Amnesty International Benefit Concert

Amnesty International Benefit Concert

Amnesty International Benefit Concert

List Price: ~~$15.98~~
Our Price: $12.99
You Save: $2.99 (19%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $7.99 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more CD details
Listen soundtracks from this album

Listen soundtracks from this album

Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

CD Details

Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach
Composer: Joseph Haydn
Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven
Composer: Franz Liszt
Composer: Alban Berg
Composer: Ferruccio Busoni
Performer: Alfred Brendel
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1990-12-10
Music Label: Polygram Records / Philips

Music reviews of Amnesty International Benefit Concert

Music Review: For Berg and Busoni
Rating: 4 Stars

Not the live recording of a concert given by Brendel for the benefit of Amnesty International, mind you, but a compilation of some Brendel studio and live recordings whose proceedings were to be distributed to Amnesty. The CD was released in 1990. Most of the material comes from studio recordings that the record collector and Brendel admirer will have, or prefer to have in their original context: Bach's Italian Concerto from Brendel's 1976 Bach recital (J.S. Bach: Italian Concerto BWV 971; Chromatic Fantasia and Fugue BWV 903; I find that it lacks a degree of exuberance), Haydn's Andante con variazioni from his traversal of 11 Haydn Sonatas (Haydn: 11 Piano Sonatas) and Beethoven's Moonlight from his first complete Philips cycle in 1970s (which I think is this one: Beethoven: The Complete Piano Sonatas).

But the three last items on the disc are apparently specific to this CD and I am not aware that they had been previously reissued on CD, although Jacqueslefataliste has earned my warm thanks for pointing out to later CD reissues for some): Liszt's Funérailles, Berg's Piano Sonata and Busoni's Toccata. And of these the last two make the whole disc highly desirable to the aforementioned record collector and Brendel admirer. In fact, all three were previously published on a similar "for the benefit of Amnesty International" LP in 1985, which in addition had Liszt's "Vallée d'Obermann" (from the first book of Années de Pélerinage), Sposalizio (from the second Année) and Bagatelle sans tonalité - all, except the Berg, concert performances, not studio recordings (see the photos of the LP's back cover uploaded by Jacqueslefataliste for the dates). Thanks again Jacqueslefataliste for signalling that they are now on Alfred Brendel 3 from Philips' Great Pianists of the Century series. Still, it is a regrettable decision of Philips to have not included these three items here, in favor of those Bach-Haydn-Beethoven recordings mentioned above.

Truth is, this concert Funérailles from 1981 in Vienna is clean and unexceptionable, reasonably dramatic even, but it doesn't display the personality of the greatest versions. The sound is also a bit distant and the piano is a bit hard. The Berg and Busoni are another matter, and not only because they are, as far as I am aware (although the comments question raises a yet unsolved question mark about this relative to the Busoni Toccata), one-offs in Brendel's complete discography (his early Vox/Turnabout years included). Berg's Piano Sonata is a studio recording from 1982 and you can hear Brendel hum (or should I say "croak"), Gould-like. Is this why it was not published at the time, outside of the "non-profit" 1985 LP compilation? Nonetheless, it is a great reading, it has all the sweep and passion that I expect in this work. Busoni's Toccata from 1920 is an impressive piece, his last major composition, comprised of three sections, a breathtaking Preludio in toccata form, followed by a Fantasia which I find somewhat rambling in spite of the fine quasi-chorale with arpeggio accompaniment that concludes it, leading to an impressive Ciaccona in "Allegro risoluto" mood. Brendel in concert in 1972 (also in Vienna) may not be as driving and exciting as David Buechner in the two outer movements (see my review of Igor Stravinsky: Petrouchka (3 Movements); Ferruccio Busoni: Toccata; Introduction and Capriccio), but he is no slouch nonetheless in this compartment, and furthermore his reading is remarkable for his ability to always clarify Busoni's numerous lines, thanks to a powerful but lean staccato touch (as Busoni prescribes) and a perfect control of his pedalling - a far cry from John Ogdon's massive, but nondescript wash of notes (Busoni: Fantasia Contrappuntistica; Fantasia after Bach; Toccata). Brendel also almost makes sense of the rambling middle Fantasia.

Berg and Busoni makes up 20 minutes of music in a generous total time of 77-minutes. Those are the 20 minutes for which this disc in my collection. Are they worth the price demanded here? Fortunately that is not a decision that rests on me anymore.

Description of Amnesty International Benefit Concert

Amnesty International Benefit Concert of classical music with Alfred Brendel.

Classical CDs

Music > Styles

Music Genres

Bestsellers in Classical CDs

Winterscapes Image

Winterscapes
by London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.75
Price in other shops: ~~$6.99~~

The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee Image

The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee
by Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.38
Price in other shops: ~~$13.98~~

Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr Image

Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr
Release date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $24.98

Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos)) Image

Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))
by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99

Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]
Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.86
Price in other shops: ~~$9.99~~

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.89
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Winter Music: Composing the North
by John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $21.90
Price in other shops: ~~$25.95~~

Puccini - La Fanciulla del West / Santi, Domingo, Neblett, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Verdi - Falstaff / Giulini, Bruson, Ricciarelli, Nucci, Royal Opera Covent Garden [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $12.95
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~