Intermezzo

Piano for sale, 128 careful owners

The Berlin Philharmonic are to auction off one of their pianos to raise funds for UNICEF’s emergency relief for children in East Africa.

The 1992 Steinway concert grand has done sterling service over the years. These were the ivories Alfred Brendel chose to tickle every time he appeared at the Philharmonie, and he will attend the auction. Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Daniel Barenboim, Yefim Bronfman, Radu Lupu, Evgeny Kissin, Murray Perahia, Menahem Pressler and Lars Vogt are some of the other pianists who have played it. Needless to say, it has been maintained in top condition.

The auction takes place in the Philharmonie concert hall on 28 May, and will be streamed live on the Digital Concert Hall service.

If you're thinking of putting in a bid, deep pockets are required; serious bidding can be expected to start at €50,000+, and I wouldn't be surprised if it raised €100,000 or more (the starting price of a new instrument).

Alfred Brendel - hot or not?

Set The Piano Stool on Fire is is what the legendary Alfred Brendel told Kit Armstrong to coax a sizzling performance from his young protege. It's also the title of a new film exploring their relationship which opens tomorrow, 4 June, at the Curzon Mayfair.

Can't get to the cinema? The film will also be available from 4 June on Curzon On Demand, a new service which streams recent Curzon offerings online for £4 a pop.

What's on in London in March

Is February over already?

Opera 

At the Royal Opera House, I Capuleti e i Montecchi with Anna Netrebko and Elina Garanca opens on 2 March. Kill for tickets.

Next up is a new double bill of Dido and Aeneas with Acis and Galatea opening 31 March. Choreographer Wayne McGregor, whose work demonstrates little musical sensibility, is the odd choice of director. Sarah Connolly, Lucy Crowe, Iestyn Davies and Danielle de Niese make their ROH debuts.

On 13 March there's a one-off performance of Verdi's Messa da Requiem . Antonio Pappano conducts Barbara Frittoli, Olga Borodina, Piotr Beczala and Ildar Abdrazakov. Sold out, but check for returns towards the date.

At ENO, there's a revival of one of their better recent productions, David Alden's Jenùfa with Amanda Roocroft.

English Touring Opera bring the Magic Flute to Hackney Empire on 12 and 14 March, with Katya Kabanova on 13 March. For authentic 'period' atmosphere (and a bargain), buy the cheapest balcony seats, then stand at the back with your beer (the balcony bar is open throughout the show).

On 2, 4 and 9 March the Royal Academy of Music present Haydn's charming La fedeltà premiata in their bijou but perfectly-formed theatre.

Jiří Bělohlávek and the BBCSO attempt an overdue rehabilitation of Martinů's Julietta in concert at the Barbican on 27 March, with Magdalena Kozena in the title role.

And on 28 March David Parry and the LPO bring Rossini's Ermione to the Royal Festival Hall. 

Not opera

At the Barbican, 7 March is the BBCSO's Xenakis day. On 11 March Thomas Quasthoff presents a Bach and Handel programme. On 12 March it's the turn of Valery Gergiev and the LSO, who perform  Parsifal's Act 3 with the awesome Rene Pape and the remarkably-tattooed Evgeny Nikitin. Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw visit on 14 and 15 March with Beethoven's 7th and Bruckner's 9th.

The Royal Festival Hall hosts Maurizio Pollini on 4 March and the not-so-retired-after-all Alfred Brendel on 7 March (it's a charity concert for Comic Relief and he's credited as 'poet'). On 12 March at 6pm there's a FREE concert of Oliver Knussen's vocal works, conducted by the composer himself, with Claire Booth. A few tickets remain for countertenor Philippe Jaroussky in the Purcell Room on 23 March. On 29 March Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra are joined by Anja Harteros in a programme that includes the Eroica Symphony and Strauss's Four Last Songs.

At Wigmore Hall,  Mark Padmore visits on 12 March with a Brahms and Schubert programme. Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk appear on 26 March. Check the website for the inevitable returns.

Alfred Brendel - the final farewell in pictures

On 18 December, the mighty Alfred Brendel gave the last concert of his farewell tour, and the very last of his career. The venue was Vienna's Musikverein, chosen I suspect not because the longstanding British resident wanted to return to his own homeland, but because that's where the music was born. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, the classical titans who form the backbone of Brendel's repertoire, are all indelibly connected with Vienna. And for Brendel, the music is always greater than the man.

Brendel chose to bow out with Mozart's Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat, the 'Jeunehomme' as he had for his final London concert.  The conductor was again his old friend Sir Charles Mackerras, but the orchestra this time the home crew, the Vienna Philharmonic.

I couldn't be there - not for want of trying. Apart from Alfred Brendel's own guests, the audience was packed with journalists and Austrian politicians. Even longstanding Musikverein patrons had to fight for seats. Truly the hottest ticket in town.

Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger managed to snaffle a seat - here is his report. And for German readers, there's a more detailed one from Wolfgang Sandner for FAZ, here (imagine living in a country where a critic can drop a term like 'tonic-dominant relationship' into a mainstream newspaper and expect readers to get it. Sigh.)

Channel 4 News ran a little feature on the concert - below find a video profile of Alfred Brendel and a chat with lucky spectator Alan Rusbridger (try here if the videos don't work for you). More photos below as well.

For anyone wanting to find out more about Alfred Brendel's approach, or just about playing the piano generally, I cannot recommend highly enough his essay collection Alfred Brendel On Music.

     

Photos: Dieter Nagl

Win tickets to see Alfred Brendel in Lucerne

No, not from me.

The FT is running a prize draw to win a weekend in Lucerne including travel, accommodation, and of course concert tickets.

You need to collect two vouchers from the next three days' papers. 

Details here.

No sleep till Vienna - Alfred Brendel bows out

Philharmonia Orchestra / Mackerras / Alfred Brendel - Royal Festival Hall, 12 October 2008

On Tuesday Alfred Brendel leaves England via the majestic portal of Basingstoke to commence the final leg of his farewell tour, which winds up in Vienna's Musikverein on 18 December.

Tonight was London's chance to say goodbye as he took to the Royal Festival Hall stage in front of a packed house, the even more senior Sir Charles Mackerras and the Philharmonia Orchestra in tow.

His choice of parting shot, as it will be for that final Vienna concert, was Mozart's Piano Concerto No.9 in E flat, the 'Jeunehomme', the work which perhaps captures the composer's genius most perfectly in its sweeping play of emotional contrasts and invention. Brendel, modest and thoughtful as ever, never sought to impose himself, but gently drew out the sparkling wit of the outer movements and the bleak, bitter core. The Philharmonia were alive to every nuance and contributed to a perfectly-crafted whole.

It was a performance above criticism, a fitting end to a mighty career.

How odd then that it was decided to follow concert convention, and place this work in the first half, with a Dvorak symphony to follow in the second. Perhaps it was simply Brendel's choice, humble to the last.  

 

The Royal Festival Hall's standing ovation for Alfred Brendel:
 

Alfred Brendel says Auf Wiedersehen to London at the Royal Festival Hall

Alfred Brendel - Royal Festival Hall, 27 June 2008

Haydn Variations in F minor, Hob.XVII/6 (Un Piccolo divertimento)
Mozart Piano Sonata in F, K.533/494
Beethoven Piano Sonata in E flat, Op.27 No.1 (Quasi una fantasia)
Schubert Piano Sonata in B flat, D.960

After 60 years on the padded stool, Alfred Brendel is finally calling time on his piano playing career, sealing his choice with a series of farewell gigs around the world. Tonight it was goodbye to London, with his last ever solo recital in the capital.

It must have been a hard decision to make, but I think his timing is right. I've wondered for a while whether he wants or needs to perform as much as he used to. Generally looking a great deal more happy and comfortable in the audience than on the stage, his recent performances have often been marked by lapses in focus and concentration.

But tonight was different - the relief of the marathon runner in sight of the finishing tape perhaps? At any rate, he appeared elated, not just at the massive ovations he received, but even at several times during his performance, and his concentration was absolute.

The characteristically intelligent programme had all the Brendel hallmarks of elegant juxtapositions of key, mood and context, its path tracing inexorably to Schubert's Vienna, arguably Brendel's pianistic home.

Brendel's touch was delicate, almost cosseting. He played with affection and tenderness, as if each piece were a newborn baby being put to bed. There was no thunder and no theatrics. Neither tempo nor dynamics were ever sharply accentuated. His assurance was such that he could trust the tiniest inflection to do all the expressive work for him. If wisdom has a sound, this was it.

Far from imposing a misguided uniformity on the disparate parts of the programme, Brendel's approach simply accentuated their atavistic similarities. Attention to detail took care of the rest. Only a few graceless inter-movement coughs and rumbles during the Schubert could break the rapt spell that Brendel cast - little wonder he leapt into its last movement without pausing for the inevitable distraction.

Encoring first with part of Bach's Italian concerto and then Liszt's Au Lac de Wallenstadt, it wasn't until Brendel's final encore, almost inevitably Schubert's G flat Impromptu, that he kicked loose and thundered out the first and last fortissimo of the night. 

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Click here for a recent Dutch TV interview (in English) where Brendel discusses his retirement.

