Who is Adrian Brendel? BBC Proms cellist killed Natalie Mountford, mother-of-three, when his car skidded on ice, inquest hears

During a judicial inquiry on February 8, 2024, BBC Proms Cellist Adrian Brendel was found responsible for the death of Natalie Mountford in December 2022. Mountford, 45, died after being reportedly hit by a car. Adrian was returning to East Orchard, Dorset, from a performance at Oxford in the morning when the accident happened.

Mountford was on the road to help another woman, and Adrian ended up hitting her when he lost control of his car, even though he applied the brakes to stop. Brendel said that he knew the car wouldn't stop, and he tried to get the car out of the road. He added:

"In my memory, both lanes were blocked, so I tried to get the car off to the left; that was my only option. I thought the curb was free; I hadn't seen anyone there. My foot was on the brake the entire time."

According to Daily Mail, the woman Mountford was helping was revealed to be Charley Mack. Mack's car hit a hedge before Mountford met her.

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Adrian Brendel was born to a musical family: Career and other details explored

Born to pianist Alfred Brendel, Adrian is a cellist who has collaborated with various artists for different projects. He even participated in a project with Birtwistle. Maestro Arts stated that Adrian Brendel underwent cello training under William Pleeth's guidance. He later went to Alexander Baillie and Frans Helmerson for further training and attended classes with many other experts, including his father, Alfred Brendel.

He was heavily inspired by Kurtag, Kagel, and Ligeti at a young age, and this helped him work with composers such as Thomas Ades, Peter Eotvos, and many others. He even collaborated with his father in a recording of Beethoven's cello sonatas.

In 2014, he joined the Nash Ensemble. Over the years, he has included contemporary elements in his work and served as an artistic director for the Plush Festival from 1995 to 2017. Adrian Brendel has a few common partners to join him on work and stage, including Imogen Cooper, Christian Ihle Hadland, Aleksandar Madzar, Kit Armstrong, and more.

He even visited the International Musicians' Seminar in Prussia Cove, and his collaborations have received positive responses over the years.

His latest collaboration happened with musicians Stian Carstensen, Patti Smith, and Marcelo Nisinman. He has been additionally featured on radio and presented at the 2012 Senegalese music festival.

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Natalie Mountford was married and had three children

Daily Mail reported that Natalie Mountford was a mother of three children. One of them, identified as Maddison, expressed her grief in a statement, saying that the accident changed the lives of all the family members. Maddison also revealed that her siblings shifted to stay with their father in Staffordshire. She said:

"Mum would go out of her way to help others and stop others being hurt, but that's what cost her her life."

As mentioned earlier, Natalie died after she was reportedly hit by Adrian Brendel's car. However, the family refused to believe that Adrian could not stop the car because of the ice. Meanwhile, Charlie Mack disclosed in another statement that she was coming to Sturminster Newton when her car hit the hedge.

Mack said that she was helped by Mountford, who invited her to sit in her car. Mack added that she witnessed Adrian's car coming their way:

"As she walked round the front of her own car, the next thing I really saw was headlights to the left of me flying down the road. It hit her and she literally went flying."

While an investigation was launched into the matter, Sergeant Geraint Butler of the collision investigation team said there was no evidence to prove that Adrian Brendel was careless while driving.