104&sr=8-6
https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-Spie...001BNQJDC/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
https://www.walmart.com/ip/BRENDEL-...Vh8CGCh0RjQGoEAQYAyABEgIQmPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-Spie...sic&sprefix=brendel+spielt,popular,264&sr=1-2
https://www.amazon.com/Brendel-Spie...sic&sprefix=brendel+spielt,popular,264&sr=1-3

It's possible that the box sets can be found for less on Amazon.de or elsewhere, which used to be the case several years ago when I bought them...

Here is my Brendel recording for the day,


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