Who is Alfred Brendel from The Great Pianists and what is their importance?

Alfred Brendel was born in 1931 Austria and played primarily Austro-German classics like Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven. Brendel began playing at six and composing at seven but paradoxically never considered himself a prodigy. He debuted at seventeen and entered one competition in which he placed third. Thereafter he concentrated on recording Beethoven and Liszt before his American tour in 1963. He became well-known but was not particularly admired because he was an intellectual and was not entertaining while he played. Brendel's style was objective and literal, dedicated to an accurate, severe, and impersonal playing of the music. He did not embellish his performance with color, charm, or emotion.