Intermezzo

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.