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In memoriam: Alfred Brendel (1931-2025)

Friday 20 June 2025
250620 alfred brendel

The Faculty of Music is sorry to learn of the passing of Alfred Brendel, who died on 17 June 2025 at the age of 94. Brendel was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music degree from the University in 1983 and was also an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College. A celebrated pianist, Brendel was known for his interpretations of Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, and Liszt, and was the first pianist to record the complete solo piano works of Beethoven.

In Brendel's honour, the post of Alfred Brendel Curator of Music at the Bodleian Libraries was endowed in 2012. Current postholder Martin Holmes comments:

It has been an honour for me to have the name of such a distinguished figure associated with my job title. I was lucky enough to meet him several times and particularly privileged to have lunch with him only two weeks ago. He was a giant among pianists who will be greatly missed but his vast legacy of recordings and writings will live on.

Professor Naomi Waltham Smith

In concert: how shared wonder opens our minds

12 November 2026
How can shared experiences of music, art and natural beauty expand our imagination and help us better understand each other? Professor Naomi Waltham-Smith explores how moments of shared aesthetic attention can amplify our sense of curiosity and wonder, bringing our imaginative lives into our relationships with others.
Professor Peter Asimov

Professor Peter Asimov awarded SMT Emerging Scholar Award

09 November 2026
Professor Asimov's article 'The Melakartas and the ‘République Modale’: Naturalizing Indian Scales in French Musical Modernism' wins the Emerging Scholar Award at this year's Society for Music Theory annual meeting.
Professor Nomi Dave

Listening to the Law research network

09 November 2026
Professor Nomi Dave is co-directing a new research network, with Professor Nicole Stremlau (Faculty of Law) and Dr Tareeq Jalloh (Faculty of Philosophy). The network, Listening to the Law, is funded through TORCH for three years. It brings together academics, students, legal practitioners, artists, and others working on questions of sound and the law. To join the network or attend events, please email listening.law@torch.ox.ac.uk