Search - Mozart, Mendelssohn, Debussy :: Sviatoslav Richter in Prague and New York

Vintage Richter

D. Gollaher | La Jolla | 01/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Richter's Mozart was uneven; in his published reflections he confessed to being puzzled by Mozart and often uncomfortable with his approach to the music. But in the charming variations (La belle Francoise), his playing is simply wonderful. Another gem in this collection is the Mendelssohn Variations Sérieuses, a piece requiring serious technique that Richter plays with great intensity. For real fans, EMI has just released a DVD of Richter/Rostropovich performing Beethoven's Cello sonatas, and the disc contains a bonus video of the Variations Sérieuses, which alone is worth the price."

My First Debussy

millionrainbows | 07/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I ever heard Debussy (with the exception of my mother playing "Claire de Lune") was by Richter, on vinyl, on the Turnabout label, recorded in Spoleto, July 14 1967. I still find it surprising that a rough, tough Russian like Richter could play Debussy so fluidly, sensitively, and organically. It was a live recording, so there was the occassional cough, and even a door slamming at one point, but the performance transcended all of that. Unfortunately, this is not that recording, but a somewhat lo-fi mono recording done in Prague in 1968. I will keep searching for the stereo, higher-fidelity live 1967 recording of the Debussy Preludes Book 2 by Richter, but until then, this version will have to do. There are excerpts of Book 2 by Richter available elsewhere, as well as complete versions of Book 1. Of interest to Richter completists only.

ADDENDUM: I have found a suitable second choice: BBC Legends (IMG), a 2-CD which features a live recording of the Preludes, Book II, replete with coughs (but no slamming door) made in Maltings, Snape, on June 16, 1967, just a month earlier than the Spoleto recording."