Pianist Alfred Bendel, considered one of the best in history, dies.

Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel , considered one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century, died Tuesday in London at the age of 94, his spokesperson announced.

"He died peacefully (...) and surrounded by his loved ones," Thomas Hull told AFP, referring to the musician, admired internationally for his interpretations of Beethoven and Schubert.

Brendel was born on 5 January 1931 in Wiesenberg, North Moravia (now the Czech Republic) and spent his childhood travelling around Yugoslavia and Austria.

After World War II, his family moved to Graz, Austria, where he studied at the city's conservatory. Brendel, who had a reputation for being modest, discreet, and intensely self-critical , began playing the piano at the age of six.

Fame came to him decades later, after a 1971 London concert that he himself described as boring. The pianist later signed with the prestigious Philips record company and settled in the British capital, where he lived for more than 50 years. He received a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire from Queen Elizabeth II in 1989.

In London, the pianist performed numerous recitals in major venues and collaborated with prestigious conductors such as the Englishman Simon Rattle. He also undertook recordings and tours dedicated to his idol, Ludwig van Beethoven.

Between 1982 and 1983, Brendel gave a total of 77 recitals in eleven musical capitals in Europe and the United States, in which he presented all 32 Beethoven sonatas.

At the same time, he explored and popularized the piano repertoire of the Viennese Romantic Franz Schubert , of whom he became the leading interpreter. After having extensively explored the work of Beethoven , Brendel later focused on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his sonatas.

When he retired from the stage at a concert in Vienna in December 2008, he was asked what he would miss most. "The adrenaline," he replied. And "despite all those annoying coughs and cell phones and hearing aids ringing," he said, he would also miss the audience.