Alfred Brendel Vox Turnabout Beethoven

The Vox company has for some reason always fought shy of giving any details of its recordings; dates, venues, producers & engineers etc and I have always wondered why. Have some details become lost in the mists of time as I believe the company has changed hands several times from original founder/owner George Mendelssohn (who claimed somewhat dubiously to be a relation of the composer)? However in his book "Musical Thoughts and Afterthoughts"  Alfred Brendel writes "Recordings of the variation works with the exception of the Diabelli Variations were made in three stages between December 1958 and July 1960. Then followed at the turn of 1960/1 the last five sonatas together with the Fantasy Op 77. In March 1962 I played the sonatas Op 31/1 and 2, Op 57 and Op 90 and in June and July of that year all the remaining sonatas between Op 23 and Op 81a. The early sonatas from Op 2 to Op 14 were recorded in December 1962 and January 1963 (by coincidence my work on the 32 sonatas was finished on my 32nd birthday). Finally in July 1964 I played the miscellaneous  pieces and the greatest of all piano works the Diabellli Variations."

The only comment he makes on the venue is that it was "a rather dilapidated baroque mansion in Vienna" where they recorded in a hall where they had to throw the logs from the fire out into the snow because of their crackling! He makes no mention of the concerto recordings or the various orchestras including the Vienna Pro Musica, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper and Vienna State Opera Orchestra with whom he recorded Beethoven & Mozart.

Vox/Turnabout made many splendid recordings from the baroque/early classical period with many discoveries and works not recorded previously or perhaps since up to first recordings of symphonies by William Schuman & Ned Rorem all of which deserve to be widely available again. As one who does not care for vibrato-less scrawny sounding period instrument ensembles I have particularly enjoyed the recordings of Joerg Faerber's Wurtemburg Chamber Orchestra and was listening earlier to their recording of a  charming viola concerto by Vanhal, one of those many good composers overshadowed by Mozart & Beethoven and I have always been grateful for the company introducing me to Hummel's delightful concerti.