Sviatoslav Richter The Authorized Recordings
Richter in Prague The Authorized Recordings Bach, Beethoven I, Beethoven 2, Mozart, Haydn/Weber/Beethoven, Chopin/Liszt, Brahms/Schumann, and Scriabin/Prokofieff/Shostakovich. Philips 442464-2 21-CD box set; also available in nine separate volumes - Recorded 1963-1992 Sviatoslav Richter in Prague Praga (15 single discs) Recorded 1954-1988 Sviatoslav Richter was upset over a poster that advertised him as "the greatest pianist in the world," claiming that "I cannot live up to such a legend, I'm just a normal human being who plays the piano." Tell that to the pianists who regularly pack his concerts . Revered as he is, the eighty year old pianist goes out of his way to avoid the limelight. He shuns large halls and big cities, and prefers instead to roam the back roads of Europe and Russia, with piano in tow, like a musical Johnny Appleseed. Along the way he gives recitals in village churches, monastery libraries, or tiny baroque theaters. Richter's Bach has become more humane and involved over the years. One does not go to this pianist expecting the last word in Baroque style and ornamentation, yet the sarabandes of the English and French suites are mesmerizing in their breathless calm, and so is the fugue of the early D minor Toccata. Equally impressive is the grand design and emotional breadth brought to the Overture in the French Style Listeners have the opportunity to compare Richter's unbridled, pianistically oriented 1959-60 Beethoven performances of the Op. 10, #3, Op. 26, and Op. 57 sonatas (Praga) to his more stylish and patiently detailed interpretations of recent years. Standing out are the radiant and eloquent last three sonatas, a "Funeral March" sonata (Op. 26) that puts all other Richter versions in the shade, and a magnificent "Archduke" trio. But why was the long repeat in the latter's Scherzo, present on a video filmed at this performance, edited out here? | |
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