Classical Music for Aficionados

“I was only six when I first heard Rachmaninoff perform, and I attended his
concerts regularly for the next twenty-two years until his death in 1943. I
heard him play not only his most of his own compositions, but the entire
standard repertoire that he chose to perform in public. I also had the good
fortune to hear him in the role of conductor. Sergei Rachmaninoff has been
the most important musical influence of my life. His sheer presence commanded
a respect which was formidable. The simplicity of his approach to
the keyboard was a model of perfection which I have strived to emulate.”
Earl Wild
Now listening to Earl Wild's Legendary Rachmaninoff Song Transcriptions

Jcazador,

Thank you for that quote about the greatest pianist of them all.
Memorable.

Richter, the EnigmaRichter at age 80 reminiscing about his life, interspersed with period footage.
He never played scales.
He was really powerful/dynamic at the keyboard!
Too much to describe, highly recommended.

In RICHTER: THE ENIGMA, Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), one of the greatest pianists of all time, breaks his life-long silence and allows himself to be interviewed for this autobiographical film. He evokes his wild childhood, his encounters with the great names in the music world, his performance debuts, and his activities as a concert artist in the troubled Soviet Union. Acerbic and unpredictable, Richter reveals himself here with disarming candour and humour. The programme includes previously unseen archival footage, a wealth of performance excerpts, and works by the following composers: Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Mozart, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Brahms, Handel, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Ravel, Saint-Saens, Schubert, Shostakovich, and more.

@jcazador     Oh jeremy you lucky lucky man having experienced Rachmaninov playing live. I would love to have been so fortunate but unfortunately he was already dead when I was born but I do consider myself very lucky that I have seen a lot of the other greats. I have a little nugget from Arrau about Rachmaninov that when Arrau was playing in concert one day he didn't know that Rachmaninov was in the audience and at the end of the recital Rachmaninov asked if he could taik to Arrau. Of course Arrau said yes and they struck up a conversation about the recital especially about Beethoven's 32 variations in C minor Arrau had just played. Rachmaninof told Arrau he had never heard of the piece and Arrau was cool to Rachmanonov after that. I thought Arrau a terrible snob after that , after all how could you not forgive a wonderous pianist, composer and conductor of not knowing a minor piece by Beethoven. I must say I did think a little less of Arrau after that, oh and another thing he said was that although Rachmaninov was a great pianist everything he played he turned into pure Rachmaninov ( I call that sour grapes ).