Richter: a tribute by Bryce Morrison 'Sviatoslav Richter’s name appears at the head of virtually everyone’s short list of great pianists. Most of Richter's best recordings are from live concerts. Sviatoslav Richter: The Master Pianist [The Complete EMI Recordings] [Box Set]: ... a stunning effort that's among the very best of Richter's concerto recordings. Sony is releasing them in a nice fourteen CD box. Good News - the legal dispute over the ownership of Sviatoslav Richter's Eurodisc recordings has finally been resolved. It’s a multi-dimensional cocktail that turns this concerto into one of the most thrillingly emotional experiences of Richter’s entire discography. All of which pseudo-philosophical dancing on the head of a pin is frankly brushed aside by the power of Richter’s playing, as you’ll hear in these 10 examples I’ve chosen from hundreds of possible performances to curate my own Richter-fest. Although numerous CD incarnations of Sviatoslav Richter’s Deustche Grammophon recordings have graced the catalog, collectors surely will welcome this complete “original jacket” edition, programmed in accordance with the original LPs and newly remastered. All the EMI studio recordings from 1961-80, including the Schubert Wanderer Fantasy, Beethoven's Tempest Sonata and (with Karajan) the Triple Concerto, Schumann's Fantasie Op.17, Concertos with Muti, Maazel, et al, Mozart sonatas with Oleg Kagan. Warner Classics 2174112 (14 discs) The controversial VSO/Karajan Tchaikovsky No 1 with the earlier Warsaw recording of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No 2, Rowicki conducting. Ideale Audience International 3073518 (DVD); 3073514 (Blu-ray) Beethoven: Sonata op 2 no 3, Hammerklavier, and Bagatelles op 126. Recorded at the Aldeburgh Festival in 1975, this is a performance of the Hammerklavier that sears you emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. 1. The sound quality of these recordings varies greatly. Richter belongs to a school of pianism that is some way in the past now. It includes the essential SR, You will when the bug has bitten You have to get the Sony/RCA box as well, and then You will have to get the Melodiya box, the "Live in Prague" box and start looking for the 8 or so SR's discs that was released by IMG/BBC Legends! These recordings range from 1961 to 1980, predominantly dating from the 1970s, an era when the lyricism of the melodic line was in the foreground and there was much less rigid adherence to textural clarity. 6. Richter was born in Zhytomyr, Volhynian Governorate of the Russian Empire (modern-day Ukraine), a native town of his parents. I t is 20 years this month since Sviatoslav Richter died, aged 82. It’s precisely Richter’s certainty, his integrity, the fact that music seems to speak with an Olympian objectivity at the same time as an impossible-sounding lyricism and sustained tone (listen to his extraordinarily slow yet convincing Schubert sonatas), without ever a shred of indulgence in virtuosity or sensuality for its own sake, that makes these performances definitively Richterian. ICA Classics ICAC5084 Please see condition description. But that can only ever be partly true, even if it’s a useful or even essential fiction that Richter needed to tell himself. All our journalism is independent and is in no way influenced by any advertiser or commercial initiative. Each volume was divided up by various composers, and recordings ranged from 1963 - … The Solo Recordings: J.S. Buy Sviatoslav Richter - Complete DG Solo / Concerto Recordings by Sviatoslav Richter from Amazon's Classical Music Store. Richter The Enigma From Kiev in 1959 and 1960, illuminating Richter’s simultaneously structural and improvisatory approach to Chopin. Sviatoslav Richter – piano In 1994-95, Philips released a 20+ disc box set titled Richter - The Authorized Recordings. Richter was the opposite of Gould, who retired from public performance to concentrate on studio recording. This recording resurrects of one of Sviatoslav Richter;s rare encounters with one of the finest conductors of the 20th century, Yevgeny Mravinsky. The Sonata Op.2:3 and the Op.126 Bagatelles are followed by a mighty performance of the Hammerklavier Sonata, Op.106. That’s despite how forcefully he insisted on his absolute fidelity to the score, as if audiences should really hear only the unvarnished and immutable truths of the notes that Schubert, Schumann, Beethoven, Bach, or Prokofiev wrote rather than Richter’s own “interpretation”. A recording from 1960 (with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Erich Leinsdorf) that Richter was apparently unhappy with. One of the classics of the post-war recorded legacy, but no less fascinating for its familiarity. This trove of live performances by the great Russian pianist went straight to the top of my year's best … Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Bach*, Sviatoslav Richter –: English Suite No.3 In G Minor = Suite Anglaise En Sol Mineur = Englische Suite G-Moll, BWV 808 1915 ~ 1st Aug. 1997)[ The holy devil, or satanic angel? ] Sviatoslav Richter (piano), Anatoly Kamyshev (clarinet), Oleg Kagan (violin), Natalia Gutman (cello), Yuri Bashmet (viola) Captivating live performances featuring some of the most gifted Soviet artists of the day, including an incandescent account of the Schumann D minor Trio. Richter lived with the paradox that all great performers must: that their recreative powers are seen and heard to transcend the music they are playing. makes a purchase. Who was right, composer or “interpreter”? S 36728 1970's Repress. Mahan Esfahani’s radio