Richter

[Ferretfancy]

I've just been listening to this month's BBC MM disc of Sviatoslav Richter, recorded at the Royal Festival Hall in May 1968. The disc includes Beethoven's Sonata in B flat Op.22, and a splendid performance of Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques Op.13. I don't think that any pianist measured up to Richter where the music of Schumann was concerned. I still treasure the DG LP of his wonderful performance of Fantasiestucke and Waldszenen.

The 20th March will be the centenary of Richter's birth, and the heavens are celebrating this by having a total eclipse of the sun. You have to be somewhere near the Faroe Islands to see the full show, but 86% of the solar disc will be obscured if you live in London, and more than 90% in Edinburgh. Maximum coverage is at 9.31 in the morning, just in time for a late commute!

I did see Richter play once, again at the Festival Hall, but my memory of the music has faded. I do remember his rather stoic demeanour at the keyboard-no Lag Lang he!

[Richard Tarleton]

Curious item on CDR this am. The excerpts played were unremittingly awful, one suspects chosen deliberately by Kenneth Hamilton whose witty commentary was most enjoyable. Thinking of those Hoffnung cartoons of pianists' hands, the excerpts chosen were to demonstrate that Richter's were the ones with two hammers attached.

I queued for tickets once at the RFH in the early 70s but was too late.

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

yes most unappealing ... and why would one put up with the dreadful sound quality of the NY recordings made from under the floorboards

[visualnickmos]

..... I still treasure the DG LP of his wonderful performance of Fantasiestucke and Waldszenen.

It is fantastic, and in excellent "can't tell it's not stereo" mono sound. One of my best charity shop CDs - ever!!!!!

[Tony Halstead]

Curious item on CDR this am. The excerpts played were unremittingly awful, one suspects chosen deliberately by Kenneth Hamilton whose witty commentary was most enjoyable. Thinking of those Hoffnung cartoons of pianists' hands, the excerpts chosen were to demonstrate that Richter's were the ones with two hammers attached.

I queued for tickets once at the RFH in the early 70s but was too late.

I'm puzzled as to why Mr Hamilton would 'deliberately' choose those excerpts...
The piano sound in the Mozart A minor sonata was horribly clangy, and in the Liszt excerpt Richter sounded like 'Bang Bang'!

[Richard Tarleton]

I'm puzzled as to why Mr Hamilton would 'deliberately' choose those excerpts...

They seemed chosen - well, they would, wouldn't they - to illustrate the points which KH wished to make about Richter. Someone who was a fan might have chosen different ones - inc. Schumann for example. I don't think this item will have done much to persuade newcomers to buy these sets!

[Old Grumpy]

I don't think this item will have done much to persuade newcomers to buy these sets!

Too right - the price and volume of discs might dissuade them as well! £123.75 on Prestoclassical (other vendors are available)

OG

[Nick Armstrong]

I've copied a few of the above post to the CD Review thread, to which they are equally relevant

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I've copied a few of the above post to the CD Review thread, to which they are equally relevant

That's a relief - I wondered how OG's Presto reference had suddenly reached the top of a page in an "unread" What's New listing.

It was like deja-vu all over again.

[Nick Armstrong]

That's a relief - I wondered how OG's Presto reference had suddenly reached the top of a page in an "unread" What's New listing.

It was like deja-vu all over again.

Glass of water for Mr Ferney, nurse!

[vinteuil]

Curious item on CDR this am. The excerpts played were unremittingly awful...

... and yet they have nudged me in to buying the sony 'Complete Album' 18-CD set of his early recordings, including those Carnegie Hall recitals with the less-than-hi-fi recorded sound. An amazon seller had it going for less than fifteen quid...

I found Kenneth Hamilton's considerations of these performances very persuasive.

[Nick Armstrong]

... and yet have nudged me in to buying the sony 'Complete Album' 18-CD set of his early recordings, including those Carnegie Hall recitals with the less-than-hi-fi recorded sound. An amazon seller had it going for less than fifteen quid...

Go vinny!

I see it includes the recording of Brahms PC2 with Leinsdorf, my all-time favourite reading of that piece

Apart from the duplication, it is bloody tempting isn't it... I'll wait till I've heard the samples in the CD Review segment...

[Don Petter]

I had never been a particular follower of Richter (partly because I am always wary of any performers who seem to have developed a cult), but I am very glad I bought the Melodyia box of his Schubert, recorded live in 1978 in Moscow:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schubert-Richter-Sviatoslav-Melodiya-1002231/dp/B00J587KHO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426346954&sr=8-1&keywords=richter+schubert

I came to this from the direction of Schubert, rather than Richter, and it has given much pleasure.

At four CDs for about £20, it is well worth the money.

[Stanley Stewart]

My most treasured moment of Sviatoslav Richter also has a personal connotation. I was appearing in a production of a James Bridie play at the Edinburgh Fesitval, 1964, and harassed our company manager to get me a ticket for the Usher Hall where Richter partnered his compatriot, Mstislav Rostropovich, in the Beethoven Cello Sonatas; two morning rehearsals and only a handful of invited guests. A hypnotic and memorable experience with only a couple of stops for low-key consultation.

Almost 40 years later, Dec 2002, I was astonished to learn that the performances had been televised and BBC 4 showed a two part documentary, in a 'Legends' series on 23 and 24 Dec of that year. I'm sure that some of our forum collectors will also have an off-air video on their shelves. More recently, I transferred the performances to DVD alongside 'Solzhenitsyn - Homecoming' a moving 92 mins 1995 documentary covering his triumphant return to Moscow after many years in exile. Compelling companions.

[Pianorak]

At the moment available at £26.47 with free postage. If you zoom in you'll see one of the discs contains: Schubert: Fantasia Op. 17. Collector's item?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sviatoslav-Richter-Complete-Album-Collection/dp/B00NFLVFFK/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1426449813&sr=1-1&keywords=richter+sony