Pianist Alfred Brendel unveils plans to retire

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Alfred Brendel, one of the world's most renowned classical pianists, announced on Tuesday that he plans to bow out of the international stage, retiring next year.

Brendel's agency said he would give his final concert in Vienna on December 18 next year by which time he will be 77 years old and will have been performing in public for over 60 years.

Famous for his interpretations of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, Brendel has become one of the most acclaimed living concert pianists.

"It has always been Mr. Brendel's intention to stop performing while still at the peak of his powers, and he makes this decision while continuing to attract capacity audiences throughout the world," spokesman Thomas Hull from management company Ingpen & Williams Ltd said in a statement.

"He dislikes the idea of farewell tours and concerts and prefers to just stop after a full schedule of concerts throughout 2008."

He said Brendel was looking forward to pursuing his other interests such as concentrating on his literary career and giving lectures at universities and musical institutions.

Brendel, a native German speaker, was born in Czechoslovakia but has lived in London for the last 35 years.

He was the first pianist since Artur Schnabel to play all 32 Beethoven sonatas as New York's Carnegie Hall.

Brendel's final year of concerts includes appearances in a list of venues and with several leading international orchestras and conductors but his last public performance will be with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.