His many prizes for his recordings include the Grand Prix du Disque, the Japan Record Academy Award, Gramophone’s Critics Choice, the Edison Prize, and the Grand Prix de l’Académie du Disque Français. Brendel is also one of the most prolific recording artists of all time, having for the past 30 years recorded exclusively for Philips Classics. He has performed with virtually all leading orchestras and conductors, and has appeared in the major cultural centers of North America, Europe and Asia. Today, he is recognized the world over for his ability to communicate the emotional and intellectual depths of whatever music he performs. Nevertheless, he composed music and painted before he embarked on a career as a musician in his late teens. In fact, he had little formal musical education. Unlike other musical performers of his rank, Brendel was not a child prodigy nor was he from a family of musicians. For more information, visit the Yale School of Music website,, or call (203) 432-4158.īorn in Wiesenberg, Moravia (the Czech Republic), Brendel grew up in Graz, Austria. Admission to the master class is $8 for the general public, free for full-time students with ID. Tickets to the lecture are $11–$20 for the general public $6 for students. Brendel will work with graduate pianists from the Yale School of Music in a public master class on the stage of Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Hall.

Beethoven’s works figure prominently in Brendel’s repertoire, and he contends that interpreting Beethoven’s music is a task akin to that of a character actor interpreting a role - noting that as the pianist becomes increasingly aware of the music’s emotional depth and psychological variety, so too does the audience.

In his lecture, Brendel, who has retired as a full-time concert performer, will play musical examples from the works of Beethoven to illustrate his argument that atmosphere is just as important to interpreting and performing music as compositional technique. On Wednesday evening at 8 p.m., Brendel will deliver a lecture, titled “On Character in Music,” as part of the Horowitz Piano Series at Sprague Hall, 470 College St.

Yale School of Music will host two events with internationally renowned pianist Alfred Brendel on November 11–12.

Me of All People by Alfred Brendel