Alfred Brendel

Alfred Brendel, born in 1931 in Wiesenberg, northern Moravia, was an internationally acclaimed pianist and interpreter of classical and Romantic music. He studied piano, composition and conducting in Zagreb and Graz, and continued his piano training with Paul Baumgartner, Edwin Fischer and Eduard Steuermann. His international career began in 1944 with a prize at the Busoni Competition. In addition to making numerous recordings, Brendel published essays and poetry. He received, among other distinctions, honorary doctorates from the universities of London, Oxford and Yale.