It took a little while, but I finally did get confirmation of Alfred Brendel's encores from his recital on Friday evening (I knew I should have elbowed my way to the head of the line...). They were as follows:
1. J.S. Bach, "Andante" from Concerto nach Italienischem Gusto, "Italian Concerto"
2. Liszt, “Au Lac de Wallenstadt” from Années de pèlerinage, Première Année – Suisse
3. Schubert, Impromptu No. 3 in G-flat major from Four Impromptus, Op. 90 (D. 899)
3. Schubert, Impromptu in A flat Major, from Four Impromptus, Op. 142, No. 2 (D. 935)
Mr. Brendel came off stage following each piece, stood for a beat, wiping his brow with a handkerchief, turned on his heel and strode back out on stage. No muss, no fuss. It was impressive, and made the process seem athletic.
UPDATE: I made a mistake on Mr. Brendel's third encore. It was indeed a Schubert work. See above.
Thanks Maestro for the wonderful performance!
ReplyDeleteIt was a beautiful performance and was thrilled to see you posted the encore pieces. I've been dying to know what they were.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious though...I'm very familiar with the Schubert Impromptu in G-Flat Major and really wanted to hear it that evening, and I'm pretty sure I didn't get to hear it. Was it really the Impromptu in G-Flat or another Schubert piece?
Dear Stephanie,
I can't speak with much authority about the Impromptu in G-flat as I am not terribly familiar with it and I was backstage discussing crowd management when it was played. All I can say is it was confirmed by Mr. Brendel's management contact, who was in the house that evening.
I'm curious, were you anxious to hear the Impromptu becasue you had heard that Mr. Brendel played it as an encore in other cities? It was definitely not a given that it would be played at all.
-Jack
I read the New York Times review of his recital and they listed the same three pieces as his encore. I know he played Bach's Italian Concerto and Liszt's Au Lac de Wallenstadt in Boston.
ReplyDeleteI was anxious to hear it played partly because I know he's played it at previous performances and the fact that I love that piece so much--I played it myself at one point, which is why I was confused to read that the G-Flat impromptu was listed as the third encore.