And in the end, Alfred Brendel left us the echo of a fairy choir in the middle of the forest

▲ Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel during his last concert at the Vienna Musikverein in December 2008. Photo: AFP

Pablo Espinosa

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, p. 2

Alfred Brendel, one of history's greatest pianists, passed away yesterday at the age of 94. The Austrian of Czech origin, considered one of the greatest interpreters of Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert, died at his home in London, where he had lived for more than half a century, surrounded by his wife, children, and grandchildren, who described the peace of his final moments.

In addition to being a pianist, he worked in other fields: composer, poet, painter, and reader.

Being self-taught, I learned to distrust anything I hadn't discovered myself , he used to say. His sense of humor was complemented by a down-to-earth nature. He never put on airs.

His biography is the stuff of a novel. Born Czech, he emigrated with his family to Poland, where he suffered the horrors of war and nearly died of freezing.

Once he began his dizzying international career as a pianist, he contrasted his pleasures: traveling and being sedentary. Like his peer Glenn Gould, he spent much of his life locked away in recording studios. His discography is enormous.

The recording of Mozart's complete piano works belongs to him. His repertoire revolved around Bach, Haydn, Weber, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Mussorgsky, and Schoenberg, although he focused his energy on three composers on whom he became the foremost authority: Beethoven, Mozart, and Schubert.

He was the first pianist in history to record the complete works of Beethoven and Mozart. His posthumous albums include a live recording of Schubert sonatas, all five Beethoven concertos with the Vienna Philharmonic (the fourth set of recordings he made from this cycle), and Mozart sonatas.

A CD with all of Beethoven's sonatas for cello and piano was recently released with his son, Adrian Brendel.

He was well-versed in the fields of literature, language, architecture, and cinema. His most notable books include Ausgerechnet Ich ( I of All Nations ). He was a frequent contributor to The New York Times Review of Books , with articles on Mozart, Liszt, and Schoenberg.

His poetry books include One Finger Too Many , published in the United States by Random House, and the subject of the BBC documentary Alfred Brendel – Man and Mask .

The number of international awards he received is countless. He particularly appreciated being the third pianist in history to be named an honorary member of the Vienna Philharmonic, a distinction he shares with his illustrious predecessors Emil von Sauer and Wilhelm Backhaus.

His farewell concert was a highly emotional event, similar to the farewells that his fellow conductors Leonard Bernstein and Nikolaus Harnoncourt once gave on stage.

It happened on December 18, 2008, when he performed his most beloved works in public for the last time, written by Mozart, of course, from whom he symbolically chose his Concerto Number 9 for piano and orchestra, called Concerto Jeunehomme , a work that Mozart wrote at the age of 21, full of surprising formal innovations and melodic exuberance.

He was accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted by his friend Charles Mackerras.

From his first marriage, to Iris Heymann-Gonzala, he had a daughter, Doris, who is a notable progressive rock performer. In 1975, Brendel remarried Irene Semler and they had three children: the aforementioned cellist Adrian Brendel, as well as Katharina and Sophie.

Alfred Brendel's power as a pianist captivated generations of music lovers. His live concerts were each an event, and his recordings are prized treasures.

Adrenaline and peace

If, when a record is playing, you perceive an exquisite aroma, a fragrant breeze blowing from far away, you can't help but close your eyes as an electric current runs from the nape of your neck to your heels. Space and time cease to exist, and you feel elevated. If all this happens, it's because Alfred Brendel is at the piano, and when the turntable needle reaches the end of the vinyl, the scratch we hear is like the echo of a fairy choir in the middle of the forest.

A combination of adrenaline and peace. The impact of the sublime. Such is the art of the pianist who yesterday left his physical body in peace.

AFP reports: When he retired from performing at a concert in Vienna in December 2008, he was asked what he would miss . "The adrenaline ," he replied. And with a smile, he quipped: "And that's despite all those annoying coughers and ringing cell phones . I'll miss the audience too ," he concluded.

Juan Carlos G. Partida

Correspondent

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, p. 3

Guadalajara, Jal., The Song of the Hands is much more than the title of a documentary presented at the recently concluded Guadalajara International Film Festival (FICG), it is also the affirmation that in the world of music there are no sensorial limits, it is a tribute to the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven, but it is also the demonstration of the talent of director Gustavo Dudamel and the exaltation of his native Barquisimeto.

There, in that city in northern Venezuela, located halfway between Caracas and Maracaibo, Dudamel, followed by a film crew led by the Spanish actress and director María Valverde – and also his wife – held auditions with deaf musicians to choose those who would perform the opera Fidelio , a work that Beethoven composed when his deafness problems became more acute.

The 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth was approaching, and I felt the need to explore further to celebrate it , said Dudamel, who has conducted the Los Angeles, Gothenburg, Navarra, Simón Bolívar, Paris National Opera, and, starting next year, the New York Philharmonic.

During the presentation of the documentary at the FICG (National Film Festival), Dudamel commented on the selection of the deaf musicians who make up the Manos Blancas Choir, the leading group of the Special Education Program of the National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela. He explained that the film not only portrays the creative process involved in performing the musical piece, but also delves into the lives of the performers, exemplifying their daily struggle to integrate into society.

Valverde created this more personal vision, which fosters an atmosphere of camaraderie between the audience and the musicians, as well as showing the vicissitudes of everyday life.

▲ The film is a tribute to the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth and a showcase of conductor Gustavo Dudamel's talent. Photo courtesy of the Venezuelan conductor.

“Explores deafness through music, following Jennifer, Gabriel and José, three deaf musicians from Venezuela as they take on the challenge of bringing Beethoven's Fidelio to the stage in sign language for the first time.

The film shows the isolation that the protagonists experience due to being deaf, understanding that music is not only their refuge, but their salvation and their hope , the director described about her debut film.

Dudamel pointed out that music is universal not only because it doesn't need translation, but also because it can be perceived and expressed in diverse ways, being something external yet internal, a connection that is achieved without the need for words because it is something innate to the human being.

The tribute to the award-winning music director through these connections and to a giant like Beethoven also allowed him to redefine and give visibility to people who are rarely discussed, despite their presence in all areas. In music, for example, they are a clear example of healing without distinction.

The assembly, after preparation in Barquisimeto, took place in 2022 in Los Angeles, an event that marked the intersection of the sound and visual worlds.

Although it was Valverde's idea to document the process and its completion with the premiere in the city of California, United States, it was also clear that in the filming she and her husband added more ingredients to express their conviction that art should be a path that contributes to social justice.

▲ The contemporary dance group Invisible has performances for all audiences at the Antonieta Rivas Mercado Multipurpose Forum at the Mexico City Library. Photo by Héctor Ortega/courtesy of Karina Moreno

Angel Vargas

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, p. 3

At the Antonieta Rivas Mercado Multipurpose Forum of the Mexico City Library, Invisible is presented on weekends. This contemporary dance-listening choreography moves between the sensorial and the emotional, created with and for people with visual impairments, but open to the general public.

Originally written by choreographer, dancer, and teacher Karina Moreno (Mexico City, 1990), who also directs it, the piece emerged as a personal search during her final year of studies at the Nellie and Gloria Campobello National Dance School, and has become a project that questions the limits of perception and inclusion in the performing arts.

It premiered in 2022 at the Monterrey Arts Center as part of the Other Territories event, and arrived in Mexico City a year ago as a pilot performance at the forum, to which it now returns for a season of eight performances, concluding on June 29.

According to its author, the title of this piece alludes to various situations: hidden emotions, bodies excluded from dance academies, and a city designed from the hegemony of the visual.

“I don't like to label it as 'inclusive.' It's a research project with the blind population, but it speaks to the human side: emotions, crises, and those everyday experiences we all go through, whether we have a disability or not.”

The idea was born when Karina Moreno, in search of a more authentic or honest movement than the imitation of techniques – which she says prevails in dance training – approached the blind community through the company Teatro Ciego Mx.

From my perspective as a dancer, I was interested in how to create movement without relying on visual imitation. Upon entering that community, I realized the radically different way in which sighted people perceive the world compared to blind people; I discovered that blind people's relationship with space and the senses is very different.

From this, the work was constructed primarily from two senses: hearing and touch, which are essential for people with visual impairments, he notes in an interview.

The four performers (actresses Luz Adriana Carrasco and Isabel Contreras, both visually impaired, as well as cellist Maricarmen Graue and actor Jesús Rodríguez, who are blind) guide their movements with sound stimuli, words, and textures on the floor, while an audio description invites the viewer to imagine the scene, not only from a technical perspective, but also from an emotional perspective.

This last resource represents an innovation in Mexican dance—and perhaps in the rest of the world—since it has been applied to film, streaming series, and theater, but no other similar experiences are known.

I don't know if this audio description approach is functional for dance because, as it's an ephemeral art, it's very difficult to describe in real time. What I wanted was for it to be functional for the listener, so they could imagine the scene from a narrative perspective, from the spoken word.

Invisible isn't a " show in the dark" that attempts to simulate what blindness is like, nor does it seek to raise awareness about this condition among sighted audiences, the choreographer points out. The focus is emotional: it speaks to those inner storms we all experience and hide .

However, she acknowledges that there is a social impact, albeit indirect, by bringing to the table practices that, in her opinion, are invisible, such as the fact that dance schools—and almost all arts education schools in general—exclude people with visual or other disabilities due to physical requirements or lack of accommodations.

The chances of a person with a disability getting into these schools and pursuing a career in any artistic specialty are slim. During my training, I didn't see any.

Running for 60 minutes, Invisible includes a tactile tour where the audience can touch the stage elements. Ismael Godínez's original music works in conjunction with the audio description to avoid auditory shock .

Sponsored by the National Center for the Arts' Support Program for Teaching, Research, and Dissemination of the Arts, Invisible 's free screenings are on Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 1 p.m. at the Biblioteca de México (Plaza de la Ciudadela 4, Centro neighborhood, Mexico City).

▲ A view of the newly opened V&A East Storehouse museum in East London, England. Photo by AFP

Latin Press

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, p. 4

London, The V&A Museum in London offers its visitors the unique opportunity to choose, as if from a menu, from some 250,000 historical objects, request the most desired one, view it, and be welcomed into a room for a private tour.

This has been the case since May 31, when the unusual exhibition space opened in a warehouse specially adapted for the occasion, allowing anyone to observe pieces from the collection up close, breaking conventional conventions and promoting direct interaction with cultural heritage.

Visiting a gallery and examining thousand-year-old ceramics up close, enjoying jewelry from centuries past alone, or inspecting the interior of a Versace handbag represents a unique and free experience with a radically new concept.

Most art galleries around the world have valuable pieces hidden in their storage, which the public never gets to see or enjoy; however, the V&A Storehouse offers that opportunity.

These spaces that treasure heritage should be, and are, for everyone, said the main curator, Georgia Haseldine, who added: the initiative seeks to democratize access to art and culture .

The V&A's collection is for everyone and belongs to those who appreciate art, he added. Never before has the public been allowed free access, without reservation, to the same space as a national collection, and on this scale, he added.

A fifth of the museum's collection is now available for viewing in the four-story building, located on the site originally intended for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Retired Jane Bailey, a former physics teacher and museum visitor, was fascinated by the black and red drum kit that belonged to Keith Moon of The Who, the lead curator explained.

They compete for space in this warehouse, spread over more than 30 basketball courts and shelves filled with ceramics, tapestries, paintings, and toys from the Tudor period.

Among the exhibits is also the stunning stage curtain designed for Le Train Bleu , a copy of a Pablo Picasso painting created especially for the 1924 Ballets Russes production.

One of the Storehouse's first visitors was Princess Kate Middleton, patron of the V&A and a keen art lover, who took a guided tour this week.

The Princess of Wales described the collection as eclectic as she used the request-an-item system to browse a catalogue of samples by renowned 19th-century English textile designer William Morris, as well as rolls of ornate textiles and musical instruments.

All pieces are available to the public seven days a week and can be reserved online for a private consultation at the date and time of your choice.

Museum staff are present to supervise as visitors, wearing purple gloves, satisfy their curiosity and spend time with the selected objects.

▲ Art Basel opened yesterday in Basel, Switzerland. It is one of the most important fairs of modern and contemporary art, bringing together the work of around 4,000 artists and more than 280 galleries from five continents. Pictured here is the work "Choir ," mounted outside the Basel fairgrounds by German painter Katharina Grosse, which seeks to challenge traditional concepts by turning contemporary architecture into a large-scale canvas. Photo: Afp

La Jornada Newspaper, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, p. 4