Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Sviatoslav Richter :: Richter the Master, Vol. 1: Beethoven - Piano Sonatas

Richter recordings revisited

Gene Cosloy | Boston, MA USA | 05/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a masterful performance and I would recommend this release without reservation. However the NYTimes reviewed this as well as the other discs in this series by Decca and declared these as "new" releases. Not so! If you already own the Phillips series of "Authorized Richter recordings" you already own these performances."

Beethoven with more depth and intensity

Scriabinmahler | UK | 04/08/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
Richter's performance may not be note-perfect, but who cares if Beethoven sonatas are played with such intensity and profundity? After listening to Richter's uncompromising, risk-taking accounts, performances by those German music expert, Uchida, Brendel, Schiff, Kemp etc, sounds too tame and intellectual."

Late Richter is uneven, but here's a great Op. 109

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 06/06/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As noted above, the Decca series, "Richter, The Master," reprises an earlier series on Philips. I would hesitate to recommend any of these bargain two-fers unreservedly. Philips was unlucky enough to catch Richter at the tail end of his long career. Only listen to this account of the "Appassionata," a signature work for the younger Richter that he played with uncommon passion and fire, often to a frightening degree. But this reading is a pale shadow of those, despite its bursts of brilliance and commanding presence.



The three small sonatas that begin CD 1, the two from Op. 49 and Op. 54, are given solid but hardly thrilling performances, again in stark contrast to the earlier ones scattered throughout Richter's discography. Only the finale of Op. 49 no. 1 made me sit up and take notice. On CD 2, I anticipated that Op. 109, being the gentlest soul among the late sonatas, would take to Richter's later style. Happily, it's a good match. Much of the phrasing is meltingly lovely. Richter was more febrile early on, but his pinpoint musical intelligence, always at its best when confronted with a challenge, brings many new insights here. Also, this is the best piano and best sound in the set (good pianos not being guaranteed in a live Richter recording).



Op. 110 and Op. 111 are more visceral, more enigmatic, and more demanding technically, so my expectations were somewhat lower. (I don't count or much notice muffed notes, although Richter was prone to them more than you'd expect.) Compared to his earlier versions, this Op. 110 felt rhythmically tired and unimaginative overall, despite some commanding moments. Op. 11 starts off with a few lion's roars, but here again there's a certain lack of ignition, and one misses his fiery imagination. The concluding Arietta feels too generalized. I don't mean to harp on earlier glories from Richter, but as collectors we have the luxury of picking and choosing, and here the only real advantages is better sound and a fine piano.



Since my copy of these recordings is a download, I can't provide recording dates. If you don't collect Richter in depth, this is a good collection in fine sound that valuably gathers together Op. 109-111. If you're more adventurous, however, sorting through the pianist's vast store of live recordings is a trill. I'd begin with the Beethoven selections issued by Music & Arts and Olympia."