CRASSH

Since Alfred Brendel’s retirement from concert performances in 2008, he has continued to work around the world with young musicians and has given lectures, poetry readings and masterclasses with the Berlin Philharmonic and at London’s Wigmore Hall, in Hamburg and Paris, and at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, the University of California (Berkeley), Harvard University and the University of Zurich.

Alfred Brendel was the first pianist to record Beethoven’s complete piano works. Through his efforts, Schubert’s Piano Sonatas and the Schoenberg Piano Concerto were recognised as integral to the piano repertoire. During his sixty-year career, he performed regularly at the world’s musical centres and festivals, and with the leading orchestras and conductors. His extensive discography has made him one of the most respected artists of our time.  He gave his final concert appearance with the Vienna Philharmonic in December 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

The Szymanowski Quartet, a group with which Brendel has developed a special partnership, started playing together in 1995.  They are now Quartet in Residence at the Musikhochschule, Hanover. Since its founding, the Szymanowski Quartet has developed into one of the most remarkable string quartets of its generation. The ensemble delights its audiences with sophisticated programmes, performed with a perfect balance between intellect and passion. They are a frequent guest at prestigious festivals and concert halls in Europe and the US and recently appeared with great success at Wigmore Hall London, Concert house Vienna, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg as well as at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival. Among their regular partners are Adrian Brendel, Paul Meyer, Kit Armstrong, Oleg Maisenberg, and – most recently – also with the Jerusalem Quartet.

 

In addition to its busy concert schedule, the Szymanowski Quartet has polished its interpretations by working regularly with Isaac Stern, Walter Levin, the Amadeus and Emerson Quartets, the Juilliard String Quartet, the Guarneri Quartet, and, recently, in dialogue with Alfred Brendel. Numerous prizes and awards, among them at competitions in Melbourne, Osaka, and Florence, confirm the ensemble's extraordinarily high standard. The Szymanowski Quartet is honoured to be actively involved in the festivities of Alfred Brendel’s 80th birthday, including concerts alongside Adrian Brendel and Kit Armstrong. 

Humanitas is a series of Visiting Professorships at Oxford and Cambridge intended to bring leading practitioners and scholars to both universities to address major themes in the arts, social sciences and humanities. Created by Lord Weidenfeld, the Programme is managed and funded by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue with the support of a series of generous benefactors, and administered in Cambridge by the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH). Humanitas Visiting Professors are held by distinguished academics and leading practitioners who have contributed to interdisciplinary research and innovation in a broad range of contemporary disciplines in the arts, social sciences and humanities. Covering areas of urgent or enduring interest in today's society as well as the performing arts, Humanitas Visiting Professors will present their pioneering work through a series of lectures or performances open to University audiences and the wider public.