We're safely home again, and regular blogging will recommence from today.
While we were away, we learned the sad news that world-famous classical pianist Alfred Brendel had died at the age of 94. He was particularly well-known for his interpretation of Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt, and made many recordings of their works, including some of my personal favorite renditions of several pieces.
One of them was this 1977 recording of Beethoven's Choral Fantasia, with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink. I owned a copy on vinyl way back when, and upgraded to a CD edition later. I was delighted to find it on YouTube as well, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I still do.
Mr. Brendel's genius will be missed. Let this piece be his epitaph here. I hope he and Beethoven are sharing a glass of the good stuff somewhere as they discuss it!
Peter
2 comments:
Excellent recording! This got me wondering, how much did it cost to stage such a performance in Beethoven's time vs. how much it would cost today in inflation-adjusted terms? I'm guessing that in Beethoven's time it would have been more affordable.
A new one to me, thank you for sharing -- an amazing pianist, and self taught to boot!
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