Hosts Alex and Isabel talk about a remarkable interview with the legendary pianist and writer, Alfred Brendel, conducted by Malte Herwig eleven years before Brendel's death in 2025. Join us as we discover the surprising wit and wisdom of an extraordinary musical mind and talk about how Malte managed to get the famously cantankerous pianist to open up.
• Brendel discusses his hearing loss with remarkable candor, explaining how he continued to work on music mentally even when he could no longer enjoy listening
• Retiring after 60 years was "a relief" for Brendel, who contrasts himself with colleagues who pursue performing "like addicts their morphine"
• His fierce resistance to fate and refusal to accept the injustice of Schubert's early death reveals passionate conviction beneath his disciplined exterior
• The story of walking a baby tortoise through Vienna's Musikverein showcases Brendel's mischievous protest against overly solemn concert atmospheres
• For Brendel, the piano is "a vessel for all sorts of musical ideas" - some pianists "play the piano," while others "play the rainbow"
• His practical performance advice includes starting immediately rather than "fiddling around" and simply waiting silently when audiences applaud between movements
• The profound observation that "music comes from silence and leads into silence" underscores his reverence for the concert experience
• Brendel succinctly identifies the two things that made his life worth living: art and love

Original interview (German language):

https://sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de/musik/musik-kommt-aus-der-stille-und-fuehrt-in-die-stille-80650

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