Brendel, Alfred (EMI Classic Archive Series) (2003)

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General		Extras
Category	Classical	Bonus Track-Schubert - Wanderer Fantasy Booklet Trailer-Classic Archive
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	50:32 (Case: 69)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Language Select Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Antoine Hirsch Yvonne Courson Gerard Herzog
Studio Distributor	Ideale Audience EMI Music	Starring	Alfred Brendel Julius Katchen
Case	Amaray-Opaque-Secure Clip
RPI	$34.95	Music	Beethoven Schubert

    Alfred Brendel (1931- ) is one of the foremost pianists of our times according to the frequent publicity he receives in the classical press. He is a performer who has slipped under my guard, as I tend to prefer players of an earlier era, Canada's Marc-Andre Hamelin being one exception to that rule. So this is my first encounter with a performance by Brendel, and I have to admit that I am not greatly impressed.

    The works performed here are from a television concert recorded over two days in 1971. The first day he performs the Piano Sonata in B flat major op. 106 by Ludwig van Beethoven, commonly known as the Hammerklavier. The name comes from Beethoven's rendering of "pianoforte" in German. Perhaps he was trying get away from the use of Italian words for musical terms. The following day sees the performance of two bagatelles from the op. 125 set, Beethoven's last work for piano.

    Brendel's performance of the sonata seems to me to be mannered and idiosyncratic, and he does not pull the large structure of this difficult work into a recognisable shape. All of the notes seem to be there, but I did not find this an especially satisfying performance on any level. As a comparison, I listened to recorded performances of the sonata by Wilhelm Kempff and Emil Gilels, which only heightened my sense that this was not a classic performance.

    In his blue suit and dark-rimmed glasses with some annoying mannerisms and bandaged fingers, he looks like nothing more than a chartered accountant sweating over a difficult ledger. Maybe I am being a little too harsh. Brendel has recorded the complete sonatas of Beethoven three times, the last two times after this performance, so perhaps his interpretation of the work has changed for the better since this recording was made, and he was not at the peak of his form during these sessions.

Video

    All of the works in this concert were filmed on video in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and that is what we get on this disc.

    The footage, as is the way with video recordings of this era, is not especially sharp but is watchable. There is a reasonable level of detail but in the end the recording is slightly fuzzy-looking. Shadow detail is not of relevance here, as the entire concert is performed in a well lit TV studio.

    The video is in colour, and the colour has a slightly washed out look to it which is typical of these old video recordings. There is a lot of colour bleeding apparent throughout.

    No subtitles are needed, and none are provided on this single layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The single audio track is a Linear PCM 1.0 mono track, which is output by the player to the main speakers rather than the centre channel.

    The sound is good without being above average. The piano sound is slightly hard and brittle, but there is a reasonable dynamic range and the piano sound is well balanced. Being from videotape, the sound is limited but it is acceptable when taking into account the age and provenance of the material. The music by Beethoven is some of the greatest written for the piano.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The bonus is quite substantial.

Bonus - Schubert - Wanderer Fantasy (19:02)

    The complete Wanderer Fantasy by Franz Schubert is included, performed by Julius Katchen in a concert in Paris a mere 18 months before his untimely death. The video recording is in black and white and the picture and sound is not as good as that for the main programme, but the performance is excellent and worth the price of the DVD by itself.

Trailer - Classic Archive

    Short previews from nine releases in this series, plus a list of all of the other releases. Credits for the current DVD are also provided.

Booklet

    A twenty page booklet with two pages of text in English by Misha Donat, and translated into several languages. Several photographs of Brendel and Katchen are included.

    Like other releases in this series, this DVD is available worldwide. Apparently the discs for all regions are made in the same Dutch factory using the same equipment, and the only difference between the Region 4 and Region 1 versions of this disc is the television format.

    This DVD has a middling performance of the Beethoven by Brendel, but a fine and substantial extra, which is worth having in my opinion.

    The video is flawed but this is the best we can expect given the source material.

    The audio is quite good, all things considered.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall