Widely regarded as the ‘musicians’ musician’ Brendel was the first pianist to record all of Beethoven’s piano works during a much-garlanded career spanning 60 years

The celebrated pianist and author Alfred Brendel has died aged 94 at his home in London.

The musician was born on 5 January 1931 in Moravia (now part of the Czech Republic) and spent his childhood mainly in Croatia and Austria. “I was not a child prodigy or eastern European or Jewish as far as I know,” he told interviewers. “I’m not a good sight reader, I don’t have a phenomenal memory and I didn’t come from a musical family, an artistic family or an intellectual family. I had loving parents, but I had to find things out for myself.”