Classical Music for Aficionados
eiOO1 I have a collection of Richter playing Schubert Sonatas, part of BBC Legendsseries. And another Richter Schubert collection that includes two sonatas and the Huttenbrenner Variations. I think these must be different recordings than the ones you mention. They are excellent. I really love Richter! When I watched the Volodos Rachmaninoff Cello Sonata on Youtube I was struck with a similarity between Volodos and Richter, i.e., their facial expressions and appearance at the keyboard. They are both playing for themselves, not putting on a show for an audience. I appreciate that. |
The set I’m referring to is on Tidal. It’s different than the 1979 BBC recording. https://www.amazon.com/Richter-Plays-Schubert-Live-Moscow/dp/B074511WM8/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=richter+... I thought this review was accurate This is pure Desert Island paradise! A set to listen to for eternity. Richter offers endless riches that will leave you enthralled and wanting to come back for more and more every day. As a Schubertian of time-honored service, his Moscow interpretations offer profound spiritual insights, practically note-perfect playing, and the contemplative concentration of a true master. There are lots of virtuoso flashes, but always to illuminate and probe the depths of Schubert’s genius. Richter’s Schubert is both serious and affectionate, charming by example, with urgent purpose, but without grandstanding. The persuasive power of his giant technique coupled with wisdom, precision, and restraint where required make this generous presentation of a Moscow string of recitals a model listening experience. The audiences are for the most part well-behaved, despite the occasional coughs, sighs, and applause, which are thankfully kept way in the background. Unlike many of Richter’s earliest Schubert recordings, these are not the primitive, muffled stock that typified Soviet postwar and 1950’s grammophone technology. The notes come through clearly, and although it may lack the ultimate 21st century acoustic refinement, the ear quickly accepts the monaural sound to enable easy listening to the more than 9 hours of musical enchantment. I don’t believe I have ever heard these Moscow performances until this release. Several of the sonatas here get multiple performances, but that does not seem bothersome, since the artist is always offering something new and fascinating to say. Schubert-playing by Brendel, Pollini, Curzon, Schiff, Perahia, and others certainly cannot be totally dismissed by this collection. But don’t hesitate about taking in Richter’s encore performances of Sonatas No. 6, 13, 15, 21, and the grand Wanderer Fantasy (which he also recorded for EMI in stereo back in the early 1960’s). This current Profil 10-CD set presents a consistently engineered collection of refined performances that include most of the Impromptus, Moments Musicaux, familiar waltzes, and ländlers, as well as duplicate performances of Schubert’s 3 Klavierstücke, D.964, which Richter pulls off with all-out bravado. Marvel at how the music resembles cadences of John Williams’ Theme from Schindler’s List (not yet written) towards the end of Klavierstücke No. 2. To top things off as an added bonus, Sviatoslav Richter is joined in the closing selections by his long-time mentor and recital partner, the legendary Benjamin Britten, to play the four-hand 8 Variations on a Theme, and by soprano Nina Dorliak in selected songs (delivered in Russian) from the Schubert cycles Schwanengesang and Die Winterreise. The spectacular set reaches a thrilling final summit with the brilliant Franz Liszt transcription of Schubert’s dynamic lied Erlkönig. Don’t hesitate to obtain this set for listening rewards that will last for a lifetime. While the pianist was cited for occasional "cold" playing during his frequent foreign tours, there is none of that evident in these white-hot, passionate home-crowd Moscow sessions. They represent one of Sviatoslav Richter’s all-time peak achievements as Schubertian and pianist extraordinaire. |
The biggest mistake people and societies make is in believing what comes after is superior to what went before , True for music as much as anything else . Slight picture of that . https://youtu.be/Wa2vzx-aNrw?t=3 ei001h, thanks for such a very fine post ! |