documentary Mission Harpsichord. One hundred years ago this week the great, the legendary, the enigmatic Russian pianist Sviatoslav Richter was born. That’s the point about his musicianship: its strength of conviction and imagination makes you believe when you’re listening to him that this really is the way the music has to go, that what you’re hearing truly is the fundamental core of these pieces. A joint production of the small German label Eurodisc (Ariola) and the Soviet giant Melodiya. More information. Sviatoslav Richter – Deutsche Grammophon Concerto Recordings (2019) [3x SACD] SACD Rip | SACD ISO | DSD64 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 219:09 min | Scans incl. | 8,88 GB Features 1958, 1959 & 1962 Recordings | Deutsche Grammophon / Tower Records, Japan # PROC 2196~8 That’s because Richter’s approach resulted in some of the most distinctive and individual performances of the piano repertoire ever recorded. This collection is far from the complete phonographic legacy of the great musician. In 1918, when … Yet what makes Sviatoslav Richter's playing "Richterian" is not so easy to pin down. Bach: English Suites No.3, BWV 808 • No.4, BWV 809 • No.6, BWV 811: J.S. ... and, for my money, the best recording ever made of Schumann’s Op. 110 in A-flat major in the "Richter in Prague" box set. It’s hard to hear why - this is a fearless, patina-stripping revelation of Brahms’s great concerto. This nonsensical notion is perpetuated by the film-maker who interviewed Richter after the edition appeared. Sviatoslav Richter ‎– The Complete Album Collection (Live And Studio Recordings For RCA And Columbia) Label: Sony Classical ‎– 88843014702 His father, Teofil Danilovich Richter [de] (1872–1941), was a pianist, organist and composer born to German expatriates; from 1893 to 1900 he studied in the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Rachmaninov & Tchaikovsky Concertos One consistent attribute is the pianist's distinctive tone. He can be delicate or brusque, withdrawn or optimistic, scrupulous or cavalier, an architect or a miniaturist, a poet or a pedant. These two sets complement one another nicely. Melodiya presents mostly studio recordings made before Richter’s first appearance in the West in 1960; the Praga set consists of live performances from Prague and its environs, more than half of which date from 1965-88. The slow movement is something that has the power to stop time. From the Aldeburgh Festival in 1977, one of the most marmoreal, meditative, and moving performances of a Schubert sonata that I know. Sviatoslav Richter Brahms Piano Concerto No.2 in B flat; Orchestre de Paris Original 1970. The recordings display a multitude of Richters at work. To celebrate the Richter anniversary, Sony Classical has released an 18-disc box set of all his live and studio recordings for RCA and Columbia, newly remastered. The Grandstand at Ascot Welcomes The UK Hi-Fi Show. By clicking on an affiliate link, you accept that third-party cookies will be set. This leaves us with a legacy of incredible recordings but unfortunately with some fairly average sound quality. Sviatoslav Richter: The Teldec Recordings Sviatoslav Richter (piano), with Elisabeth Leonskaja (piano), Borodin Quartet, with Borodin Quartet Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto, Yuri Bashmet Sviatoslav Richter's recording of the Well-tempered Clavier is my favourite rendition … I prefer it to even that of Glenn Gould. Richter not only signed the contract, he also cashed the six figure cheque which was deposited in his Swiss bank account and also graciously received Copy # 1 of the edition at his Festival in Tours. So, this is not only a five-star performance, but amongst the very finest that exist, and the best that I know of. I doubt that any of us who were lucky enough to be there will ever forget the experience. The best of Richter's solo recordings here are those of Schubert and Schumann.In no other recorded performances has a pianist so well expressed the ardent lyricism and athletic virtuosity of Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy or the passionate longing and ecstatic release of Schumann's C major Fantasy. Bruno Monsaingeon's documentary with Richter (in his 80s) speaking with candour, plus graphic historic footage. I was there. Filmed in 1965, this is a close-up encounter with Richter’s virtuosity. The Art of Sviatoslav Richter This collection is far from the complete phonographic legacy of the great musician. Richter’s monumental 1992 complete recording of Bach’s 48. Masters of the piano such as Richter have measureably enhanced the quality of my life, and I owe no small part in this to the technology of recorded sound. Lorin Maazel Conducting. * RICHTER, Sviatoslav(20th Mar. If we judged Richter strictly by his worst recordings, I would totally agree that he was overrated. Don't worry about the age of the recordings; they sound remarkably natural and fresh. Find album reviews, stream songs, credits and award information for Sviatoslav Richter: Eurodisc Recordings - Sviatoslav Richter on AllMusic - 2016 Solo pieces by JS Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Haydn, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Schubert recorded part live in various venues. The performance (made in 1959 with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Stanislaw Woslicki) proves the power of the Richterian ideals of his own kind of fidelity to the text, his refusal to accept conventions at face value, and his absolute insistence on technical and architectural clarity. Richter was a complete