 

Alfred Brendel intrigues but only Soor Plums can satisfy

Alfred Brendel - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 15 August 2007
and
Concerto Italiano, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, 15 August 2007
Edinburgh International Festival

Haydn Piano Sonata in C minor, Hob.XVI/20
Beethoven Piano Sonata in A flat, Op.110
Schubert 4 Impromptus, D.935 - No.1 in F minor; No.3 in B flat major
Mozart Piano Sonata in C minor, K.457

Alfred Brendel stuck with the familiar tonight, repeating a programme he's played elsewhere this year, including the Royal Festival Hall a couple of months ago. But, never one to set his interpretations in stone, tonight he re-cast every single piece. If there was any overriding theme, it was slow tempi and big finales.

His Haydn C Minor Sonata moved from a spirited, crisply phrased allegro through a dreamy, meditative slow movement to a brisk and surprisingly light-hearted conclusion. Brendel underlined its prescient romantic flavour with subtle inflexions of pace and dynamics.

The front end of the Beethoven sonata which followed has an austere simplicity that doesn't invite ready engagement. Brendel didn't really catch my attention here until he unleashed the explosive finale.

The first of his two Schubert Impromptus was taken bizarrely slowly, with an even-handed balance that largely obscured its melodic impact. And did he retake some da capos, or was it just the pace that made it seem so long? His second Impromptu was framed more conventionally, apart from some hyperextended rubato towards the end, with a strongly delineated contrast between its variations. His ability to mint a fresh perspective at this stage of his career is inspiring, even if the results were rather mixed.

His closing Mozart sonata had colour and intensity and another almost recklessly bold finale.

The swiftly taken encore, the No.2 A flat major Impromptu from Schubert's D.935 set drew out a more conventional interpretation from Brendel than the earlier pair, marked with a gracefully smooth phrasing.

Brendel appeared rather more sprightly physically than he has been of late, and I gather that, true to form, he's been checking out everyone else's concerts while he's been in Edinburgh.

Earlier in the evening, I hit one of the Monteverdi Madrigals concerts that Concerto Italiano have been performing all this week in Greyfriars Kirk. This music is a joy to perform, but can be rather more effortful to listen to for song after song. However Concerto Italiano's Monteverdi recordings escape the pallid wash of sound more often heard in this repertoire, largely because of the variety of vocal timbres amongst the ensemble. Each part is vibrantly characterised; it's hard to find it dull.

Unfortunately in tonight's performance one of the sopranos was rather too individual. Out of tune and far too loud (I am charitably assuming a cold here), she trampled over the more refined efforts of the rest of the ensemble. Trapped mid-pew, I suffered this ear-rape for almost an hour until they finally wound up. The perfect excuse for hitting Gerry's of Grassmaket to seek consolation in a quarter of Soor Plums and Horehound Rock:

Alfred Brendel fails to inspire amusing post header

Alfred Brendel - Royal Festival Hall, 14 June 2007

Haydn Piano Sonata in C minor, Hob.XVI/20
Beethoven Piano Sonata in A flat, Op.110
Schubert 4 Impromptus, D.935 - No.1 in F minor; No.3 in B flat major
Mozart Piano Sonata in C minor, K.457

Digging not too deeply into his core repertoire, Alfred Brendel tonight came up with an elegantly balanced programme (kudos for not yielding to a chronological presentation) short of novelty but full of craftsmanship.

The opening Haydn sonata, surprisingly chocker with bum notes even by Brendel's own carefree standards, was otherwise a model of delicacy and restraint.

The Beethoven, again delicately handled, was in interesting contrast to Paul Lewis's performance of the same work a few days back. Where Lewis offered fire and energy, Brendel rounds the edges and lightens the touch. Although Brendel's subtlety seemed a better fit, it was ultimately less engaging.

My idea of an Schubert impromptu is something that sounds improvised, freshly baked - Edwin Fischer's 1938 recording exemplifies this like no other - unfortunately Brendel's though skilfully cooked sounded frozen and reheated.

The closing Mozart sonata was the most completely realised piece of the evening. The extended a piacere in the final movement initiated an explosive coda which Brendel really made his own, the first time in the evening I really felt he was totally engaged at more than an intellectual level.

His swiftly taken encore, the No.2 A flat major Impromptu from Schubert's D.935 set, was equally absorbing, with a far looser, more relaxed feel than his earlier pair. At this point I would have quite happily listened to him for hours more, but sadly despite a load of enthusiastic applause he wasn't up for further encores.

The sound in the refurbished auditorium - the big question - seemed fine to me, but then I was sitting fairly close to the stage, and never really had an issue with it in the old hall (for solo piano anyway). Coughing and other disturbances from the rear of the auditorium sounded rather muffled and distant - nice for me of course, but I wondered if it worked reciprocally too, and the people at the back weren't hearing as clearly as I could. Outside the concert, the RFH continues to abound in technical niggles - barbecue-temperature 'air conditioning', totally zonked lights in the ladies loos, wet paint on the balcony, etc - not to mention several sealed off areas awaiting rather more than a lick of paint. Some time I think till the RFH will be able to declare itself truly open and ready for business.