master on these terms. A Soviet recording of Prokofiev’s magnificent, motoric sonata. The recordings go back to the 50's and 60's, arguably Richter's best years. We can now listen to Richter perform his art from a myriad of concert locations throught the world. I'd start with "Sviatoslav Richter: Complete Decca, Philips & DG Recordings" that includes Option three! All Vinyl is play tested and we do our best to describe accurately. Richter, ever the coy Richter is heard in a fiery 1958 recording of the first Piano Concerto, while Mravinsky is featured in a 1956 recording of the Pathetique symphony. Includes original inner sleeve. Matrix Audio Element X Network Attached DAC, Marantz SACD 30n/Model 30 SACD/Network Player/Amp, Franco Serblin Accordo Essence Loudspeaker, Denon DCD-A110/PMA-A110 SACD Player/Amplifier. ... Soviet pianist Sviatoslav Richter Photograph: ... Richter’s studio recording from 1972, a performance that’s both intimate and shattering. What we have here is: "All 9 iconic Deutsche Grammophon LPs by Sviatslov Richter, "the last Titan" of the piano, together for the first time in one CD box -- presented in chronological order, as originally programmed, with original LP-cover artwork." The collection goes from that 1960 Brahms Second through two discs of live recordings Richter made in 1988 at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival in Germany, including I would say that, in addition to all the great recordings mentioned above, another amazing recording by Richter is the Beethoven Sonata Op. DG 479 4884 (96kHz/24-bit download) Angel Records. His mother, Anna Pavlovna Richter (née Moskaleva; 1893–1963), came from a noble Russianlandowning family, and at one point she studied under her future husband. Richter’s studio recording from 1972, a performance that’s both intimate and shattering. (The pianist and writer Ken Hamilton certainly believes that was Richter’s strategy, as he told Andrew McGregor on last Saturday’s CD Review on Radio 3.) Or try this one for size: as Zuzana Ružicková revealed in Mahan Esfahani’s radio documentary Mission Harpsichord, Richter’s performances of Prokofiev’s piano sonatas (the 9th of which is dedicated to him), were completely different in their austerity and objectivity from the romanticism and freedom of Prokofiev’s own playing of these pieces. For the 100th anniversary of Sviatoslav Richter, Firma Melodiya presents its arguably biggest project in its semicentennial history: a 50-CD set of Sviatoslav Richters concert recordings! While Richter was uncomfortable in the studio (he was a perfectionist but preferred complete takes to punched-in corrections, which sometimes made for exhaustive retakes), he did leave a considerable legacy of studio recordings. Sviatoslav Richter (piano) Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/Stanislav Wislocki (1959) DG 447 8584. Completely opposite to Glenn Gould (who described the concert hall as a circus), Richter described the recording studio as a torture chamber. The Sonata Op.2:3 and the Op.126 Bagatelles are followed by a mighty performance of the Hammerklavier Sonata, Op.106. With Benjamin Britten, some of the most joyous and infectious music-making of Richter’s life. Nevertheless, the set Today’s talents will be tomorrow’s legends. From the insinuating suggestion of tolling bells that opens this popular Concerto, and the longbreathed melody that sounds like some ancient chant unspiralling, Sviatoslav Richter is … The legendary Russian pianist would have been 100 this week. Available from Presto Classical. Please Subscribe to our New channel @PAINTED. Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997) was indeed among the very finest pianists of the Twentieth Century. Solo pieces by JS Bach, Chopin, Debussy, Haydn, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Schubert recorded part live in various venues. For the 100th anniversary of Sviatoslav Richter, Firma Melodiya presents its arguably biggest project in its semicentennial history: a 50-CD set of Sviatoslav Richters concert recordings! Recorded in Salzburg, Vienna and Munich between 1970 and 1983. Richter The Master Pianist This is an invaluable record of an exceptional recital Sviatoslav Richter gave at the Royal Festival Hall in London in June 1975. 10 of the best: Essential Richter recordings. Sviatoslav Richter: Pianist Essential Recordings. This article contains affiliate links, which means we may earn a small commission if a reader clicks through and Tom Service picks ten of his essential performances that introduce you to the genius of Sviatoslav Richter, Last modified on Tue 18 Apr 2017 16.19 BST. Beethoven recital RFH, June 1975 Decca 476 2203 (two Presto CDs) Curriculum Vitae [ Left Photo] Sviatoslav Richter If we have to evaluate all the pianists regardless of the personal tastes, there will be several creteria like the width of repertoire, technique, and individuality, etc. And it’s also because the truths that Richter was after were themselves historically mediated ideas: the supposedly timeless qualities of scores by Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert, say, that are anything but “timeless”, and are in fact enmeshed in historical contingencies, let alone the vagaries of published editions and performance practice conditions, and the fact that none of those composers would recognise the piano Richter was using, the way it was tuned (the equal temperament that all our pianos are forced into these days was not a popular choice among musicians until the late 19th century), or the conditions of his concert life.